Speeches

Dear Member of the European Parliament, Rule 178(2) of the Rules of Procedure, to which you referred, reads as follows: ‘No Member may speak unless the President has given him or her the floor. If the speaker deviates from the subject, the President shall discipline the speaker." I advise you to read the Regulations and quote the number and provision in the Regulations that allows you to perform in any mode in this room. You spoke out of order. I thought something special had happened. Rule 178 is completely different in the Rules of Procedure. I close the debate.

I remind you that you are also bound by the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament – Rule 10(3). Therefore, for the future, all kinds of banners, inscriptions, as currently on your T-shirt, are unacceptable.

The next item is the debate on the statement by the Council and the Commission on the protection of international justice and its institutions, in particular the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice (2025/2555(RSP)).

The next sitting will be tomorrow, Thursday 23 January 2025, beginning at 10 a.m. 9.00. The agenda has been published. It is available on the website of the European Parliament.

Mr. Speaker, please put on the phone. Are you on the point of protecting whales, or do you want to talk about democracy on that point today? Because if you want to talk about democracy, that's not the point on the agenda. Then talk about it.

The next item is the Commission statement on stepping up international efforts to protect whales following Iceland's decision to extend commercial whaling until 2029 (2025/2513(RSP)).

The next item is the debate on seven motions for resolutions on the systematic violation of human rights in Iran, in particular the cases of Pakshan Azizi and Vrisza Moradi and the hostage-taking of European Union citizens (2025/2511(RSP)).

The next item is the report by Andrzej Buła and Younous Omarjee, on behalf of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs and the Committee on Regional Development, on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on RESTORE – regional emergency recovery support, amending Regulation (EU) 2021/1058 and Regulation (EU) 2021/1057 (COM(2024)0496 - C10-0147/2024 - 2024/0275(COD)) (A10-0031/2024).

The next item is the report by Alex Agius Saliba, on behalf of the Committee on Petitions, on the activities of the European Ombudsman – annual report 2023 (2024/2056(INI))

Madam President, thank you very much. Ladies and Gentlemen, 35 years ago, a new era of children's rights began in the world. The UN Convention is more than a set of rules. It's a promise. The promise we adults have made to children around the world that their rights will be protected, their voices heard and their needs taken with the utmost seriousness. In launching this debate as the European Parliament's Coordinator on Children's Rights, I wanted it not only to be an occasion for symbolic celebration, but a reason for deep reflection on children and their rights. Let us remember – pride in achievements should never overshadow what remains to be done. Too many children still live in the shadow of war, violence, hunger and poverty. We should not accept a world in which children are victims of wars they do not cause, conflicts they do not understand, decisions they do not make. We have seen children fleeing bombs in Ukraine, starving in Africa, drowning in the Mediterranean, and, perhaps above all, the problems of children in our own communities who experience domestic violence, poverty or lack of psychological support. Unfortunately, they all pay the price of adult decisions. It is therefore essential to implement the Convention fully – without exceptions or compromises – in each country. Protecting children from exploitation both in the real world and online. Fighting poverty. Creating a space where children are treated as rights holders, with the voice we want and need to hear. I call for all of us – politicians, social organisations, international institutions – to be involved in creating a world where every child has the chance to live a safe, healthy and happy life. Children don't need big statements from us. They need our action. Ladies and Gentlemen, Let us go down in history as those who protected our youngest citizens not by words but by deeds.