Debate contributions by Rosa ESTARÀS FERRAGUT

Mr. President, in these weeks, Iranian society has risen up across the country to demand future, dignity, justice and equality. The repression of the tyrannical regime has been brutal: thousands and thousands of fatalities, torture, injuries, detainees and so on. I want to focus on the courage and tenacity of Iranian women: they are on the front line of the mobilisations and are a priority subject of the oppressive regime; Let's remember Mahsa Amini. They are determined to fight for their rights. Gender-based violence is widespread there. Forced and early marriage is a reality. They are paid five times less than men. His word is worth half, just like inheritances. They have no freedom, no political rights and no control over their clothing – I've watched it since the age of nine. It is also a regime that hangs homosexuals. When you attack a woman, you attack all of us. The answer can never be silence. Let's raise our voices. It is not understood how some left-wing parties prioritize the ideological framework over a clear condemnation of the regime. The left goes on tiptoe and the defense of human rights can never be à la carte.

Mr President, a tsunami of cases of harassment of women in the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party has toured my country, Spain. The me too The PSOE is advancing by leaps and bounds. A former adviser to Moncloa – from the team closest to the president – accused of harassment: five months the complaints have been in a drawer; Nothing has been investigated until the press has reported it. A mayor of a town in Andalusia, denounced for harassment: It is difficult to pronounce the testimony of the victims without being ashamed. The secretary general of the Socialist Party in Torremolinos also received complaints of harassment. The victim brought this protocol to his attention in June, but it did not work; She put it back in October, it didn't work either, and she had to go to the Prosecutor's Office alone in November because the PSOE didn't do anything. The secretary general of the Socialist Party in Galicia also went to see him for a complaint of harassment and his response was: And what do you want me to do? They are not isolated cases, it is a way of proceeding that indicates a degraded internal ecosystem. The problem is the answer given by the Socialist Party, always with the same pattern: Initial silence, deliberate inaction, forbidden calculation, looking the other way, no victims... because it matters more to protect the party than the victims after saying to the rest of the women "sister, I do believe you" and "silence is complicit". We do not go to the Prosecutor's Office more than when the aggressors are from the PP and we do not only act when the press takes it out. They try to collectivize guilt. Sanchism has humiliated equality. The forcefulness disappears, the indignation and feminism are diluted...

Mr President, Commissioner, the horizontal anti-discrimination directive has been - as you have said here - for more than 17 years in a drawer, blocked by the Council, to which we ask you to unblock it, because it is imperative to bet on the defence of human rights. I know that the Commissioner has made a superlative effort to be able to put this issue back on the Commission's agenda and I thank her very much. We need it to be unblocked because it guarantees equal protection against all forms of discrimination in the European Union and improves complaint mechanisms and access to justice, facilitates inclusion, increases legal certainty and, in addition, contemplates both direct and indirect, multiple and cross-sectoral discrimination and, therefore, what we do is prepare the anti-discrimination framework throughout the European Union with good armor. They know that there is discrimination on the grounds of religion, age – young people and older people are being discriminated against more than ever before – or sexual orientation. In relation to the latter, there is a very vulnerable group subject to discrimination, because hate crimes have been on the rise and this group is the target of many of them. That has to worry us and, in addition, occupy us with being able to approve this Directive that, together with the Strategy for the Equality of LGBTIQ+ Persons that we approved and that we will now approve again, marks the path of protection of this group. The same applies to the disability sector. It is very important to adopt that directive so that we can protect human rights and make a union of equality.

Madam President, on the verge of 25 November, the day dedicated to the fight against gender-based violence, the commitment of my unequivocal popular formation to equality, women's rights and the fight against violence against women in all its forms is ahead of me. Every ten minutes a woman is murdered in the world. The numbers are devastating and the photo evolves for the worse. We need a political and social commitment, but that commitment cannot be torpedoed by legislating for the benefit of sexual aggressors. In my country it was legislated, and there are still consequences, so that many rapists sexual aggressors were released. Hundreds and hundreds and thousands saw their sentence reduced. This does not combat violence against women. As a minister, she was one of the spokesmen who spoke today and gave us lessons in the fight against violence against women. Nor does it help when the anti-maltreatment bracelets in my country have been without functioning for eight months, violating the right to protection of the victims and having knowledge of this the minister. Nor paying with public money prostitutes - money of all of you - and humiliating women with phrases such as «Carlota se rolla que te shitas», by the Minister of Transport and number two of the Socialist Group of my country.

