23/06/2020 | Political Affairs and Democracy
“Pointing the finger at the alleged failures in WHO diverts countries from the painful exercise of addressing their own inadequacies and lack of preparation”, today said Charles Clift, Senior Consulting Fellow for the Global Health Programme - Chatham House, addressing the Political Affairs...
22/06/2020 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
The PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons will discuss the impact of the pandemic for migrants, and the lessons to be learned for future migration policies. The exchange will feed into a report to be debated by the Assembly in the autumn. The meeting, from 3.30-4.30 pm on...
22/06/2020 | Monitoring
The Monitoring Committee today welcomed the “sustained political will and commitment” of the Montenegrin authorities to respect their obligations, and their involvement in the post-monitoring dialogue* with PACE. The parliamentarians underlined the country's “continued co-operation” with Council...
19/06/2020 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Pieter Omtzigt (Netherlands, EPP/CD), PACE rapporteur on the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia and the rule of law in Malta, today welcomed the Venice Commission’s opinion on the Maltese government’s reform proposals and expressed his concern at recent revelations about the Maltese police...
19/06/2020 | Migration, International Protection and Economic Co-operation
“On the occasion of World Refugee Day, I would like to join appeals for action to protect the health of the most vulnerable people in displacement during and after the COVID-19 crisis,” said Pierre-Alain Fridez (Switzerland, SOC), Chairperson of the PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and...
18/06/2020 | Parliamentary support
Confronted with the Coronavirus pandemic, the world’s parliaments have been forced to restructure their work and adopt innovative technological solutions, but a lack of appropriate legislation and associated ways of working has made it difficult for them to respond rapidly, particularly as...
18/06/2020 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development
Participants at a PACE online webinar today looked at lessons from the COVID-19 crisis on child safeguarding and protection, concluding that the pandemic had had a “devastating” impact on children’s mental health, with a special impact on young people unable to take part in sport. The event...
17/06/2020 | Monitoring
Lise Christoffersen (Norway, SOC), PACE rapporteur for post-monitoring dialogue with North Macedonia, has welcomed the agreement on the date of early parliamentary elections, to be held on 15 July 2020. “We commend the political parties - from the majority and the opposition - for reaching an...
15/06/2020 | Political Affairs and Democracy
The Sub-Committee on the Middle East and the Arab World held a meeting by video-conference on 12 June 2020. Opening the meeting, George Loucaides (Cyprus, UEL), Chairperson of the Sub-Committee, stressed that the conflicts and instability in the Mediterranean region, in particular the Israeli...
12/06/2020 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
Women should be fully involved at the heart of crisis response planning and decision-making, participants agreed at a PACE webinar on the gender dimension of foreign policy in the response to COVID-19, bringing together parliamentarians with current and former diplomats as well as academics...
11/06/2020 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
PACE’s Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination held an exchange of views on 5 June 2020 on “Upholding human rights in times of crisis and pandemics: the right to equality and non-discrimination”. The exchange followed the appointment of Petra Stienen (Netherlands, ALDE) as rapporteur for a...
10/06/2020 | Equality and Non-Discrimination
PACE’s Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination is hosting a Facebook Live webinar on the gender dimension of foreign policy in the response to COVID-19 at 4 p.m. CET on 11 June. Panellists include current and former diplomats and academics involved in this field from the Netherlands, Sweden...