What Pierrette spoke about.

Mr President, in February 2020, we adopted a resolution on the abolition of female genital mutilation. In 2021, our German minister presented here in the European Parliament the protection letter, to protect girls from the diaspora when they travel to Africa. On 18 March 2024, the Gambian Parliament debated a proposal to repeal the national law banning female genital mutilation. If this bill is pa

Madam President, the renewed violence in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo risks destabilising the entire Great Lakes region, but also that of the SADC countries. Despite mediation efforts, the dialogue between the DRC and Rwanda aimed at relaunching the peace process is stalling. The belligerents remain in their position and persist in refusing to negotiate. They seem unwilling

Mr President, in central Nigeria, the villages of Plateau state are in mourning after the Christmas Eve killings. Armed groups attacked some 20 villages, killing more than 160 people and injuring at least 300. Residents are still missing. However, the motive for this attack, on an unprecedented scale, remains uncertain, even though most of the victims are Christians. These despicable attacks disru

Mr. Speaker, in times of crisis and war, women and girls are often particularly exposed and vulnerable. They are therefore subject to violence, and we are surprised that rape does not appear in the catalogue of priorities and, above all, in the directive. My question is, first of all: How do you ensure that the particular vulnerability of women who are victims of intersectional discrimination is t

Madam President, We must work together and resolutely against Islamophobia and anti-Semitic attacks. Discrimination based on religious beliefs has no place in our world. Hatred threatens our society and democracy by undermining freedom of expression. Both the Muslim and Jewish communities are not only part of our society, but have also shaped it significantly and made an important contribution to

– Madam President, more than 14 million Sudanese are living in emergency food insecurity as a result of the conflict that has ravaged this country for years. According to the latest estimates, more than 6 million people are at risk of starvation, or half of the population. The country has sunk into a staggering economic slump and communities are collapsing. The food security situation in Sudan was

Madam President, during the round table organised in Parliament on indigenous peoples and local communities by the late colleague Michèle Rivasi, the communities of Maasai alerted us to their plight. They accuse the government of wanting to evict them from their ancestral lands in favour of elite tourism: trophy hunting. The aim is to transform their habitat into safari or private hunting areas. T

Mr President, violence against women is the most shared human rights violation in the world, with around one in three women experiencing violence at least once in their lives, in the form of beatings and injuries, sexual harassment, or in the worst case, femicide or so-called ‘honour killing’. And it is all these forms that we are witnessing in Europe. In addition, child pornography, trafficking a

Madam President, if we do not develop measures to accelerate the pace, we will not achieve the SDGs by 2030. Halfway through, we see a clear failure. Achieving the implementation of this 17-goal agenda, which aims to create a safe world, requires stepping up efforts to reduce poverty, eradicate hunger, create decent jobs, provide access to quality education, achieve universal health coverage and g

Madam President, sexism, racism, homophobia are the discriminations that athletes face. But sport also helps to combat discrimination. The most symbolic example remains the fist lifted by African-American athletes at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. Since then, a lot of water has flowed under bridges. The media coverage of the Women's Cup has given a new dimension and opens the debate. Rubia

Mr President, one year has passed since Mahsa Amini was murdered because of an unveiled strand of hair. For exactly 44 years, women have been the targets of the authoritarian regime, of this morality police who want to rule their lives and muzzle an entire people. One year later, nothing has changed. More than 20,000 protesters have been imprisoned as a result of peaceful protests; Torture and abu

Mr President, the European Union and Tunisia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to limit immigration from the African continent to Europe. This agreement, although it aims to save lives and put a brake on criminal smugglers, does not correspond to reality. Indeed, the ocean becomes the cemetery of all migrants. Hundreds of migrants are stranded in distress on the border between Tunisia and

Mr President, this report allows us to draw lessons and exposes our responsibility to the global South and to all those who have also suffered from this pandemic. African countries do not want charity, but the ability to produce their own vaccines. Renunciation of intellectual property rights is essential. During our missions to Africa, most countries lamented the lack of recognition of the tradit