Mr President, Commissioner, we approved the roadmap for women's rights that will mark the gender equality strategy from 2026. Without equality there is neither competitiveness nor democracy nor social justice. We protect women's rights because we have the right to live in a society without violence against women. In my country, Spain, a poorly approved "only yes is yes" law made it possible for thousands and hundreds of rapists to see their sentences reduced and be on the street, with a colleague from The Left Group who is now a MEP being a minister. Also now in my country anti-maltreatment bracelets have failed for eight months, and that has made it possible for many cases of violence against women to have been dismissed, going against everything that we approve in this Parliament, such as the Victims' Protection Directive or the European Protection Order, because it speaks of the devices having to be reliable. We have the right to work-life balance. In my country, Spain has been fined almost seven million euros because parental leave has not been transposed well, also being a minister one of our colleagues from The Left. We have the right to equal pay, we have the right to equal opportunities. We must all be united in defending these women's rights to achieve true democracy.

Mr President, Commissioner, the Second World Summit for Social Development will now take place in November, thirty years after Copenhagen. It is a good time to analyze the path traveled and to see the challenges of the future. Of course, poverty and social exclusion must be reduced, decent employment for all must be sought, vulnerable groups must be protected and social inclusion must also be fought for. The issue of child poverty worries me extraordinarily. One in five children in the European Union is at risk of poverty, and Spain leads child poverty in Europe, with almost three million children and adolescents at risk of poverty. In addition, the data do not decrease, but have been increasing in recent years. The child poverty rate in my country is ten points above the European Union average. If we add to this four hundred thousand Spaniards more than a year ago who need the minimum vital income to survive, we can see that it is a crucial issue and that we have to worry about as a matter of priority. We will have to establish and implement the European Care Strategy. We will have to fight inequality, eradicate poverty, protect groups of disabilities, immigration, young people, the elderly, immigrants, LGTBI and vulnerable groups in general, guarantee quality health care and lifelong education, the housing plan and labor inclusion for all. In short, to enforce the roadmap of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan. There will be no democracy if there is no social justice. Therefore, attending to the social is key to restoring trust in the rulers. The new financial framework does not help much. Without the European Social Fund, the group that I represent the most - that of disability - dies. The Commission must therefore take action to restore confidence in human rights.

Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, since the Taliban came to power four years ago, the cascade of prohibitions and attacks on human rights and crimes against humanity has been constant in Afghanistan. Women have been erased from public space, they can't study more than until the age of twelve, they can't work or play sports, they can't go out if it's not with a relative, they can't get medical care from men. Even books written by women have been banned. And after the earthquake, with more than two thousand two hundred dead and thousands injured, women and girls have not been treated and have been disproportionately victimized. We add to this, in addition, the internet blackout a few days ago and, therefore, it is absolutely essential that we raise our voices. Where are the activists who have been in so many conflicts and are not in this one? Women have been without rights for four years and we only have debates. Where are the activists to stop this atrocity? Let us raise our voices and be their voices so that they are not invisible, let us stop this atrocity.

Mr President, Commissioner, Victoire Ingabire is a Rwandan politician with a strong technical and intellectual background – I know her personally, I know her mother, her children and her family – who, in 2010, returned to Rwanda to stand for Presidential elections. She was arrested, detained and imprisoned because they said she had conspired against the regime. It was a trial without guarantees and full of irregularities, according to Amnesty International, a multitude of NGOs and also the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights. We proposed it for the Sakharov Prize in 2012 and the intimidation has been constant: She was sentenced to eight years, then fifteen years, and now, in June, she has been re-imprisoned. She has no communication with her family, she is in a cell with a person convicted of murder, she cannot communicate with her lawyers and her Kenyan lawyer cannot represent her on instructions from the Bar Association under Kagame's instructions. We have to make an appeal so that together we can call for the immediate release of Victoire Ingabire. He hasn't seen his family and children in a long time. The attack on freedom of expression must be strongly condemned. In the party she presides over there are many dead and many missing, and there is a constant attack on freedom of expression and political persecution. I appeal to the international community not to give up trying to make any relationship with Rwanda possible if it does not return to the path of human rights.

