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Željko Komšić, Bosnia and Herzegovina
©Council of Europe

Željko Komšić: Bosnia and Herzegovina must change its political system if it wants to be part of modern...

25/01/2022 | Session

Addressing PACE today, Željko Komšić, Chairperson of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, presented the socio-political situation in his country, after recalling the significant historical events since the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992, including the period of war that “led...

Annicka Engblom
©Council of Europe

Supporting the role of the media in times of crisis

25/01/2022 | Session

European countries should support the media in times of crisis “so that the latter can perform their various roles to the full”, PACE said today. Approving a resolution on the basis of a report by Annicka Engblom (Sweden, EPP/CD), the Assembly said media in a crisis could be a source of objective...

Petr Tolstoi, Russian Federation
©State Duma

Vice-President in respect of the Russian Federation: the seat remains vacant

25/01/2022 | Session

In the context of the election of a Vice-President of the Assembly in respect of the Russian Federation, the Assembly decided at the opening of the Session to hold, on 25 January, a vote by secret ballot on the election of the candidate proposed by the Russian delegation, Piotr Tolstoi. In the...

Secretary General tells PACE : “Our shared values far outweigh the single issues that divide us”

25/01/2022 | Session

Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has told members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) that the relative peace of recent decades has been underpinned by the organisation’s commitment to human rights, democracy and the rule of law. She emphasised that even as the...

Benedetto Della Vedova
©Council of Europe

Benedetto Della Vedova underlines the multilateral vocation of the Council of Europe, in which Italy fully...

25/01/2022 | Session

In his address to the Assembly today, the Italian Undersecretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, Benedetto Della Vedova, described the Council of Europe as “an outpost” and "continental emblem of the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms...

Rules / Procedure

Russian delegation’s credentials challenged at opening of PACE plenary session

24/01/2022 | Session

The credentials of the Russian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) have been challenged both on procedural grounds (Rule 7 of the Rules of Procedure) and on substantive grounds (Rule 8) on the opening day of the 2022 “hybrid” winter plenary session. The...

Hemicycle, Session
©Council of Europe

PACE elects its Vice-Presidents

24/01/2022 | Session

At the opening of its Winter plenary Session today, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) elected its Vice-Presidents: Jonathan Attard (Malta)José Badia (Monaco)Theodora Bakoyannis (Greece)Marta Grande (Italy)Antonio Gutiérrez (Spain)John Howell (United Kingdom)Darko Kaevski...

PACE President Tiny Kox
©Council of Europe

Tiny Kox elected PACE President

24/01/2022 | Session

Tiny Kox (Netherlands, UEL) has been elected President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). Taking over from Rik Daems (Belgium, ALDE), he is PACE’s 34th President since 1949 and the third Dutch to hold this office. He obtained an absolute majority in the first round of...

Rik / Hendrik / Daems / President

PACE reviews the work of its subsidiary bodies since the last session

24/01/2022 | Session

The discussions at the Standing Committee meeting in Rome (25-26 November 2021); the lists of candidates to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) in respect of several countries; the 2022 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize; Assembly expenditure for the 2022 financial year; co...

Children from the UK, Ireland and France addressing the PACE debate on children's participation in democracy, January 2022

Children’s views should be heard whenever decisions affecting their lives are made

24/01/2022 | Session

Governments and parliaments should ensure that children’s views are taken into account “whenever decisions affecting their lives are made and put into practice”, the Parliamentary Assembly stated. Adopting a resolution and recommendation based on a report by Baroness Doreen E. Massey (United...

Inaction on climate change: a violation of children's rights

24/01/2022 | Session

According to the PACE, “the lack of effective action to tackle climate change constitutes a violation of children’s rights as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child”, in particular regarding the right to life, development, health and medical care, education, a good standard of...

Migrants migration refugees

PACE urges improvements to the proposed new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum

24/01/2022 | Session

PACE has welcomed the EU’s commitment to integrating European human rights fully into all its policies on migration and asylum, but has said its proposed new Pact on Migration and Asylum is “very complex” and raises concerns that proposed accelerated asylum procedures may reduce their quality and...