“Halting the genocide in Gaza – The Council of Europe must act now” and “The urgent need to put an end to the war in Gaza” – these are two of the three urgent debates that have been requested for the summer plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), taking place from 23 to 27 June 2025 in Strasbourg. The third urgent debate will focus on the issue of “Women’s rights in Europe – Progress and challenges”. However, even the cases of Zurab Japaridze, Nika Melia and other people who are politically persecuted in Georgia should be included in current affairs debates. The statement released today with the list of upcoming debates informs that the award ceremony for the Vigdís Prize for Women’s Empowerment will also take place during the session. Scheduled speakers include the Prime Minister of Malta, Robert Abela, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Croatia, Gordan Grlić Radman. Other issues that will be addressed by the Assembly include human rights in the context of the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine; political negotiations for the exchange and release of prisoners of war; social mobilisation, social unrest and police reaction in Council of Europe member states; saving migrants’ lives at sea and protecting their rights; and the needs of public and private actors involved in migration management.