Madam President, Commissioner, cultural and linguistic diversity throughout the European Union and respect for persons belonging to minorities are founding values of our Union. Ensuring the preservation and development of Europe's cultural heritage is a priority. Cohesion policy has undoubtedly been an investment instrument – one of the most important in the Union – in order to ensure that there are no differences between regions and to be able to achieve more equitable growth in the Union where economic, social and territorial cohesion is a reality. Cohesion policy is certainly not understood without the regions; it has a territorial dimension and, for this reason, an investment effort is made precisely with the regions that have the most difficulties: island, outermost, mountain and endless. As Commissioner Fitto has already said in the Committee on Regional Development itself and the Commissioner, here, much has evolved since the petition submitted by the petitioners, with great force and, moreover, in times of pandemic. With this evolution, it has opted for inclusive growth, for growth where cultural heritage and regional cultural heritage are a priority along with the participation of all civil society. Cohesion policy is the best antidote against walls, against the fragmentation of our territories. They know that I come from the Balearic Islands, I deeply love the language spoken there, the Mallorcan of the islands, but also Spanish. Languages must always be a vehicle of communication, never of confrontation. There are two enemies of tongues: those who impose them and those who forbid them, and also those who market with them.

Madam President, Commissioner, our Union is a Union for freedom, equality, dignity and non-discrimination. There can never be justice without the protection of the most vulnerable. The right to non-discrimination is never optional. We cannot be neutral in the face of hatred. Prohibiting and limiting expressions of diversity is a direct attack on fundamental rights, which are not concessions of any State, they are constitutional guarantees that no one can ever suppress. I want to make very clear our unwavering commitment to protecting the rights of LGBTI people around the rainbow world around the world. Restricting their rights violates the rule of law, destroys democracy, undermines freedom of expression, attacks human dignity and further stigmatizes the rainbow collective, exposing it to further discrimination. It is an attack on all of us, because it is directed at our core values. It is an attack on all humanity. That is why, Commissioner, there is an urgent need to present this European anti-discrimination rule. We trust you.

Mr President, Commissioner, the core task of the Committee on Petitions is to defend the fundamental rights of citizens, protect them and follow up on their petitions so that they can take an active part in the life of the European Union. The examination of this 2023 Committee on Petitions has been done effectively, attentively, impartially, fairly and transparently. Citizens have sent petitions on many topics, as the rapporteur has commented, but I would like to refer in particular to the concern about the rule of law situation in Spain: more than 40 petitions have been submitted on this subject, mainly for attacks on judges, the colonisation of institutions and the reduction of penalties for corruption offences. Among the missions carried out, I would like to highlight those of Ireland, Romania and Spain and, more specifically, the latter, of which I must highlight and regret the attacks and tensions that were experienced there. I was present and they insulted us saying: Out, fascists, out of these neighborhoods. Do not stick your noses where they are not called. I don't think this should be the attitude. I am also concerned that the recommendations we make are not being followed up, as we are doing so in order to be able to protect citizens' rights. Finally, I would like to highlight the magnificent work that has been done since this committee.

Mr President, Commissioner, rare diseases affect millions of people: between 27 and 36 million in the European Union; three million in my country, Spain. Many of these diseases manifest themselves in childhood and can be life-threatening. They cause significant suffering because they are usually complex, chronic and degenerative. 95% of these rare diseases have no approved treatment and 50% have no approved diagnosis either. In fact, it can take an average of six years to identify them. We certainly need, Commissioner, this European plan on rare diseases in order to be able to bet on much more research, better access to early diagnosis - this is essential - and also to orphan medicines, which are those that can cure these diseases. They generate a lot of economic impact and, therefore, this aspect should also be addressed. And attention to caregivers: families and carers, at a very high percentage, at more than 65%, are women and therefore become very vulnerable. It is a challenge not only health; It is also an economic but also a social challenge. We must also work to ensure that patients are not discriminated against. Rare diseases were prioritised in the new Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe because they represent a huge unmet medical need. I therefore encourage the Commissioner to prioritise this European plan over rare diseases to achieve a much stronger Europe of health.

Madam President, Commissioner, I would like to express the unwavering commitment of my political group, the European People's Group, to defending, of course, the rights of children, but also to protecting the rights of the LGBTI community in all Member States. Diversity should be a guiding principle in defending the best interests of the child. Diversity enriches. Our Union is a Union of freedom, equality, justice and non-discrimination. Discriminating is not optional: discrimination is impossible, because it is a right. Everyone should be who they want to be, live freely and love freely. Attacks on the rights of the rainbow community have been happening. And the limitation of the right of assembly by the Hungarian government means limiting fundamental rights, limiting freedom of expression and encouraging hate speech. The collective is seen as a threat when it is not – it is often a victim. It endangers the mental health of young people, because they are prohibited from accessing information and aid; further stigmatises LGBTI people; It exposes them to greater discrimination when they already live in an environment with many difficulties, and it increases stereotypes against this group. In short, human dignity is violated. It does not have a legitimate objective, it is not the protection of minors. We need to protect human rights: We must be the beacon of justice, diversity and inclusion.

