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The summer session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) kicks off today in Strasbourg and will run till June 29.

The Assembly is scheduled to elect new president at today’s session. The Croatian and Slovak prime ministers, as well as the Luxembourg foreign minister are expected to address the PACE members during the session, the Assembly’s official website said.

The deputy prime minister and minister of foreign and European affairs of Croatia, will present the communication from the Committee of Ministers. An exchange of views with the organization’s secretary general is also scheduled.

Among the items on the agenda is the protection of human rights defenders as well as new restrictions on NGO activities in member states.

The Assembly will discuss the humanitarian situation of refugees in the countries neighboring Syria and will hold a joint debate on the extra-territorial processing of asylum claims and the creation of safe refugee shelters abroad as well as the human rights impact of the external dimension of EU asylum and migration policy, with the participation of Dimitrios Vitsas, Minister of Immigration Policy of Greece.

Forced marriage in Europe and the balance between the best interest of the child and the need to keep families together are also scheduled for debate.

Also on the agenda are the persecution of LGBTI people in the Chechen Republic, the deliberate destruction and illegal trafficking of cultural heritage, and women in the economy.

An urgent debate has been requested on “Threats to the health and life of Ukrainian prisoners in the Russian Federation and occupied Crimea”.

The Assembly will decide its final agenda on the opening day of the session.