The fate of Ukrainian military and civilian prisoners of war is on the agenda of the PACE autumn session
The issue of the release of all Ukrainian military and civilian prisoners, as well as the resolution for the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor, are key topics that will be discussed during the autumn session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which will start in Strasbourg on September 30.
The Ukrainian delegation is also organizing an event on the sidelines of the session, dedicated to the issue of torture and deaths of Ukrainian prisoners of war and illegally held civilians in Russian captivity. Testimonies at the event will be given by former prisoners, including the Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Nariman Dzhelal, and Ukrainian military officer Mykyta Shastun, who survived the terror attack in Olenivka.
In addition, the first meeting of the newly created Ukrainian Children’s Aid Network, which aims to support children affected by the war, will be held on Tuesday. It will also be the first speech of the new Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berse, who will present his vision of the organization’s work.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Gabrielus Landsbergis, Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, will also address the participants of the Assembly, outlining the plans for further cooperation of the member states in the protection of human rights.
One of the important topics of discussion will be propaganda and freedom of information in Europe, based on the results of which a resolution will be adopted. During the session, the Vaclav Havel Award 2024 awarding ceremony will also take place, which honors outstanding human rights defenders. During the event, the laureate of 2022, Russian oppositionist Volodymyr Kara-Murza, who was recently released from a Russian prison, will speak.
Also, as the head of the Ukrainian delegation to the PACE Maria Mezentseva-Fedorenko reported, a resolution on the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war has already been registered, and a document on the release of civilian hostages illegally held by Russia is being prepared.
