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Ingjerd Schou (Norway, EPP/CD)

Current affairs debate on ‘Budget and priorities of the Council of Europe and follow-up to the Reykjavík...

28/11/2023 | Standing Committee

“It is time to shoulder our responsibility to implement the Reykjavik priorities. This means re-doubling our efforts to modernise our Organisation, make it more efficient, more ‘green’ and more responsive to the expectations of our citizens. We must be responsible and frugal, and we must...

Aleksander Pociej (Poland, EPP/CD)

Current affairs debate on ‘Spiral of violence and humanitarian crisis in the Middle-East: Finding a...

28/11/2023 | Standing Committee

“In this fast-moving and volatile situation, our Assembly must do everything it can to contribute to finding a peaceful end to the spiral of violence and the terrible humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which UNICEF has named as the most dangerous place on earth to be a child today”, Aleksander Pociej...

Heritable genome editing in human beings
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PACE recommends ‘a clear and total prohibition’ on pregnancies with genetically modified human embryos

28/11/2023 | Standing Committee

The PACE Standing Committee, meeting in Vaduz, today recommended that the Committee of Ministers call on member states to embrace a “a clear and total prohibition” of establishing a pregnancy with genetically modified germ line cells or human embryos, “by introducing legislation at the national...

Roma and Travellers
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Combating institutional racism of law enforcement authorities against Roma and Travellers

28/11/2023 | Standing Committee

The PACE Standing Committee, meeting in Vaduz, today expressed its concern about police brutality against Roma and Travellers in Europe, including inhuman and degrading treatment, torture, excessive use of force, and violence resulting in some cases in the victim’s death. The parliamentarians...

The Hungarian Parliament
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Hungary should submit the bill on the ‘defence of national sovereignty’ to the Venice Commission, PACE...

27/11/2023 | Monitoring

The co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Hungary by PACE, Eerik-Niiles Kross (Estonia, ALDE) and George Papandreou (Greece, SOC), have made the following statement: “We were informed that the Hungarian Parliament has started to examine a bill on the ‘defence of national sovereignty’, as well as...

Early parliamentary elections in Serbia: PACE pre-electoral observers note highly polarised campaign, urge...

27/11/2023 | Election observation

A team of PACE pre-election observers, ending a two-day visit to Serbia, has noted a highly polarised campaign ahead of next month’s early parliamentary elections, marked by an unprecedented level of negative campaigning and fearmongering, attacks against the opposition and journalists and...

Violence against women
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PACE President and General Rapporteur on Violence against Women: women must be empowered for violence to end

23/11/2023 | Equality and Non-Discrimination

“Violence against women and girls is still one of the most serious human rights violations across Europe and throughout the world, deeply rooted as it is in multiple forms of gender inequality and discrimination. Despite progress, better laws and better policies in many countries, women’s rights...

 Ulvi Hasanli, Abzas Media

PACE rapporteurs call on the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately release Ulvi Hasanli

22/11/2023 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights

Hannah Bardell (United Kingdom, NR), PACE rapporteur on “Threats to life and safety of journalists and human rights defenders in Azerbaijan”; Mogens Jensen (Denmark, SOC), PACE General Rapporteur on media freedom and safety of journalists; and Sunna Aevarsdottir (Iceland, SOC), PACE General...

Transgender day of remembrance
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Putting an end to transphobic violence, discrimination and hatred

20/11/2023 | Equality and Non-Discrimination

"20 November is a day to honour the memory of transgender victims of hatred. They are discriminated against and persecuted around the world, victims of harassment, physical and psychological violence and hate crimes," stated Christophe Lacroix (Belgium, SOC), General Rapporteur of the Assembly on...

Baku / Azerbaijan

PACE monitor to visit Azerbaijan

20/11/2023 | Monitoring

Lise Christoffersen (Norway, SOC), one of the PACE co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Azerbaijan, will make a fact-finding visit to the country on 20-21 November, to further assess the honouring of its obligations and commitments to the Council of Europe, since the adoption of PACE Resolution...

Addressing sexual violence against children
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‘Learning from the victims and survivors of sexual abuse can help to keep other children safe’

17/11/2023 | President

Statement by PACE President Tiny Kox to mark the European Day on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (18 November): “Today I am calling on policy-makers everywhere to listen to, and learn from, the victims and survivors of childhood sexual violence when...

PACE Secretary General at the Youth Space 2023 Conference in Berlin
©Deutscher Bundestag/ Photothek.de/ Thomas Köhler

PACE Secretary General: ‘If we want to rethink and innovate democracy, young people must be heard and...

16/11/2023 | Secretary General of the Assembly

“We need to rethink and innovate democracy” so that it is equipped to tackle the problems of today and, at the same time, is ready to face the challenges of tomorrow. “We can only achieve this if young people are heard and involved, on an equal footing and in a balanced way, in the political...