23/06/2025 Session | President | European Convention on Human Rights
PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos, opening the Assembly’s summer session in Strasbourg today, announced an address later in the week by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during his first visit to the Council of Europe, and urged “the final steps” towards the establishment of an international tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.
President Zelenskyy is due to address the Assembly on the afternoon of Wednesday 25 June (time to be confirmed), when he will take questions from Assembly members, with two debates on the legal and human rights aspects of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and on the exchange and release of prisoners of war coming the day before.
Referring to a recent open letter signed by nine European prime ministers calling for dialogue and reflection on the interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights in the field of migration, the President said he “understands the reasoning” but warned governments against compromising the independence of the judiciary.
“This should not be seen through a lens of confrontation, but rather as a call for dialogue and reflection,” the President said. “It might – if we are careful – open space for discussion and understanding.”
“I am fully aware of the problems caused in many countries by uncontrolled migration, including challenges that affect long-standing social balances. My own country, Greece, faced it first,” the President pointed out. “But we, as politicians, must follow the difficult path to find solutions. Accusing the Court is the easy way – and it is contrary to our principles and ethics.”
“History has shown us that when political power interferes with justice, it is democracy that pays the price. […] The Council was not born from the ashes of war
to serve individual political agendas, for any one of us. It was born to uphold the European vision of peace and justice.”
PACE will hold a current affairs debate tomorrow at 10 a.m. CEST on “The European Court of Human Rights: rising to the challenges of our times”, with the participation of the Court’s President Mattias Guyomar.
Finally, the President referred to the threat to global peace and security represented by the escalation of conflict in the Middle East and the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. “Civilians are paying the price of this cruelty, in Gaza, in Israel, in Iran,“ he pointed out.
“But let us not surrender. Though disappointment often follows our visions and actions, we must continue our efforts tirelessly. Because we are the only institution globally to work exclusively on democracy. Not the power of guns or money. But the people.”