Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

15/09/2026

PACE General Rapporteur on LGBTI rights Kate Osborne MP has condemned the raids, arrests and intimidation targeting LGBTI activists across Türkiye on 12-13 September.

She called on the Turkish authorities to immediately release those detained for defending LGBTI rights and to end attacks on the civil and political rights of human rights defenders and activists.

🔗 Full statement: https://pace.coe.int/en/news/10410/la-rapporteure-generale-de-l-apce-condamne-les-raids-et-les-arrestations-d-activistes-lgbti-en-turkiye

14/09/2026

Europe’s demographic change calls for policies that support people’s rights, choices and empowerment.

PACE’s Social Affairs Committee is calling for stronger family-friendly measures — from affordable childcare and parental leave to flexible work, reproductive health services and housing for young adults — alongside policies supporting active ageing and intergenerational solidarity.

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The demographic change in Europe, marked by low birth rates, population ageing, shrinking cohorts of working-age people and depopulation of rural areas, requires adaptation and mitigation measures “that focus on people’s rights, choices and empowerment”, the Committee on Social Affairs said...

14/09/2026

Diasporas are “inherent, valuable parts of European societies” and can play a key role in strengthening social cohesion and democratic participation, says PACE’s Migration Committee.

The committee calls on European countries to support diaspora engagement, with a particular focus on young people, civic education and participation in political life.

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“The future and legitimacy of European democracy depend on involving everyone, including diasporas and migrants, in democratic processes,” PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons said today, adopting a draft resolution based on a report by Lord Leslie Griffiths (United Kingdo...

11/09/2026

⚖️ Attempts to “threaten and intimidate” judges and prosecutors of the International Criminal Court are an unacceptable attack on their independence, PACE’s Legal Affairs Committee has warned.

The committee expressed its full support for the ICC and called on states to protect the Court and its officials from sanctions, coercive measures and other external threats.

🔗 Read more: https://pace.coe.int/en/news/10405

11/09/2026

🇸🇰 PACE co-rapporteurs Deborah Bergamini and Claude Kern will visit Bratislava from 15 to 17 September to assess how democratic institutions in the Slovak Republic are functioning.

Discussions will focus on checks and balances, political polarisation, media freedom, judicial independence, anti-corruption institutions and the legislative process.

This will be their first fact-finding visit to the country under this mandate.

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Deborah Bergamini (Italy, EPP/CD) and Claude Kern (France, ALDE), co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on “The functioning of democratic institutions in the Slovak Republic”, will make a fact-finding visit to Bratislava from 15 to 17 September. The co...

11/09/2026

Europe is facing its “largest cohort of veterans since the Second World War”.

PACE’s Social Affairs Committee is calling for comprehensive, long-term support for veterans and their families — from healthcare and rehabilitation to employment, housing and social protection.

The report will be debated by the Assembly on 30 September.

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Europe is facing its “largest cohort of veterans since the Second World War”, mainly as a result of Russia’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine, which has created more than two million veterans, PACE’s Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development has said. The...

10/09/2026

🇧🇦 A PACE delegation will visit Bosnia and Herzegovina from 15 to 17 September to assess the election campaign and political climate ahead of the general elections on 4 October.

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A seven-member delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), led by Jone Blikra (Norway, SOC), will make a pre-electoral visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina from 15 to 17 September to assess the election campaign and political climate prior to the general elections on 4...

10/09/2026

"War criminals should not be glorified."

PACE’s Legal Affairs Committee has condemned the glorification of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić, following his funeral in Belgrade, where several high-ranking Serbian officials were present and military honours were accorded to him.

Mladić was convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, including in connection with the 1995 Srebrenica massacre and the siege of Sarajevo.

The committee expressed solidarity with the victims and their families, stressing that denying crimes established by final international judgments or glorifying their perpetrators is incompatible with the values of the Council of Europe.

🔗 Read more: https://pace.coe.int/en/news/10401/convicted-war-criminal-ratko-mladic-should-not-be-glorified-says-pace-committee

10/09/2026

Russian state assets should be used to compensate Ukraine.

Following two rulings by the European Court of Human Rights in inter-State cases brought by Ukraine, which found Russia responsible for serious human rights violations resulting from its war of aggression, PACE’s Legal Affairs Committee has called for Russian state assets to be repurposed to pay Ukraine compensation.

The amount of “just satisfaction” owed by Russia has not yet been determined. But given the unprecedented scale of the damage inflicted on Ukraine, potential awards could reach “billions, tens of billions, or hundreds of billions of euros”, according to the committee.

Around €260 billion in Russian Central Bank assets have been immobilised since Russia’s full-scale invasion, including around €210 billion held in the EU.

Based on a report by PACE rapporteur Tony Vaughan, the committee said repurposing these assets to pay compensation to Ukraine would constitute a lawful countermeasure under international law, and called for a Council of Europe funding mechanism to receive and disburse the funds.

The report is due to be debated by the full Assembly on 30 September.

🔗 Read more: https://pace.coe.int/en/news/10402/russian-assets-should-be-used-to-pay-ukraine-potentially-billions-in-compensation-after-strasbourg-court-rulings