In recent years, the Council of Europe has published a number of videos explaining how the European Convention on Human Rights has improved the lives of people across the continent. These short films tell the stories of ordinary citizens who have won cases at the European Court of Human Rights, following unsuccessful legal challenges in their own countries.
When that happens, the states involved have to correct any human rights violations found by the Court and act to stop them happening again.
In many thousands of cases, from across Europe, this has led to positive outcomes for the people involved.
It has also brought about changes to laws, policies and practices benefitting society as a whole – sometimes far beyond national borders.
Specific examples include an Italian woman’s quest to find out more about her origins, the Irish man who successfully fought to decriminalise homosexuality in his home country – and far beyond – and a Polish NGO’s struggle to protect peaceful demonstrations.
Other videos focus on a young woman’s role in criminalising human trafficking in France, a Belgian woman’s fight to boost the rights of single mothers and their children, and the landmark case of a Turkish woman which ultimately led to the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on violence against women.
These and more than 200 other such stories are presented on a dedicated website highlighting the impact of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The human rights convention was opened for signature on 4 November 1950 and entered into force on 3 September 1953.
More than 20,000 judgments and decisions from the European Court of Human Rights have so far been implemented by the Council of Europe’s 46 member states and the Russian Federation*.
*The Russian Federation was excluded from the Council of Europe on 16 March 2022, due to its military aggression against Ukraine, and ceased to be party to the European Convention on Human Rights six months later. Russia remains obliged to implement all relevant rulings from the European Court of Human Rights.