Madam President, the war in Sudan is having a negative impact on the most vulnerable populations, especially children. Since 15 April, the conflict in Sudan has claimed thousands of lives. According to the latest estimates, seven children are killed or injured every hour since the clashes began. More than 13.6 million children are in need of humanitarian assistance in the area of health. Indeed, t

Mr President! Vanessa Nakate is a Ugandan climate activist. She describes the consequences of climate change in her book ‘Africa’s voice in the climate crisis’. On the back of the book is a quote from Greta Thunberg. It reads as follows: “Vanessa reminds us that while we may all have fallen into the same storm, we are not all in the same boat”. The climate crisis is real, the consequences are alre

Mr President, the MeToo movement founded by Tarana Burke in 2006 to support and strengthen young African-American women who have survived sexual violence has spread around the world. Thus, many victims took the floor to break the silence by telling their stories of sexual violence. These testimonies have led to new policies and legislation to prevent and combat all forms of sexual harassment, not

Madam President, the fierce fighting between the army and the paramilitaries fighting for power in Sudan has turned the country into a bonfire. At the origin of the conflict, the rivalry between two former allies who use this war to satisfy their personal ambitions of thirst for power. In the Committee on Development, we referred to the multiple humanitarian consequences of this new conflict, whic

Madam President, the Istanbul Convention is the first instrument in Europe to establish legal standards to combat violence against women. This debate on the ratification of the Istanbul Convention, as we celebrate Europe Day, is a historic event that will go down in the annals of our history. Tomorrow will be a great day. We therefore welcome this legal act, which has been ratified by the majority

Monsieur le Président, plus de la moitié des objets culturels qui font l’objet d’un trafic se trouvent en Europe. This is not by chance. This is the result of common history. When we talk about the illegal trade in cultural goods, we have to talk about topics such as colonialism, its consequences and the restitution of cultural goods – topics that are sought in vain in the European Commission's Ac

Madam President, the young Yahaya Aminu Sharif is a singer who, in a song, allegedly criticised the prophet of Islam and published the result on social media in August 2020, which led to him being sentenced to death by hanging for blasphemy. Blasphemy laws are laws that, in practice, run counter to human rights. Since his conviction, the 24-year-old has been living in suspense – will the sentence

Mr President, the situation in the Mediterranean is reaching a critical stage and is bordering on a human tragedy. If we do not act, since shipwrecks at sea follow one another at an unprecedented rate, let us not allow the Mediterranean to become a maritime cemetery for all refugees. People in distress have the right to be saved. It is a moral obligation of all the Member States of the European Un

I'm going back to Erasmus+. Do young people living here among us, but who do not have a European nationality, have access to Erasmus+? Do they have the opportunity to participate in this program? This is a question I have been asked everywhere. I know that this has been extended to African countries and I also said it two weeks ago in Kenya. But those who are here in the European Union, that is th

Madam President, in 2022, the European Year of Youth gave rise to a series of initiatives and events in which we participated by inviting young people from our Member State, especially from the Erlangen-Nuremberg region, and also from Belgium. And we have written many articles about it. All these young people want to be involved in decision-making, but they also want to know the opportunities avai

Mr President, as a black woman, elderly, living with a disability, which may not be seen at first sight, the disability of life, I know what it is like to live with and suffer at all times not only discrimination, but also discrimination from people who are not expected to. That is why this directive that I have been hearing about for years – I have been hearing about this directive for 15 years –

Madam President, the situation of sexual and reproductive rights defenders is serious in Poland. Yesterday, March 14, activist Justyna Wydrzyńska appeared in court. She is accused of illegally helping a woman to have an abortion. Justyna was sentenced to eight months of community service for illegal abortion assistance by the Polish court. Human rights defenders are calling for the right to aborti