Zelenska to address Council of Europe on children's rights in urgent parliamentary debate
With the online participation of the first lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, during the winter session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, a debate will be held under the urgent procedure on the topic " The plight of the children in Ukraine."
Yevhenia Kravchuk, deputy head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy and member of the Ukrainian delegation to PACE, announced this on Facebook.
"We will hold debates under the urgent procedure "The plight of the children in Ukraine" with the online participation of Olena Zelenska. Based on their results, we will vote for the resolution. The main topics: how to return children stolen by Russia and punish the aggressor state and how to help children in Ukraine (educational, medical, humanitarian projects) and seek asylum abroad (compatibility of educational programs, adaptation, and psychological assistance)," she wrote.
Kravchuk noted that she had already arrived in Strasbourg to participate in the PACE winter session.
The deputy added that several vital resolutions will also be voted on during the session:
- "Globalization during crisis and war: the role of the OECD since the beginning of Russian aggression against Ukraine,"
- "The topic of migration and asylum in election campaigns,"
- "Democratic future for Belarus",
- "Guaranteeing media freedom and safety of journalists."
In addition, at a joint meeting of the cultural, monitoring, and political committees, hearings will be held regarding Kravchuk's resolution "Combating the destruction of cultural identity during war and peace."
Kravchuk reminded that on Monday, January 22, the election of the new assembly president will be held.
According to her, the only candidate (approved by the EPP quota) is the Greek politician Theodoros Roussopoulos, who held the position of the head of the Migration Committee before that.
On January 23, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights will be elected.
There are three candidates for this position: Michael O'Flaherty from Ireland, Manfred Novak from Austria, and Meglena Kuneva from Bulgaria.
The deputy noted that everyone strongly supports Ukraine.
The President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, and the Prime Minister of Liechtenstein, Daniel Risch, will also participate in the assembly session with speeches.
It should be noted that in November 2023, the bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe approved the personal composition of the special committee on the situation of children of Ukraine.
It was also reported that on October 12, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) voted to recognize the Holodomor as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian people.
In addition, on June 22, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution on the political consequences of the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
