31/12/2021 | President
In an annual end-of-year message, Rik Daems, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, has recalled some of the successes and challenges of 2021. “It is with both setbacks and achievements that we summarise the year 2021. The Covid-19 pandemic still has Europe and the...
09/12/2021 | President
“On this year’s Human Rights Day, as we celebrate the progress made, let us not forget that fundamental rights and freedoms must be respected and advanced also in times of emergency. In responding to our common challenges – such as the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, violence against women, migratory...
09/12/2021 | President
Rik Daems, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), paid an official visit to Luxembourg on 7 December 2021, where he discussed how to further strengthen bilateral relations and to maintain the role of Luxembourg as a pioneer in the development of policies...
06/12/2021 | President
Following a recent working visit to the United Kingdom, which focused on strengthening the role of the UK in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in the post-Brexit era, PACE President Rik Daems highlighted the excellent engagement of the UK Parliament in the Assembly’s work...
30/11/2021 | President
Rik Daems, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), will make a working visit to London on 1 and 2 December 2021. On this occasion, he is due to hold meetings with the Speakers of both Chambers of Parliament, the Minister for Europe and the Americas, the...
18/11/2021 | President
PACE President Rik Daems ended his three-day official visit to Kazakhstan. Congratulating the country on the 30th anniversary of its independence, he particularly focused on strengthening co-operation between the Parliamentary Assembly and Kazakhstan with a view to implementing reforms in the...
18/11/2021 | President
Statement by Rik Daems, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), on the occasion of the European Day on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (18 November 2021) Strasbourg, 18.11.2021 – “Today, on End Child Sex Abuse Day, I call on...
09/11/2021 | President
On 7 November 2021 PACE President Rik Daems took part in a special parliamentary meeting organised by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) on the occasion of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow. He addressed the Advocacy session, which focused on parliamentary action to increase...
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...
08/10/2021 | President
PACE President Rik Daems has ended a three-day working visit to Poland, during which he met the Speakers of both Chambers of the Polish Parliament (Sejm and Senate), held talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau and other senior officials from the government, and held exchanges...
04/10/2021 | President
PACE President Rik Dames today made the following statement: ‘The recent arrests and detentions in Crimea with regard to Crimean Tatars, including the Deputy Head of Mejlis Nariman Dzhelyal, raise serious concerns. This is all the more worrying as some of them, reportedly, were subjected to...