23/04/2020 | President
Rik Daems, President of the Parliamentary Assembly, spells out the red lines no democracy should cross, even in a crisis – and warns that the COVID-19 emergency measures fast-tracked by governments around Europe should not become “the new normal”.
16/04/2020 | President
The Presidents of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA), and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE PA) issued the following joint statement:
09/04/2020 | President
“Until enough people have been vaccinated against this coronavirus, we must limit its spread. One way is to track-and-trace infected people and those whom they meet. But this has huge privacy implications and will need very careful regulation to ensure respect for human rights and the rule of law,” said Rik Daems.
07/04/2020 | President
“On this World Health Day, I call on all our countries to do everything in their power to ensure that the protection of the health, safety and psychological well-being of healthcare workers be made a top priority in the current response to COVID-19,” Rik Daems said.
24/03/2020 | President
Rik Daems, the President of the PACE, has urged European governments to abide strictly by the European Convention on Human Rights when adopting emergency measures to deal with the COVID-19 crisis.
06/03/2020 | President
PACE President Rik Daems has called for the Parliamentary Assembly to achieve gender parity, launching the hash-tag #IWant5050 in a video clip to mark International Women's Rights Day (8 March 2020).
27/02/2020 | President
Speaking at a conference, the PACE President made a plea to upgrade current legal instruments with the ultimate aim of drafting an additional Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights.
29/01/2020 | President
The leaders of the 47-nation Council of Europe have issued the following statement to launch the 70th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights in 2020: The European Convention on Human Rights came into being against the dreadful background of the devastation of the Second World War...
27/01/2020 | President
Rik Daems has been elected President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Succeeding Liliane Maury Pasquier, he becomes PACE’s 33rd President and the third Belgian representative since 1949.
31/12/2019 | President
"As 2019 comes to a close, I would like to wish every child and every adult a happy New Year. The year 2019 brought us many surprises, crises and discoveries. So, what lessons do we take with us into the new year ahead?"
18/12/2019 | President
"I am convinced that it is more important than ever to go back to our basics," said Liliane Maury Pasquier, addressing students of the Moscow Institute of International Relations at the end of her working visit to Russia.
12/12/2019 | President
Liliane Maury Pasquier is to address participants at the 3rd International Conference on “Human rights protection in Eurasia: exchange of best practice among Ombudspersons” taking place in Moscow on 17 December.