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Hostilities in the Middle East: PACE rapporteur urges respect for international law

01/03/2026 | Political Affairs and Democracy

Dora Bakoyannis (Greece, EPP/CD), PACE rapporteur on the situation in the Middle East, made the following statement today: “I am following with profound concern the outbreak of open hostilities between Israel, the United States and Iran. This escalation carries grave consequences for...

‘A Europe that tolerates Putin’s war betrays its values,’ PACE President says

‘A Europe that tolerates Putin’s war betrays its values,’ PACE President says

24/02/2026 | President

“A Europe that tolerates Putin’s war betrays its values – and a Europe that betrays its values betrays its future,” today said PACE President Petra Bayr, in video message on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. “This is not only a war against...

Petra Bayr: ‘Human rights and democracy are the foundation of security’

Petra Bayr: ‘Human rights and democracy are the foundation of security’

20/02/2026 | President

“The Council of Europe and the OSCE share a fundamental principle: human rights and democracy are not separate from security – they are its foundation,” today said PACE President Petra Bayr, addressing the 25th Winter meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) in Vienna. Evoking current...

Riigikogu of Estonia

PACE rapporteur welcomes Estonia’s parliamentary support for a Tribunal to try the crime of aggression...

17/02/2026 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights

Titus Corlăţean (Romania, SOC), PACE's rapporteur on accountability for the Russian Federation's war of aggression against Ukraine, has issued the following statement on Estonia's approval of the future agreement establishing the Management Committee of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of...

PACE General Rapporteur on European Migration and Asylum Policies reaffirms Convention’s foundational role during visit by UK parliamentarians

PACE General Rapporteur on European Migration and Asylum Policies reaffirms Convention’s foundational role...

16/02/2026 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation

PACE’s General Rapporteur on European migration and asylum policies has recalled the foundational role of the European Convention on Human Rights during a visit to the Council of Europe by a cross-party group of British parliamentarians dealing with the question of migration. Lord Michael German...

Holding accountable the perpetrators and beneficiaries of the crime identified by Sergei Magnitsky

Holding accountable the perpetrators and beneficiaries of the crime identified by Sergei Magnitsky

13/02/2026 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights

PACE’s Committee on Legal Affairs has reiterated its call “for all those responsible for the death of Sergei Magnitsky, as well as the beneficiaries of the fraud he uncovered, to be held accountable”. Mr Magnitsky, a Russian tax adviser and auditor, uncovered a US$230 million fraud perpetrated by...

Chairperson of parliamentary network deplores latest deadly strikes and calls for increased winter assistance
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Chairperson of parliamentary network deplores latest deadly strikes and calls for increased winter assistance

12/02/2026 | Children of Ukraine

Olena Khomenko (Ukraine, ECPA), Chairperson of the Parliamentary Network on the situation of the children of Ukraine, today made the following statement: “I am horrified by reports from Bohodukhiv (Kharkiv region) that a Russian strike destroyed a family home and killed three toddlers – two boys...

Storm Harry: with estimates of up to 1,000 deaths, a call for better ways to save lives at sea

Storm Harry: with estimates of up to 1,000 deaths, a call for better ways to save lives at sea

11/02/2026 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation

Sandra Zampa (Italy, SOC), Chairperson of the PACE Committee on Migration, International Protection and Economic Co‑operation, made the following statement today: “Reports from the central Mediterranean following Storm Harry in January 2026 point to a tragedy of immense scale, with estimates of...

PACE calls for impact assessment and key revisions to draft convention on audiovisual series

PACE General Rapporteur condemns prison sentence imposed on British media entrepreneur in China

10/02/2026 | Culture, Science, Education and Media

PACE’s General Rapporteur on media freedom and safety of journalists, Valentina Grippo (Italy, ALDE), made the following statement today: “I am deeply concerned by the twenty-year prison sentence handed down yesterday to British media businessman Jimmy Lai by Hong Kong's High Court. Mr Lai was...

Olympic Games must be a force for peace and human dignity
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Olympic Games must be a force for peace and human dignity

05/02/2026 | Culture, Science, Education and Media

PACE President Petra Bayr and Mogens Jensen, Chairperson of the PACE Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media today made the following joint statement: On the eve of the opening of the Winter Olympic Games in Cortina, PACE President Petra Bayr and Mogens Jensen, Chairperson of the PACE...

International day of zero tolerance for female genital mutilation
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Action to prevent and combat female genital mutilation must be accelerated in member states

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...

PACE President presents the fifth 2026 Human Rights in Motion Award to Abraham Joffe’s Trade Secret

The former PACE President presents the fifth 2026 Human Rights in Motion Award to Abraham Joffe’s Trade Secret

05/02/2026 | News

The former President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Theodoros Rousopoulos, presented the fifth 2026 ‘Human Rights in Motion’ Award at the FIPADOC documentary award ceremony in Biarritz. The international jury selected Trade Secret, a documentary by Australian...