11/04/2019 | 18:17:24 First, I thank Ms Petra De SUTTER for her work in preparing the report and for her commitment to the ideals of the protection of human rights, which we share. Having said that, I must observe as head of the Greek delegation that in its original form, at least, this report on a very sensitive and important matter was flawed. There were strong objections to many points included in the draft resolution. With systematic efforts, some of these major issues have already been largely corrected in... 10/04/2019 | 11:16:57 Hate speech and intolerance under the definition given by the Council of Europe – that is: the “use of expressions that spread, incite, promote or justify racial hatred, xenophobia, antisemitism or other forms of hatred” – unfortunately describes a great percentage of the public discourse in Europe nowadays. This phenomenon is jeopardising social ties and empathy while undermining all the public institutions that rely on minimum social solidarity to exist. One may say that hate speech is the... 09/04/2019 | 18:09:13 It is a sad fact indeed that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the democratic voice of the peoples of the Council of Europe, is forced in 2019 to debate the suppression of women’s rights through sexism that extends even to the point of sexual harassment in several European parliaments. Politics is by default a highly antagonistic arena, and traditionally the majority in politics are men. As that stereotype is being challenged by female politicians all over the world...