Speeches

Madam President, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues, the situation is too dramatic to be ignored. That is a shared consensus. All the reports of brutal sexual or gender—based violence, including gang rapes, sexualised torture and ethnically motivated sexual violence leave the world’s public and me, as a woman, shocked. This systematic use of violence, which leaves wounds for generations, must stop. My call to the head of government Abiy Ahmed, and all who are currently in charge or involved in this conflict: do not further manoeuvre yourself and the country into the international sidelines. Do not look for false new international friends. Serious human rights violations cannot be hidden from the eyes of the global public and the judiciary. In the long run, those responsible will certainly be held accountable. This is not a threat. How could I? But in other wars and conflicts and a reminder of what courts are increasingly prepared to do in the future in the context of universal jurisdiction. Therefore, let’s break the deep—seated pattern of human rights violations. Let’s end this war. Let’s improve the humanitarian situation.

Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, On Wednesday we will vote on the PETI report on the protection of persons with disabilities through petitions – title: . ? No, no! Otherwise, my colleague Stelios Kympouropoulos would not have to sit up there while we speak on this podium. The hall is still not barrier-free, wheelchair-accessible, and the podium is still not accessible to all people. And that's not a shame, that's a disgrace to this House! Only at the beginning. Following the EMPL opinion on the PETI report – many, many thanks, ladies and gentlemen – I was shocked to read how much is still at stake and what has not yet been done. The petitioners’ most frequent concerns here are access to information and the environment. Just a week before Ms Ursula von der Leyen's annual State of the Union address to the European Parliament, I was made aware that there was no interpretation into sign language. I immediately went to the translation service and asked for this interpreting service and asked for interpretation. Nothing came back there either. President Sassoli – thank you very much for your initiative – has campaigned for this, unfortunately without success. When this annual State of the Union address was prepared, no request for interpretation into international sign language was made. I ask: Why not? Why were 23 other languages automatically applied for, but not the international sign language? The State of the Union address is a means of informing people living in the EU about the state of play and plans. Should people with hearing impairments not be informed and participate in political processes? I ask you, ladies and gentlemen here in the House, in the Commission and in the Council, to stop always hiding behind these strategies, positions and political half-will. An inclusive European society must be a matter of course and not a formality. The presentation of female athletes in the European Parliament, that is perhaps good willBut it's not inclusion, that's a drop on the hot stone.