Bayr Champions Human Rights and Global Justice at PACE Spring Session

Bayr Champions Human Rights and Global Justice at PACE Spring Session

A significant portion of Bayr’s address focused on internal integrity and accountability, particularly concerning the criminal Epstein network.

Raman Media Network Political Desk
New Delhi | April 21, 2026

Petra Bayr, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), opened the assembly’s spring plenary session in Strasbourg with a powerful demand for principled European leadership. Addressing the gathered parliamentarians, Bayr warned that international law and democratic norms are currently being “openly” and “shamelessly” challenged on a global scale. She emphasized that human rights must never be treated as “optional” and challenged leaders to ensure Europe remains a place where such rights are both defended and actively advanced.

As part of her call for “firm action,” Bayr reaffirmed the Assembly’s “total solidarity” with Ukraine. She specifically advocated for the rapid establishment of a special tribunal to prosecute the war of aggression and the creation of a fund to compensate Ukrainians for damages suffered during the conflict. Her remarks extended beyond Europe, noting that the Assembly must maintain its principles regarding the war in Iran and the discriminatory expansion of the death penalty by the Israeli Knesset.

A significant portion of Bayr’s address focused on internal integrity and accountability, particularly concerning the criminal Epstein network. She noted potential links between the network and a former Council of Europe Secretary General, declaring that the Assembly would not be silent about the associated corruption and exploitation. Bayr demanded “full justice” for every victim of trafficking, rape, and toxic misogyny.

The spring session features a diverse legislative agenda, including:

• Tracking proceeds of crime, specifically referencing the work of Sergei Magnitsky.
• Combating labour exploitation and social dumping.
• Copyright enforcement and the election of judges to the European Court of Human Rights.

President Bayr, an Austrian representative from the Socialists, Democrats and Greens group, has led the Assembly since her election in January 2026. She continues to frame the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine as a direct attack on the foundations of the European peace order.