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COVID-19 pandemic: tackling the dramatic increase in cases of violence against women
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, a dramatic increase has been reported in recorded cases of violence against women and domestic violence, both worldwide and in Council of Europe member states. The Committee of the Parties to the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence...
Council of Europe Bank approves € 300 million COVID-19 healthcare loan to Italy
The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) has approved a € 300 million loan to Italy to finance health expenditure associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. In a decree issued on 23 March 2020, Italy defined a set of extraordinary immediate term measures aimed at managing the COVID-19 pandemic,...
During virus crisis states should ensure rescue at sea and allow safe disembarkation
Statement by Commissioner for Human Rights “Despite the unprecedented challenges European countries face due to COVID-19, saving lives at sea and disembarking survivors in a safe port must continue”, stated today Dunja Mijatović, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights. The...
COVID-19: Human rights principles must guide health decisions
A statement published by the Council of Europe's Committee on Bioethics recalls the fundamental principles, based on the respect for human dignity and human rights, which must guide medical decisions and practices in the context of the current crisis. Health care systems are under extreme...
Council of Europe and UNHCR support member states in bringing refugee health workers into the fight against COVID-19
As many European countries continue to struggle with the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis, the Council of Europe and UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, are encouraging states to benefit from the support that refugee health professionals can provide to national health systems at this critical...
Greece: Reforming prison system and ending police ill-treatment are urgent priorities, says CPT
After a visit to prisons in Greece last year, the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) recommends that the Greek authorities remedy structural problems that have led to enduring ill-treatment of detainees, prison...
Algorithms and automation: new guidelines to prevent human rights breaches
The Council of Europe today called on its 47 member States to take a precautionary approach to the development and use of algorithmic systems and adopt legislation, policies and practices that fully respect human rights. In a Recommendation on the human rights impacts of algorithmic systems, the...
Coronavirus: guidance to governments on respecting human rights, democracy and the rule of law
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, has issued a toolkit for governments across Europe on respecting human rights, democracy and the rule of law during the COVID-19 crisis. The Information Document was sent to all 47 Council of Europe member states yesterday....
COVID-19: How to protect against falsified medical products?
At a time when the Covid-19 epidemic is posing unprecedented challenges to the health sector, the Council of Europe calls on governments to be extremely vigilant against counterfeit or falsified medicines and medical products. Faced with this threat, states can rely on the MEDICRIME Convention to...
CEB issues social inclusion bond in response to COVID-19 pandemic
The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) has issued a €1 billion seven year maturity COVID-19 Response Social Inclusion Bond. The funding will be used to support CEB member countries in mitigating the social and economic impact of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. The COVID-19 Response Bond is...
Mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 crisis: Council of Europe to provide funding to youth organisations
The European Youth Foundation (EYF) is calling on youth organisations to apply for funding for activities which respond to needs at local or national level arising from the COVID-19 crisis. Priority will be given to activities that demonstrate solidarity and support to people affected by the...
8 April, International Roma Day: “Step up human rights protection for Roma and guarantee their access to vital services during COVID-19 pandemic”
Joint Statement by Marija Pejčinović Burić, Council of Europe Secretary General, and Helena Dalli, European Commissioner for Equality Many of the 10-12 million Roma in Europe still suffer from poverty and exclusion. The existence of widespread anti-Gypsyism reinforces and aggravates their...
COVID-19 confinement: States must step up protection of children against sexual exploitation and abuse says Lanzarote committee
For far too many girls and boys, strict confinement in times of the COVID-19 risks increasing their vulnerability to violence, including sexual abuse and exploitation. Council of Europe member states must step up protection of children against sexual exploitation and abuse, offline and online,...
New survey: Europe’s rate of imprisonment remained stable in 2019
Secretary General Pejčinović Burić calls on states to resort to alternatives to deprivation of liberty and to protect both the prison population and prison staff. The overall imprisonment rate – the number of inmates per 100,000 inhabitants- remained stable in Europe from 2018 to 2019, according...
Stopping violence against women: welcome progress but obstacles remain
A new report from the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) finds that while gender-based violence is now at the “forefront of public debate”, many Council of Europe member states should do more to end such violence. GREVIO,...
Anti-trafficking experts note 44% rise in identified victims since 2015
The number of people across Europe identified as being victims of human trafficking rose by almost half between 2015 and 2018, according to the latest annual report from the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA). According to information...
Human rights under quarantine: debate at St Petersburg Legal Forum
The Council of Europe’s Directorate General Human Rights and Rule of Law will co-chair an online debate on human rights under quarantine at the special digital session of the St Petersburg Legal Forum on 10 April 2020. The ongoing sanitary catastrophe and the measures taken by states in response...
Persons with disabilities must not be left behind in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic
Statement by the Commissioner for Human Rights As governments in Europe react to the rapid spread of the coronavirus through wide-reaching measures, they must not forget that a large proportion of their population is living with disabilities. Persons with disabilities are not only often at...
Supervising execution of ECHR judgments – 2019 report shows significant progress, but challenges remain
Ten years of reforms, known as the Interlaken Process, have “strengthened the system of the European Convention of Human Rights” according to the Chairs of the “Human Rights” meetings of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers in their introduction to the Committee’s 2019 annual report on...
European Convention on Human Rights: new free online training course
The 47-nation Council of Europe has launched an updated version of its free online “Introduction to the European Convention on Human Rights”, a 5-hour interactive training course aimed at legal professionals, public authorities, civil society and students. “Europe has the strongest system of...
