PACE autumn plenary session kicks off today
Addresses by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and the Speaker of the Russian State Duma Sergey Naryshkin will be among highlights of PACE’s forthcoming autumn plenary session (30 September-4 October 2013), PACE website reports.
Also on the agenda are debates on national security and access to information, on the functioning of democratic institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and on children’s right to physical integrity. There have been requests for urgent debates on the situation in Syria, and on the EU’s human rights agenda.
OECD Secretary General Angel Gurría will address the Assembly in the framework of an annual debate on the OECD’s activities, while Peter Maurer, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), will speak in a debate on missing persons from Europe’s conflicts.
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, Chairperson of the Committee of Ministers, will present the traditional communication to the Assembly and answer members’ questions. Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland is also due to address the parliamentarians.
On the first day of the session, a ceremony will also be held to award the first ever Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, which rewards outstanding civil society action in defence of human rights in Europe and beyond.