Madam President, the roadmap for women's rights marks our firm commitment to building an equal European Union, where women's rights are at the heart of the Union's policy and action. We have the right not to be victims of violence because we are women. Breaking the silence is fundamental to eradicating this violence. In my country, Spain, episodes of sexual harassment by leaders of the left have been covered up at the same time that the population was asked not to remain silent. How can one remain silent in the face of the multiple scandals related to prostitution by socialist leaders of the Government of Spain – apparently paid for with public money – and continue to defend, at the same time, that their objective is to end prostitution? Slim service to equality and women's rights. We should not proclaim in public what we then do not do in private. We have the right to quality education and break with stereotypes: having women with disabilities in all sectors of our lives; The right to equal pay and opportunities in the labour market with decent conditions, the right to quality health and the right to conciliation. Without conciliation or co-responsibility women always make the resignations. I call from here on the Spanish Government to already transfer paid parental leave; if not, there are many women who are not currently caught because of the lack of transposition that has led the Commission to open infringement proceedings. There is the issue in the Court of Justice of the European Union with a sanction that can reach seven million. We detach ourselves from the negationism of some and the demagogic hypocrisy of others.

Madam President, Commissioner, a few years ago, here in the European Parliament, we adopted the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030. It's been four years, exactly three years. And, as a consequence of this Strategy, there are positive things. The approval of the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card has been a historic milestone. It is true that this card is for short stays and now we would like a directive on free movement for people with disabilities for extended stays, which is a new challenge. So, that would be our next goal. We have also met the objective of the package on the employment of persons with disabilities. It is positive but there is also a lot of work to be done in the world of training and employment and in the world of education. And that is why we need many more actions, a guarantee of employment and skills, precisely to help people with disabilities in the field of training, education and employment. We need to publish the framework of social services of excellence for people with disabilities, which was left pending in that Strategy. And we also need to work, now that there will also be a commission in charge of housing, on an action plan with a specific fund to create accessible housing for people with disabilities and with aids to be able to adapt these homes. We also need protection for the rights of passengers with disabilities and a standard for accessible labelling. And, of course, we need to work much harder on access to justice for women with disabilities and violence against them.

The Commission reports annually on the rule of law in all Member States. This report clearly reflects the state of democratic health in each Member State. You have no doubt that we will be vigilant with the health of the Member States. In the case of Spain, there are repeated calls for attention for the violation of democracy and the rule of law. It has also been done with Slovakia, it has been done with Malta and it has been done with Hungary and other countries. So we will be vigilant, as it cannot be otherwise. Our role as parliamentarians is to ensure that this happens and to make appeals to the Commission.

Mr President, Commissioner, freedom, democracy, equality and the rule of law are the fundamental pillars of the European Union: all have been violated in Spain with the government of Pedro Sánchez. The rosary of corruption plaguing the government has reached unbearable levels: Ministers; advisors; senior management; the wife of the President; the brother; the party itself; the Attorney General of the State, investigated when he is the one who would have to investigate ... The judicial agenda of the Government prevents at this moment to serve the citizens. They have changed the Criminal Code by downgrading corruption in exchange for staying in power, and the answer to this corruption is the indiscriminate attack on judges: the Supreme Court and the governing bodies of the judges have had to come out in defence and protection of judicial independence recalling – textually – that judicial decisions deserve the utmost respect from everyone and especially those who are at the head of the institutions without exception, without exception from Pedro Sánchez. They have also called for containment from the Supreme Court and explained that the attack on judges does not correspond to the minimum requirements for the separation of powers in a rule of law. There are concerns about the partisan use of public media – it has been said in the Commission report – the independence of these public media in Spain is at high risk: there is a constant attack on the media critical of the government itself, all controls are disregarded, it is governed behind the back of the legislative power and at the stroke of a decree-law – as the Commission has also said –, all institutions are colonised and assaulted, and those convicted are applauded and those who judge corruption are criticized. Spain, Commissioner, must be removed from the normalisation of corruption and the attack on the rule of law: You will have to be vigilant and act firmly.

