Seimas Delegation participates in the PACE session

Press release, 22 January 2024 

On 22 January 2024, the Winter Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) opened in Strasbourg, French Republic, with the attendance of the Lithuanian parliamentary representatives, including Emanuelis Zingeris, Head of the Seimas Delegation to the PACE; Arminas Lydeka, Deputy Head of the Delegation; and Lukas Savickas, Member of the Delegation.

The PACE Session is to begin with the election of the President and the Vice-President of the PACE. The Presidents of Cyprus and Montenegro and the Prime Minister of Liechtenstein will deliver their addresses. During the Session, parliamentarians will elect the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe and judges to the European Court of Human Rights from the list of candidates submitted by the Member States of the Council of Europe. Lithuania has nominated three candidates, namely, Lyra Jakulevičienė, Gediminas Sagatis and Edita Žiobienė.

The topical discussions will focus on the recent developments in the Middle East, particularly Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel and Israel’s response, and the situation of the children of Ukraine.

‘At this Winter Session, we will scrupulously examine and evaluate the crimes committed by the international war criminal, Vladimir Putin, and his clique. On the basis of the report by the Italian politician, Piero Fassino, we will also consider the mass rapes of Israeli Jewish women by the international terrorist organisation Hamas on 7 October 2023,’ said Mr Zingeris pointing out that the Seimas had become the first parliament in the world to condemn Hamas’ attacks by adopting a Resolution of 10 October 2023 on terrorist attacks and military aggression against the State of Israel.

The Members of the Seimas Delegation will give their insights on the democratic future of Belarus, the situation in Israel, and the role of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in the face of the Russian aggression. The Lithuanian parliamentarians are planning to meet with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, leader of the Belarusian Democratic Opposition, who will take part in the discussion on The Democratic Future of Belarus.

Tautvydas Krilavičius, Adviser, International Relations Unit, Office of the Seimas, tel. +370 209 6227, e-mail: [email protected]

Monika Kutkaitytė Adviser, Press Office, Information and Communication Department, tel. +370 209 6666, e-mail: [email protected]