18/09/2015 President
Following her audience with His Holiness Pope Francis at the Vatican today, Anne Brasseur, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), made the following statement:
“In the course of my discussion with Pope Francis, I expressed my conviction that our absolute priority must be to deal with Europe’s migration crisis. Faced with the explosive combination of an economic crisis, a massive influx of refugees and the rise of extremist parties, we must put in place policies which say no to hatred. Otherwise, our democracies themselves will be under direct threat”, said Ms Brasseur.
“The No Hate Parliamentary Alliance launched by the Assembly last January brings together parliamentarians in the member states who pledge to adopt firm and proactive public positions against racism, hatred and intolerance. I would like this alliance to be extended to other international bodies, such as the European Parliament and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, as well as to figures in the voluntary sector, sport and religion. I was honored that His Holiness agreed to support our No Hate Parliamentary Alliance.
When His Holiness addressed the Council of Europe in November 2014, he spoke of the ‘globalisation of indifference’. I would add that we are now confronted with a globalisation of rejection which we must overcome in order to move towards a globalisation of solidarity in defence of the most vulnerable.
We have a responsibility to join forces, despite our religious, cultural, national or historical differences, to defend the values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, which are more threatened than ever”, she concluded.