08/03/2024 Secretary General of the Assembly | Women@PACE
Despina Chatzivassiliou-Tsovilis, Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, participated today, on the occasion of International Women's Rights Day, in a round table organised by the General Council (Parliament) of Andorra.
Speaking to members of the General Council, including the General Syndic (President of Parliament), as well as other Andorran politicians, Ms. Chatzivassiliou-Tsovilis recalled the current unprecedented constellation of five women holding high-ranking roles within the Council of Europe at the same time, adding that equality was on the march, but nothing could be taken for granted: “We need champions to maintain this equality, female role models, as well as men ready to share the positions of responsibility they have held for so long.” She praised the Parliament and the Government of Andorra for having achieved full parity.
Presenting the creation, at her initiative, of the Women@PACE group, which today celebrates its second anniversary, Ms. Chatzivassiliou-Tsovilis recalled that this group was intended to be an informal, apolitical, multi-party platform, open to all women members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, as well as former members.
Its main objective, she explained, is to encourage women to participate more actively in the work of the Assembly, to take their place in the different structures within the Assembly and to address, from a women's point of view, any issue affecting society and falling within the mandate of the Council of Europe. “I am delighted to hear that the General Council also wants to set up a women’s group. I am convinced that together, by uniting all our efforts, we can one day achieve full equality,” she concluded.
During her visit to the Principality, Ms. Chatzivassiliou-Tsovilis was received by the General Syndic, the members of the parliamentary delegation of Andorra to the Assembly, the Secretary General of the General Council, as well as by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Andorra.
