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Climate change
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Developing ‘climate resilience’ in the face of global warming through the rule of law

16/03/2021 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development

The Council of Europe must help develop “climate resilience” to deal with global warming by promoting the rule of law – meaning the supremacy of law, equality before the law, accountability to the law, separation of powers, participation in decision making, and transparency, according to the...

Deinstitutionalisation of people with disabilities

‘Would you call this home?’ – hearing on the deinstitutionalisation of people with disabilities

16/03/2021 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development

High-level officials from the United Nations, European Union, World Health Organisation and Council of Europe came together for a parliamentary hearing on the deinstitutionalisation of people with disabilities, focusing also on the emerging consensus on how to end coercion in mental health, and...

Deinstitutionalisation of people with disabilities

Public hearing on the deinstitutionalisation of people with disabilities

15/03/2021 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development

A PACE public hearing on the deinstitutionalisation of persons with disabilities is to be streamed live at 2 p.m. CET on Tuesday 16 March. Organised by the Assembly’s Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development, the hearing will bring together a series of high-level officials...

Vaccine / COVID

How to overcome vaccine hesitancy?

04/02/2021 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development

The PACE Sub-Committee on Public Health and Sustainable Development held a public hearing on Tuesday 9 February by videoconference on “Overcoming vaccine hesitancy: strategies for parliaments and parliamentarians”, as part of a report being prepared by Vladimir Kruglyi (Russian Federation, NR...

Climate change
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Elected representatives have a key role to play in the fight against climate change

19/01/2021 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development

“Elected officials are fully responsible for building climate resilience: we are in the same fight as young people. It is up to us to take the right decisions today,” said Jennifer De Temmerman (France, ALDE), at a round table on “Representative democracy against climate crisis”, organised by...

Vaccine / COVID

Covid-19 vaccines must be a ‘global public good, available to everyone, everywhere’

21/12/2020 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development

A PACE committee has approved a wide-ranging report making a series of ethical, legal and practical recommendations for the safe and fair worldwide deployment of vaccines against Covid-19, and to encourage their uptake in the face of “vaccine hesitancy”. “Scientists have done a remarkable job in...

Vaccine / COVID

COVID-19: the challenges of developing a safe vaccine, distributing it fairly and encouraging its use

01/12/2020 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development

As the world prepares to be vaccinated against COVID-19, PACE parliamentarians have heard from regulators, vaccine experts and ethicists about how to ensure a vaccine developed against the clock is safe, who should be first in line to receive it, how to ensure its fair distribution globally, and...

Wonner / Martine

Remedying discrimination against people dealing with chronic or long-term illness

01/12/2020 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development

“Often difficult to diagnose and disabling, chronic and long-term illnesses affect the lives of patients – who may be deprived of their autonomy, their rights to participation and full integration into society – and are a source of discrimination,” said the Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable...

Climate change
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Is inaction on climate change a human rights violation?

01/12/2020 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development

Children joined experts at a PACE parliamentary hearing to demand urgent action on climate change from European governments – and to argue that continued inaction would be a violation of their right to a healthy environment. The virtual joint hearing, organised by PACE’s Committee on Social...

Child selfie
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How to tackle the surge in sexual images produced by children?

17/11/2020 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development

Joint statement by Baroness Doreen E. Massey (United Kingdom, SOC), PACE Rapporteur on “Addressing sexual violence against children: stepping up action and co-operation in Europe”, and Dimitri Houbron (France, ALDE), PACE Rapporteur on “For an assessment of the means and provisions to combat...

Children and Covid-19
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Hearing examines disturbing phenomenon of self-generated sexual images and videos shared by children

12/11/2020 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development

“Widespread sharing of sexual images and videos produced by children themselves has become a challenge that we must urgently address, especially as the risks of sexual exploitation and abuse have increased in the context of the lockdown and resulting isolation of children,” said Dimitri Houbron...

Autism
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Make the world more ‘autism-friendly’, urges committee

21/10/2020 | Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development

The time has come to make the world more ‘autism-friendly’, PACE’s Social Affairs Committee has urged, calling for “person-centred and life-long support” for people with autism and their families. In a resolution based on a report by Sevinj Fataliyeva (Azerbaijan, EC/DA), approved today during a...