Debate contributions by Alice KUHNKE

Mr President, thank you very much. Everyone knows that a truce does not restore decades of oppression, occupation, broken families and broken future. Everyone knows that a truce does not bring the dead to life, and a truce does not conjure away hatred between people. All those who say they want to put an end to the indiscriminate killing and want peace, they must also want to rebuild Gaza. We need to create the conditions for life in Gaza. We must stop Israel's illegal occupation and we must fight for a two-state solution. It is the only way forward for peace, freedom and security for Palestinians and Israelis.

Mr President, I would like to thank you. The fight for women's rights continues. For the girl who is forced to work instead of going to school, for the woman who is not allowed to leave her home without a man by her side and for you who hides your bruises. We would never be where we are today if it were not for the struggle of our grandmothers and now we must do the same for our sisters and our daughters. And we know that there are forces in this house that want the opposite. They say the private is not political. But you're wrong. And we are many and we are strong and we will continue to burn under our wrath.

Madam President, I would like to thank you for your In the United States, a misogynist anti-democrat will soon be imprisoned in the White House. In Georgia, journalists are beaten by masked men and the Council of Ministers itself has been led for six months by the corrupt despot Orban. We live in a time when anti-democrats inside and outside our Union are challenging what Europe can and should be. And that is precisely why we need courageous and principled leaders who are unquestionably and uncompromisingly defending international law, democracy and human rights, who are fiercely opposing powerful men such as Putin, Netanyahu and Trump. Tomorrow, when the EU Heads of State and Government meet one last time for this year, many of us hope that in words and deeds they will show that they are the leaders we desperately need.

Mr President, I would like to thank you. For over 30 years, Poland's ban on abortion has had horrific consequences for Polish women. For over 30 years, we have accepted that Europe has first- and second-class citizens. We have those who enjoy all human rights and we have those citizens who are deprived of their human rights. Now we have a UN investigation that shows what all of us who fought for abortion rights have known for a long time. Poland's laws seriously and systematically violate women's human rights. Polish women deserve the same rights as everyone else. We need more people to put pressure on the Polish government to ensure that this oppression does not continue.

Mr President, I would like to thank you. We who live in democracies are in the minority, and we are getting fewer and fewer. Seven out of ten of the world's inhabitants live today without the rights and freedoms that many of us take for granted. Dismantling is done through conscious decisions, often by elected politicians. It may seem like small things: An organization criticizes the government and gets suspended funding, a journalist asks uncomfortable questions, is accused of being biased and does not get the opportunity to do interviews, a political resistance is growing stronger, and then the law is changed so that the organization's activities become illegal. This is how democracy is dismantled. Often with arguments about saving the nation from this or that threat. The slow poisoning requires alertness and that we guard our rights and do not passively watch.

Madam President, I would like to thank you for your If we do not act on the complete humanitarian catastrophe that is going on before our eyes, but normalise it, then who are we? What does international law really mean? A rules-based world order, humanity, humanity, empathy. There is so much that the EU Member States could have done a long time ago. Immediately impose an arms embargo on Israel. Pause the Association Agreement. Stop the illegal attacks. Sanction the ministers of the government of Israel who are inciting more violence. Increase aid. Set up UN troops. End the occupation. Ensure that we have a fair and secure two-state solution in place, and of course demand the release of all hostages. The least we can do is make sure we take care of Gaza's sick and injured. It requires decency, it is our moral responsibility.