08/07/2020 | President
The European Convention on Human Rights, as well as many other Council of Europe legal instruments that form our Convention system, set clear “red lines” that cannot be crossed even in times of severe public health emergency, PACE President Rik Daems said today. “We have to protect the lives of...
02/07/2020 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Whilst a ‘state of emergency’ may allow for a more effective response to a major health crisis like that of COVID-19, it might also be potentially hazardous from the perspective of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. But according to the Committee on Legal Affairs, “there should and need...
26/06/2020 | Standing Committee
“Confronted with the COVID-19 pandemic, people widely observed the restrictions imposed to protect human life and public health, showing a strong sense of maturity and respect for human life,” said Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, the Greek Alternate Minister for Foreign Affairs, Chairman of the Committee...
26/06/2020 | Standing Committee
“The greatest threat in Europe now is complacency. The COVID-19 pandemic is not over; and nobody is safe until we are all safe,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization, addressing PACE's Standing Committee today by video-conference. The impacts of COVID...
26/06/2020 | Standing Committee
States facing future pandemic crises should “act fast to contain outbreaks, using tried and tested, effective measures, implemented in a rights-compliant way,” the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has said. Responses should be “data-driven, evidence-based, and incorporate...
26/06/2020 | Standing Committee
PACE has expressed its deep concern at the spread of sexual violence against children, often unreported due to shame, unbalanced power relations between victims and perpetrators, fear of disclosing intimate information or the fact that disclosure could result in further victimisation. Adopting a...
25/06/2020 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
On the occasion of World Drug Day and the Global Day of Action for the #SupportDontPunish Campaign, Assembly rapporteur Hannah Bardell (United Kingdom, NR) and rapporteur for opinion Joseph O’Reilly (Ireland, EPP/CD) called for European drug policies to be consistent with human rights standards...
24/06/2020 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
According to the Equality Committee, member States should ensure a gender dimension in their foreign policies, in view of promoting inclusiveness, equality and non-discrimination and to counter the backlash against women's rights. The report by Petra Stienen (Netherlands, ALDE), adopted by the...
23/06/2020 | Political Affairs and Democracy
“Pointing the finger at the alleged failures in WHO diverts countries from the painful exercise of addressing their own inadequacies and lack of preparation”, today said Charles Clift, Senior Consulting Fellow for the Global Health Programme - Chatham House, addressing the Political Affairs...
22/06/2020 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
The PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons will discuss the impact of the pandemic for migrants, and the lessons to be learned for future migration policies. The exchange will feed into a report to be debated by the Assembly in the autumn. The meeting, from 3.30-4.30 pm on...
19/06/2020 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
“On the occasion of World Refugee Day, I would like to join appeals for action to protect the health of the most vulnerable people in displacement during and after the COVID-19 crisis,” said Pierre-Alain Fridez (Switzerland, SOC), Chairperson of the PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and...
18/06/2020 | Parliamentary support
Confronted with the Coronavirus pandemic, the world’s parliaments have been forced to restructure their work and adopt innovative technological solutions, but a lack of appropriate legislation and associated ways of working has made it difficult for them to respond rapidly, particularly as...