11/10/2022 | 19:06:26 Thank you Chair. Dear colleagues. Each type of phobia is a disease in itself and is undesirable. However, phobias against entire nations, races and religions are already a social and very dangerous disease. The targets of racism – these ploys [which are] designed to create deep conflict in society – are appallingly broad. If there are approximately 1.72 billion Muslims in the world and they live in over 120 countries, then these numbers already clearly display the magnitude of the scale... 10/10/2022 | 16:53:25 Thank you, Chair. Dear Colleagues, For almost 30 years Azerbaijan has faced great hypocrisy and lies. It was an international hypocrisy that lasted almost 30 years, thus having prevented Azerbaijan from clearing its occupied lands from the invaders. Nonetheless, everything comes to the end sooner or later. In the fall of 2020, Azerbaijan had its final say in the war against Armenia and liberated its occupied lands within 44 days without the intervention of any foreign forces. Forces that... 10/10/2022 | 13:03:12 (Undelivered speech, Rules of Procedure Art. 31.2) As always, the part-session starts with the presentation of a Progress Report, and this is the 80th time I have been witnessing a new report. Certainly, there have been hundreds of such reports previously, and they have been prepared on the basis of similar and uniform criteria. Because we have fixed ideas about the very concept of progress, and we usually base our work on these stereotyped approaches. However, over the past 30 years, the... 24/06/2022 | 11:19:26 Thank you, Madam Chair. Dear Colleagues. There is no good war. Because any war destroys, ruins human lives and brings tears. Therefore, the wise saying of the ancient Roman philosopher Cicero expressed 21 centuries ago remains valid today that a bad peace is better than a good war. In 2017, we witnessed an event bearing important historical and symbolic meaning. A tram line has been opened between our long-time native Strasbourg and the German city of Kehl. I confess, I welcomed this event... 23/06/2022 | 17:43:53 Thank you, Mister President, dear colleagues, First of all, on behalf of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, I would like to start by thanking the Rapporteur Mr Jacques MAIRE for this very important report. The Council of Europe has long ago overstepped the limit of being a purely European organisation. For several years, a number of non-European countries have been directly participating in the meetings of the Assembly and actively co-operating with the Council of Europe. From... 22/06/2022 | 11:10:17 Thank you, Madam Chair. Dear Colleagues, I am proud that in my country Azerbaijan, mosques, churches and synagogues are side by side, and there is no need to keep armed guards near any of them. It is the case now; it has been the case for centuries. The famous 12th century Jewish traveller, Benjamin of Tudela, said that there were 1 000 synagogues in Azerbaijan at that time. However, this figure is clear evidence of how close the Jews had been integrated into Azerbaijani society in the Middle... 21/06/2022 | 17:36:51 Thank you, Chair. Dear Colleagues, The strongest man in the world cannot tear a sheet of paper by pulling it wider. However, fold this sheet a few times, then smooth it out and give it to a child. The child will easily tear the already folded paper. So is society. It is difficult until the hard layer collapses. Once a crack has formed, it gradually deepens and causes new cracks to form. Serious security threats in Europe require decisive action to make the future more certain. Europe is... 21/06/2022 | 16:22:38 Thank you, President. Dear Minister, It is commendable that not only the presnt but also the future of democracy and, in this context, attention to the future of Europe, children, youth, and global education are among the priorities of the Irish chairmanship. The younger generation of journalists in member States is an important tool that can be a bridge in this direction, but they also need to improve their professionalism constantly in order to become a worthful force in the democratic... 20/06/2022 | 12:38:38 Thank you President. Dear colleagues, As I reflect on this Progress Report, I would like to reflect not only on the work done and the achievements gained since the last part-session but also on how the Assembly has passed the previous period of the pandemic, to assess the difficult and testing path that we have left behind. Because today, for the first time in the past two years, we are all working at full capacity, visually, without masks, in a pre-pandemic mode. This marks the end of an... 28/04/2022 | 16:50:02 Thank you, President. Dear colleagues, The most undesirable trend that undermines democracy in Europe and in the world is double standards, which directly contradict the concept of democracy. Unfortunately, we, in my country, have been witnessing this for the last 30 years, and I regret to stress that we have experienced this concern also here in the Council of Europe. The loss of democracy, which we call a different approach with its various manifestations, now suddenly ignites even in the...