22/04/2026 | 17:19:39 Madam President, Esteemed colleagues, I want to, first of all, thank you, dear rapporteur, for your excellent report. "The death penalty is the special and eternal mark of barbarism" [also spoken in French]. What Victor Hugo observed in 1848 remains true today: a justice system that kills is fundamentally wrong. The death penalty violates the right to life and human dignity, the foundation of all human rights. Without this right, all others lose their meaning. It is also not an effective tool... 29/01/2026 | 12:06:03 Dear Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, The political and humanitarian crisis in the Middle East - in Iran, Syria, the Palestinian territories, Yemen and Lebanon - affects our immediate neighbourhood. It affects Europe's security and it affects the universal values on which the Council of Europe was founded: human rights, peace and the inviolable dignity of every human being. In Iran, people risk their lives every day because they demand freedom. Women, young people and religious and... 28/01/2026 | 17:16:04 Thank you Chair, Dear colleagues, In Gaza, civilians remain trapped in a humanitarian catastrophe. Entire cities are destroyed, basic services have collapsed, food insecurity is widespread, and humanitarian assistance is repeatedly obstructed. While the release of the remaining Israeli hostages is welcome news to open the way for the next steps of the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, endorsed in UN Security Council Resolution 2803 (2025), many urgent issues remain unresolved. The... 27/01/2026 | 17:56:55 Thank you, Chair. I want to thank Mr Piero FASSINO for this concise report. As we speak, despite the freezing winter and ongoing talks between the Ukrainian gouvernement and Vladimir PUTIN’s regime, the Ukrainian people are being terrorised, bombed, their energy infrastructure destroyed, and people killed, day after day. It is crucial that the Parliamentary Assembly underlines Europe's unwavering support for Ukrainian sovereignty, democracy, and international law, and tells it like it is...