02/11/2021 | Monitoring
Following a visit to Malta from 25 to 27 October, the co-rapporteurs of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for a “periodic review” of the country, George Loukaides (Cyprus, UEL) and Bernard Fournier (France, EPP/CD), have welcomed the reforms...
29/10/2021 | Monitoring
Kimmo Kiljunen (Finland, SOC) and Boriana Åberg (Sweden, EPP/CD), co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the monitoring of obligations and commitments by Armenia, will make a fact-finding visit to the country from 3 to 5 November 2021. Discussions will...
28/10/2021 | President
The President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Rik Daems, has strongly condemned recent reprisals against civil society and human rights defenders in Belarus. Recalling Assembly Resolution 2372 (2021), the President called on the authorities to fully respect the...
27/10/2021 | President
“The Council of Europe stands with the United Nations to ensure that a clean, safe, healthy and sustainable environment is recognised as a human right,” said PACE President Rik Daems today, calling for enhanced cooperation between both organisations to make progress on this issue. Speaking at a...
26/10/2021 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
“Intersex people face constant challenges in almost every aspect of their daily lives. Yet ignorance of, or indifference to, these realities leads to violations of their human rights across the board,” said Fourat Ben Chikha (Belgium, SOC), PACE’s General Rapporteur on the rights of LGBTI people...
25/10/2021 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
“There is a profound lack of acknowledgement of the existence of structural and institutional racism, its dimensions and its historical correlation, in political and public debate,” said Momodou Malcolm Jallow (Sweden, UEL), PACE General Rapporteur on combating racism and intolerance. “The cases...
22/10/2021 | European Conference of Presidents of Parliament
“While we may feel engulfed by the magnitude of the challenges that confront us – a global pandemic and climate change, to name but a few – these same challenges offer us an incentive to move forward, to take on the future together," said the President of the Belgian Senate Stephanie D’Hose...
22/10/2021 | European Conference of Presidents of Parliament
The way forward for parliaments in the aftermath of the pandemic was the focus of the meeting of Secretaries General of Parliament, organised in Athens in the framework of the European Conference of Presidents of Parliament. The participants also discussed the activity report of the European...
22/10/2021 | European Conference of Presidents of Parliament
The European Conference of Presidents of Parliament paid tribute to Sir David Amess, member of parliament of the United Kingdom, who was murdered on 15 October 2021 while holding a surgery for his constituents. The conference strongly supported the call made by the Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle...
22/10/2021 | European Conference of Presidents of Parliament
“To sum up: after the crisis is before the crisis. We need to ensure national parliaments and interparliamentary assemblies alike are prepared for future crises, and are prepared for the unexpected. These crises will come”, today said the President of the Hellenic Parliament Constantine An...
21/10/2021 | European Conference of Presidents of Parliament
Presidents of Parliament from the 47 Council of Europe member states, as well as many neighbouring and observer countries and other partner parliamentary assemblies, met on 21 and 22 October 2021 in Athens, on the occasion of a conference organised by the Hellenic Parliament and the Parliamentary...
21/10/2021 | European Conference of Presidents of Parliament
“The subjects of our conference, here in Athens, are linked into three very vital issues of our time. Not so much in terms of discussion but more so for action to be taken. And this meeting is an opportunity for us to demonstrate that we are in a position to promote dialogue, but also to advice...