23/03/2026 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
Expressing concern at the growing manifestations of exclusion and intolerance on grounds of religion across Europe, the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination, meeting on 20 March in Paris, emphasised that freedom of religion or belief – which includes the right not to hold a religious...
23/03/2026 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
PACE’s Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination has welcomed the Assembly’s landmark achievement of gender parity – for the first time since its creation in 1949 – while issuing a strong call to action on the multiple threats facing women and girls worldwide. In a statement adopted following...
23/03/2026 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
Twelve years after the Istanbul Convention entered into force, the report prepared by Zita Gurmai (Hungary, SOC) outlines where implementation is falling short. While the convention has had a “positive impact on the ground,” the draft resolution adopted by the committee, calls for “renewed...
20/03/2026 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
On the eve of the International Day for the Eradication of Racial Discrimination (21 March), Francesco Verducci (Italy, SOC), General Rapporteur on combating racism and intolerance, made the following statement: The Sharpeville Massacre of 21 March 1960, in apartheid South Africa, saw peaceful...
13/03/2026 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
Ahead of the International Day to Combat Islamophobia (15 March), Francesco Verducci (Italy, SOC), PACE General Rapporteur for combating racism and intolerance, made the following statement: “Prejudice against Muslim people remains a persistent challenge in our societies. Islamophobia often...
13/03/2026 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
"The backlash against women's rights is real, but it is not inevitable. It can be resisted, and it can be reversed, if we act together," said PACE President Petra Bayr at the opening of a side-event on the margins of the 70th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) in New York...
06/03/2026 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
PACE President Petra Bayr and the Chairperson of the PACE Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination, Béatrice Fresko-Rolfo (Monaco, ALDE), made the following joint statement on the eve of International Women’s Day 2026:“On the occasion of International Women’s Day, we join the United Nations...
03/03/2026 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
Maria Syrengela (Greece, EPP/CD), PACE’s rapporteur on “The deterioration of women’s rights in Afghanistan: the need for a global response”, made the following statement today: “A new criminal procedure code adopted by the Taliban, recently put into effect in Afghanistan, legalises violence by...
05/02/2026 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
On the eve of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Luz Martinez Seijo (Spain, SOC), PACE General Rapporteur on Violence against Women and Co-ordinator of the Parliamentary Network Women Free from Violence, calls for the criminalisation of FGM, a violation...
28/01/2026 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
On the occasion of the International Day of Commemoration of the Victims of the Holocaust, Francesco Verducci (Italy, SOC), PACE General Rapporteur on combating racism and intolerance, made the following statement: “Today – and always – we must reaffirm the universal value of memory, both as a...
03/12/2025 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
“Throughout Europe, persons with disabilities continue to face persistent barriers and higher risks of poverty. They encounter discrimination and limitations to their participation in all areas of life. The inclusion of persons with disabilities is both a condition for social progress and a human...
03/12/2025 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
The Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination, meeting today in Paris, expressed concern that conversion practices persist across Council of Europe member states, often covertly.The report by Kate Osborne (United Kingdom, SOC), adopted unanimously by the committee, emphasises that these...