22/01/2021 | President
The President of the Assembly presented to the Bureau the PACE activity report for the second half of 2020. The document details the five main priorities for the Assembly's action during this period: completing its workplan despite the difficulties of the pandemic, making the case for the...
07/01/2021 | President
PACE President Rik Daems, reacting to yesterday’s events at the US Capitol in Washington DC, has condemned what he described as “an assault on democracy by an extremist mob, incited by false claims and irresponsible statements at the highest political level”. “This is not America!” the President...
21/12/2020 | President
In an end-of-year video message, PACE President Rik Daems has extended warm greetings of peace and good health to citizens across Europe – and urged everyone to work together to tackle the coming challenges of 2021. “2020 has seen unprecedented challenges for all of us individually, for our...
14/12/2020 | President
The heads of the UN and PACE have agreed to step up co-operation towards building a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, and called for a paradigm shift to turn this from a policy issue into one of “binding principle”. During a meeting in New York on 11 December, PACE President Rik...
09/12/2020 | President
On the occasion of the Human Rights Day 2020, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Rik Daems, made the following statement: “Human rights should not be allowed to become the collateral damage of emergency measures that are being taken to protect the lives and the...
01/12/2020 | President
Rik Daems, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), will participate in the North-South Prize of the Council of Europe Award Ceremony on 2 December in Lisbon, alongside the Portuguese President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa; the Speaker of the Portuguese Assembly...
26/11/2020 | President
In a video conference today, Habib El Malki, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Kingdom of Morocco, and Rik Daems, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), reviewed the different aspects of the positive co-operation being consolidated between the two...
25/11/2020 | President
Speaking on the International Day to Eliminate Violence against Women, PACE President Rik Daems has urged the 47 Council of Europe parliaments to translate a key handbook on ending gender-based violence into their official languages. PACE’s handbook for parliamentarians on the Istanbul Convention...
23/11/2020 | President
“I am delighted that the Assembly – in the unanimous vote of the Standing Committee on Friday – has given its full backing to the Athens Declaration of the Committee of Ministers Chairmanship, which sets out how democratic societies deal with health crises such as COVID-19,” said PACE President...
20/11/2020 | President
“I deeply regret the unsubstantiated attacks by certain political representatives in Georgia on the personal integrity of the Chairman of the delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) that observed elections here,” said PACE President Rik Daems. “His statements...
16/11/2020 | President
As announced, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Rik Daems is in Moscow for a working visit. The President has been informed that he has been in contact with a Russian counterpart who may have tested positive with COVID-19. In line with the Council of...
13/11/2020 | President
Strasbourg, 13.11.2020 – Rik Daems, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), will make a working visit to Moscow on 16-17 November, during which he will address the 4th International Conference on “Human rights protection in Eurasia: exchange of best practices of...