The award of the 2023 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, as well as requests for urgent debates on "Humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh" and on "Call for the immediate release of Osman Kavala" will be some (*) of the highlights of the Autumn plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), taking place in Strasbourg from 9 to 13 October 2023.
Other major topics to be debated by the Assembly, which brings together parliamentarians from the 46 Council of Europe member states, include Pegasus and similar spyware and secret state surveillance, as well as a report which examines the legitimacy and legality of the ad hominem term-limit waiver for Russia's incumbent President.
There have also been requests for a debate under urgent procedure on "Ensuring a just peace in Ukraine and lasting security in Europe" and for a current affairs debate on "Migrants' deaths at sea".
Parliamentarians will hold an exchange of views with Didier Reynders, European Commissioner for Justice. Latvian Foreign Minister Krišjānis Kariņš, Chair of the Committee of Ministers, will report on the work of the Council of Europe's executive body, and Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić will hold question time with members.
(*) The Assembly will decide its final agenda on the opening day of the Session.