Mr. President, every ten minutes a woman is murdered. The figures are devastating and the bad thing is that the photo is never fixed. In my country, it has not been forty-eight hours since Alberto, from Seville, murdered his wife, Maria, who left two orphaned children aged 17 and 11; are the number 464 and 465 orphans since 2013 in Spain. And a few hours ago, a 15-year-old girl was allegedly killed by another 17-year-old girl. Today is the day, as every day, to think about the victims. Every death is avoidable and must be avoided, it must be detected. Prevention, protection and support are essential. We must stand together to put an end to this atrocity against human rights. This requires political and social commitment, and not torpedoing it with double speeches, legislating - as they did in Spain - for the benefit of sexual aggressors or with the hypocrisy of dissociating the person of the character from someone (also Spanish), or not living up to our European values, when we prevented rape without consent from being a Eurocrime because governments such as the German socialist or Mr Macron's liberal opposed there. The pride of our People's Party was that all the governments of the People's Party supported that rape without consent was a Eurocrime so that there was no room for impunity for the aggressors.

Mr President, access to decent and affordable housing is indeed one of the greatest concerns of citizens. According to the latest barometer, it is the second concern for Spanish citizens. In Spain we have a government, that of Pedro Sánchez, in coalition with left-wing and far-left groups that have intervened in the market. That has caused the offer to be reduced and prices to rise. Warned by the Bank of Spain, the International Monetary Fund and other agencies, rents in Spain have risen by 32% since market intervention. The rental offer has been reduced by 15% and real estate investment has been reduced by 36%. The conclusion is that, in order to emancipate itself, Spain is one of the later and more difficult countries. This is the model that does not have to be applied: The results are in sight. The model has to be to provide land in the market, rehabilitate, create more supply and get affordable housing prices. Bureaucratic hurdles need to be reduced, because there is a housing emergency; support should be given to young people; deductions have to be made and raised; Above all, legal certainty must be ensured. In Spain we also lead another sad ranking: the illegal occupation of dwellings. 80 000 homes are illegally occupied in Spain and 25 000 with illegal squatters. Illegal occupation in Spain has grown by 41% since the ruling left-wing coalition. Catalonia leads the ranking of illegal occupation, much more than Valencia, Andalusia and Madrid. Proceedings and launches drag on for almost two years. That only happens in Spain. It does not happen in the Netherlands or in France, in Germany or in the United Kingdom, where a complaint and the title deed are enough to produce the launch. Effective housing policies need to be put in place, and we therefore welcome the development of a European housing plan and a European squatter register, as well as the fact that we can use European funds in this direction.

Mr President, violence against women is an egregious violation of human rights. In 2016, in Spain we had the case of La Manada. The sentence of one of the members of La Manada, the rapists, was reduced because of the Law of "only yes is yes". The victim was also revictimized, the sentences of 1 233 rapists and paedophiles were reduced, 126 of them were left on the street and, last year, 53 women were murdered. It's a clear case of what not to do. The Pélicot case is that of a woman who, after fifty years of marriage, was drugged by her husband, who invited more than fifty men to rape her when she was unconscious. There are also the cases of Catania or Palermo: Group rapes of a 13-year-old girl by seven young men. All these violations, these abuses against women, shake the collective conscience and force us to reflect on the magnitude of violence against women. The victim of the Pélicot case has decided to put her face in front of the world and has done it for all of us. Many will be able to come home tomorrow thanks to her. We have the directive to combat violence against women. We could not make rape without consent a Eurocrime and that was the responsibility of the French Government, the Renew Group, Macron and the German Socialist Government. I hope that after this they will change their mind and, in this obstacle course, we will make rape without consent... (the Chair withdrew the floor to the speaker).

Mr. President, since the Taliban's takeover, oppression and persecution of women has been institutionalized. This is a crisis against humanity. Human rights violations and crimes under international law occur on a daily basis with absolute impunity. The lives of 21 million Afghan women have become hell. In their words, "I prefer my daughters to die before falling into the hands of the Taliban; We are back in the dark. It has been said here: vetoed education; excluded from the labour market; may not travel without the accompaniment of a male relative; they must be covered from head to toe; may not wear heels; sport is also prohibited; prohibited from grooming in beauty salons; they may not use mobile phones or cameras; segregation in transport; They are forbidden to sing, raise their voices, play music, etc. If they do, the punishments are heinous: rapes, executions, flogging, stoning, all this added to an absolutely non-independent Justice. We condemn, therefore, this regime, without palliatives. They ask us: ‘Speak of us; Don't forget us. Therefore, we need to generate a global awareness and we need to act. We have to raise our voices because we can't let them do it alone. His destiny, let us not forget, is ours. They all came the day before yesterday, yesterday and today. All of them are the real revolution. Europe must rise to the challenge of these women and to the challenge of human rights.