The award ceremony for the 2024 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, which honours outstanding human rights defenders worldwide, will be among the highlights of the autumn session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), from 30 September to 4 October. An overall winner will be selected from among three shortlisted candidates. The winner of the 2022 Prize Vladimir Kara-Murza, recently released from detention in Russia, will also make a statement during the ceremony.
Other highlights include debates on the detention and conviction of Julian Assange and their chilling effects on human rights; on propaganda and freedom of information in Europe; and on the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor in Ukraine, when the country is again facing the threat of genocide. There will be a joint debate on a shared European approach to tackle migrant smuggling and on clarifying the fate of missing migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.
The Foreign Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia Timčo Mucunski and new Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset will address the Assembly. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, President of the Committee of Ministers, will present the traditional communication from that body and answer questions from members.
The Assembly will adopt its final agenda on the first day of the session.
