News

PACE General Rapporteurs condemn decision to label the LGBTI movement in Russia as ‘extremist’

30/11/2023 | Equality and Non-Discrimination

The PACE General Rapporteur on human rights defenders and whistle-blowers, Emanuelis Zingeris (Lithuania, EPP/CD), and PACE General Rapporteur on the rights of LGBTI people, Christophe Lacroix (Belgium, SOC), have condemned today’s decision of the Russian Supreme Court to outlaw the...

PACE President and General Rapporteur on Violence against Women: women must be empowered for violence to end

23/11/2023 | Equality and Non-Discrimination

“Violence against women and girls is still one of the most serious human rights violations across Europe and throughout the world, deeply rooted as it is in multiple forms of gender inequality and discrimination. Despite progress, better laws and better policies in many countries, women’s rights...

Putting an end to transphobic violence, discrimination and hatred

20/11/2023 | Equality and Non-Discrimination

"20 November is a day to honour the memory of transgender victims of hatred. They are discriminated against and persecuted around the world, victims of harassment, physical and psychological violence and hate crimes," stated Christophe Lacroix (Belgium, SOC), General Rapporteur of the Assembly on...

‘Stop causing serious physical harm to intersex persons’, says PACE General Rapporteur

25/10/2023 | Equality and Non-Discrimination

The Parliamentary Assembly’s General Rapporteur on the rights of LGBTI people, in a statement on the eve of Intersex Awareness Day (26 October 2023), has called for an end to surgical or hormonal procedures which cause serious physical harm to intersex persons. "These procedures are regularly...

PACE committee urges member states to combat systemic racism against Roma and Travellers

16/10/2023 | Equality and Non-Discrimination

PACE’s Equality Committee called on member States to take urgent action to address systemic human rights violations against the Roma and Traveller communities. In a draft resolution, the committee highlighted the ongoing brutality and discrimination faced by these minority groups at the hands of...

‘No means no’: hearing on the question of consent in gender-based violence

15/09/2023 | Equality and Non-Discrimination

"It was while accompanying victims in court that I realised that the French Criminal Code did not protect victims," Catherine Le Magueresse, Associate Researcher at the Sorbonne’s Institut des Sciences Juridique et Philosophique, said today at the opening of a hearing on "Gender-based violence...

Violence against women with disabilities: raising a taboo subject

14/09/2023 | Equality and Non-Discrimination

Violence against women with disabilities, whether physical, sexual, structural, psychological or economic, remains a taboo subject, underlined the PACE Committee on Equality. “Society infantilises women with disabilities by not allowing them to make informed choices about their lives, including...

‘Equality cannot be achieved by words alone’, says PACE General Rapporteur as Belgrade Pride week begins

04/09/2023 | Equality and Non-Discrimination

“On the occasion of Belgrade Pride week, 4-9 September 2023, and of the anniversary of Belgrade EuroPride 2022, I take this opportunity to remind the Serbian authorities that as a State party to the European Convention on Human Rights, Serbia has committed itself to protecting individual rights...

‘On Roma Holocaust Memorial Day 2023, let’s commit to a more inclusive future’, says PACE General Rapporteur

01/08/2023 | Equality and Non-Discrimination

“On 2 August, we remember and honour the victims of the genocide perpetrated against Roma during the Second World War,” said the Parliamentary Assembly’s General Rapporteur on combating racism and intolerance, Petra Bayr (Austria, SOC), speaking ahead of Roma Holocaust Memorial Day 2023...

Azerbaijani police must stop harassing LGBTI people and activists, says PACE General Rapporteur

31/05/2023 | Equality and Non-Discrimination

“I am deeply concerned by new reports that LGBTI people and activists defending their rights in Azerbaijan have again been targeted by police officers,” said Christophe Lacroix (Belgium, SOC), General Rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the rights of LGBTI persons...

Closing the digital divide: PACE committee proposes measures to address inequalities in access to technology

27/04/2023 | Equality and Non-Discrimination

Increasing reliance on digital technologies in all fields of life risks leaving behind people who are unfamiliar with or do not have full access to all the necessary tools, exacerbating existing inequalities in society and creating new ones. Calling on States to take comprehensive measures to...

Petra Bayr: there’s still a long way to go in the fight against racism

21/03/2023 | Equality and Non-Discrimination

Statement by Petra Bayr (Austria, SOC), PACE General Rapporteur on combating racism and intolerance, on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: “Each year, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is a chance to take stock of...