Italy – Visit by Catherine Colonna on the occasion of the first meeting of the French-Italian Border Cooperation Committee (October 31, 2023)

The French-Italian Border Cooperation Committee will meet for the first time at 4 p.m. today in Turin under the co-chairmanship of Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Antonio Tajani.

The French-Italian Border Cooperation Committee was established by Article 10 of the Quirinal Treaty, which was signed on November 26, 2021, and came into effect on February 1, 2023. It aims to boost the development of local projects and facilitate the elimination of obstacles to border cooperation for the benefit of the people.

The French-Italian Border Cooperation Committee will bring together border community representatives, members of Parliament working on cooperation issues, and border cooperation organizations, along with government representatives.

At its first meeting, the committee will adopt a multi-year work program covering issues raised at the local level, in particular with regard to mobility, exchanges between people, economic development, environmental protections, and public service administration.

Iran – Death of Armita Geravand (October 31, 2023)

We were utterly shocked to learn of Armita Geravand’s death in Iran, which was announced on Saturday, October 28. The disturbing circumstances of her death must be the subject of a transparent investigation as soon as possible.

France voices its deep concern following the arrest of the Iranian lawyer and human rights campaigner, Ms. Nasrin Sotoudeh, at Armita Geravand’s funeral. The European Parliament Sakharov Prize laureate (2012) and winner of the Franco-German Human Rights and the Rule of Law Prize (2019), Nasrin Sotoudeh had already been imprisoned several times for fighting for women’s rights. France asks for her immediate release.

France reaffirms its steadfast, determined commitment throughout the world to combating and eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls. It will continue to argue in favor of the universalization of the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention, which is the most successful international instrument in fighting violence against women.