Alpha News

“I Will Not Step Down”: Irene Hands Over Human Rights Committee Leadership

Published February 16, 2026, 17:27

Irene Charalambidou handed over the reins of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights to Giorgos Koukoumas, MP for AKEL and the party’s Press Spokesperson, after the AKEL leadership’s decision to remove her from the parliamentary group. Ms. Charalambidou expressed her satisfaction with the excellent cooperation she had with the members of the committee, regardless of party lines. In her announcement, she emphasized that the greatest achievement of the Committee under her presidency was the unity and cooperation of its members. She referred to two bills that will be discussed in the Plenary Session of the Parliament and pledged to support them. Ms. Charalambidou stated that she will not leave the Committee and will continue to support its work. She expressed her satisfaction with the political will of the executive branch to transfer the coordination of the multi-thematic group for trafficking in persons to the Ministry of Justice. Finally, she referred to the lack of coordination between the competent services in the case of a Lebanese family of asylum seekers, emphasizing that the human rights of the family’s children were violated.