Today at 15:00
Today, April 20, in Strasbourg (France), the spring session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has begun. A number of important debates and the adoption of resolutions are expected, which will concern the creation of a special tribunal regarding the crimes of the Russian Federation, the Register of Damage and a compensation mechanism, as well as the frozen assets of the aggressor state. This was reported on Facebook by a member of parliament and member of the Ukrainian delegation to PACE, Yevheniia Kravchuk, UATV English informs.
“For Ukraine, this session is an opportunity to keep at the center of attention the issues of Russia’s accountability, justice for the victims, and decisions that are long overdue,” Yevheniia Kravchuk emphasized.
During the spring session, debates will take place on the topic “Accountability and justice: a call to strengthen efforts to create a Special Tribunal on the crime of aggression against Ukraine.” And this, according to Kravchuk, is one of the topics that will receive special attention this week.
“Debates are also planned on violence and hate speech against politicians. Separately — debates on the protection of freedom of religion and belief in Europe. I also joined the preparation of the relevant report and resolution so that the document includes the Ukrainian experience and our understanding of how the aggressor state can use religion as a tool of pressure and persecution,” said the member of the Ukrainian delegation.
She will also take part in the side event “How the Russkiy Mir works: the ideology and practices of hybrid aggression against Europe.” It will include representatives of the Swedish and Polish delegations, as well as representatives of the Belarusian democratic opposition.
“We will talk about how the ideology of the ‘Russian world’ is transformed into concrete instruments of hybrid aggression against European states: disinformation, interference in elections, etc.,” Kravchuk emphasized.
Before the Assembly, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Noël Barrot and the Chair of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Denis Bećirović will speak. Communication of participants with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Alain Berset is planned. In addition, on the sidelines of the PACE session, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O’Flaherty will present his annual report.
Let us recall, in February the delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe visited Kyiv.
Read also: ‘Drone sanctions’ inflict noticeable losses on Russia but don’t halt war financing – expert
