Share :

Download PDF :

Panorama (11 March 2019)

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) holds its spring session in Strasbourg on 8 to 12 April 2019, with addresses expected by Prime Ministers of Armenia and Georgia NIkol Pashinyan and Mamuka Bakhtadze.

There will be a joint debate on strengthening co-operation with the UN and implementation of the sustainable development goals, with the possible participation of the UN Secretary-General, the PACE website reports.

The Assembly will also hold a joint debate on stopping hate speech and acts of hatred in sport, as well as the role of political leaders in combating hate speech.

Other topics to be discussed include promoting parliaments free of sexism and sexual harassment, the implications for human rights of social media, and a report on balancing the rights of parents, donors and children during the anonymous donation of sperm and oocytes.

The Assembly will also look at so-called “laundromats” and new challenges in combating organised crime and money-laundering, and will discuss its view on the creation of a new EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights.

The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights will present her annual activity report for 2018 and take questions, while there will be the usual exchange of views with the current head of the Council of Europe’s ministerial body, Finnish Foreign Affairs Minister Timo Soini, and question time with Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland.

https://www.panorama.am/en/news/2019/03/11/Pashinyan-PACE-session/2084197