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- Ελληνικά
The European Conference of Speakers of the Parliaments of the Member States of the Council of Europe, in which the President of the House of Representatives, Mrs Anita Demetriou, participated, concluded today at noon in Dublin.
Today, on the second day of the Conference, the Speaker of the Parliament participated in a debate on equality and multiculturalism in public representation and the participation of young people, women and ethnic and social groups as parliamentary representatives. The President noted that in order to promote inclusive representation in national parliaments, an environment must first be created that encourages rather than discourages women, young people and other underrepresented groups from participating in public life. He stressed in this regard that the highly toxic and unregulated social media environment where elected representatives are targeted on a daily basis should be regulated, the spread of fake news and populism should be combated, and conditions should be created to better promote, encourage and support young people and other underrepresented groups in public life, as well as to highlight positive role models.
National parliaments, he stressed, have a particularly important role to play by adopting the appropriate legislative framework to combat, inter alia, sexual harassment, domestic violence, hate speech and misinformation, and by, internal rules of operation, such as the Code of Principles and Standards of Conduct, which governs the rules of conduct of Members of the College, both in the performance of their duties and in their general presence in society.
The President of the House also referred to the initiatives and actions undertaken by the House of Representatives to strengthen participatory democracy and the promotion of the work of the House in civil society. She also noted the importance of working with Independent Authorities and taking corrective measures where and when appropriate to ensure the renewal of the political body and gender equality.
The Speaker of the House also praised the work of the CPA in terms of promoting equality and combating discrimination for a more inclusive society, stressing that the House will continue to support all efforts in this direction. He made particular reference to the Council of Europe's revised Charter of European Political Parties for a non-racist and inclusive society, noting that a resolution on the subject is being submitted to the Plenary of the House of Representatives for adoption, which will be binding on all contracting political parties.
We need to build more resilient and democratic societies that open doors and offer equal opportunities to those who dare to pursue their dreams.
(Text as sent from the House of Representatives)
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