09/05/2020 | President
“Life after the Corona crisis will be different – but our rights and freedoms should stay the same,” said PACE President Rik Daems in a special video message to mark the Schuman Declaration (9 May) and the forthcoming 70th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights. “In the Council of...
04/05/2020 | President
“The Council of Europe was born on the ashes of World War Two, thanks to brave people who, in a spirit of sacrifice, resisted tyranny and oppression to affirm the values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law,” said Rik Daems, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of...
30/04/2020 | President
On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, Rik Daems, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), has recalled the vital role of journalists and the media in a democratic society. “In the age of misinformation and propaganda, professional and reliable...
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 Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, David Zalkaliani, Rik Daems and Linos-Alexandre Sicilianos, have issued a statement to launch the 70th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights in 2020.
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.