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Le Secrétaire Général souligne le rôle crucial du Conseil de l'Europe lors de la session plénière d'automne de l'Assemblée

« Les effets combinés de ces guerres, avec le changement climatique et l'érosion démocratique, c’est un défi sans précédent pour nos sociétés. Un défi que j'ai tenté de décrire comme the perfect storm. Face à ce défi, le Conseil de l'Europe a déjà montré sa solidité, sa grande expérience, son...

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International Day of Non-Violence: Violence against grassroots politicians has a chilling effect on local democracy

Congress 1 October 2024 Strasbourg

On the occasion of International Day of Non-Violence (2 October), Bernd Vöhringer, Congress Rapporteur on combating violence against local and regional elected representatives, has made the following statement: “Over the last ten years, we have witnessed an alarming rise in violent attacks...

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Congress observes local elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Council of Europe 1 October 2024 Strasbourg

A 20-member delegation from the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities will carry out an election observation mission from 3 to 7 October to observe the local elections throughout the country. Prior to the election day, the delegation, led by Carla Dejonghe, Belgium (R, ILDG), is expected to...

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Julian Assange at Parliamentary Assembly hearing, ahead of a plenary debate on his case: 'I pleaded guilty to journalism'

Parliamentary Assembly session 1 October 2024 Strasbourg

Julian Assange, accompanied by his wife Stella, took part in a parliamentary hearing on his detention and conviction - and their chilling effect on human rights - ahead of a full plenary debate on this topic by the Parliamentary Assembly due on 2 October. The hearing was organised by the...

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Vladimir Kara-Murza: ‘The best promise of long-term security and stability on our continent lies with a democratic Russia’

Parliamentary Assembly session 30 September 2024 Strasbourg

In his statement before the award ceremony for the 2024 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, Vladimir Kara-Murza – the prize winner in 2022 – conveyed his deep respect to this year’s finalists and paid tribute to the past recipients who were still held in captivity “for the only ‘crime’ of expressing...

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Parliamentary Assembly called on the CEB to enhance support for reconstruction in Ukraine and focus on social dimensions of climate change

Parliamentary Assembly 30 September 2024 Strasbourg

Parliamentary Assembly, meeting in plenary session in Strasbourg, congratulated the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) for “its flexible and tailored support to its member states” in the context of the pandemic and natural disasters, and for the rapid assistance to Ukrainian refugees. The...

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Parliamentary Assembly elects two new Vice-Presidents

Parliamentary Assembly 30 September 2024 Strasbourg

Parliamentary Assembly elected, at the opening of its Autumn 2023 Session, two news Vice-Presidents: Gerardo Giovagnoli (Saint-Marin,SOC) and Andries Gryffroy (Belgique, NI). Nineteen Vice-Presidents are elected annually at the beginning of an ordinary session and remain in office until the...

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Theodoros Rousopoulos: 'We must not rest until all political prisoners in Russia and Belarus are freed'

Parliamentary Assembly 30 September 2024 Strasbourg

“Dear Vladimir, let me once again express my utmost relief to see you free, and all the more determined to continue with your fight for the free and democratic Russia which we all long for, and which poses no threat to its neighbours nor to its own citizens”, PACE President said today at the...

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2024 Václav Havel Prize awarded to Venezuelan political figure and rights defender María Corina Machado

Council of Europe 30 september 2024 Strasbourg

The twelfth Václav Havel Human Rights Prize – which honours outstanding civil society action in defence of human rights – has been awarded to leading Venezuelan political figure and rights defender María Corina Machado. The 60,000-euro prize was presented at a special ceremony on the opening day...

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“Youth, Ukraine, Europe: coming of age during war”

Council of Europe 30 september 2024 strasbourg

How can European youth policy adapt to the war in Ukraine, and how can we support the well-being of young people coming of age in war conditions, displaced within their own country or to other European states? This is the key question of a five-day seminar in Strasbourg starting on Monday 30...

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Podgorica early local elections orderly but improvements desired

Council of Europe 30 September 2024 Strasbourg

A five-member Congress Election Observation Mission completed its mission to monitor the early municipal elections in Podgorica, which took place on Sunday 29 September in 212 polling stations. On election day, four Congress teams led by Randi Mondorf (Denmark, R, ILDG) visited 55 randomly...

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Youth participation in focus at Cultural Routes Forum in Hungary

Council of Europe 27 September 2024 Strasbourg

More than 350 participants from over 30 member states of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe (EPA) attended the 13th Annual Advisory Forum on the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe in Visegrád, Hungary (25-27 September) to explore “Transmission and...

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Secretary General at the United Nations General Assembly

Secretary General 27 September 2024 New York

“During the Council of Europe’s 75th anniversary year, we will be making the case for as many countries as possible to sign and ratify our key conventions, at a time of democratic backsliding, for our member states to do ever more to uphold our values, both in words and in action. That is the way...

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Congress experts discuss foreign interference with local and regional electoral processes in Europe

27 September 2024 Strasbourg

Meeting in Strasbourg on 26-27 September 2024, the Group of Independent Experts on the European Charter of Local Self-Government – an advisory expert body for the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities...

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Award of 2024 Václav Havel Prize a highlight of PACE autumn session

Parliamentary Assembly 25 september 2024 Strasbourg

The award ceremony for the 2024 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, which honours outstanding human rights defenders worldwide, will be among the highlights of the autumn session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), from 30 September to 4 October. An overall winner will be...

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Slovakia: GRECO delegation urges tangible progress to prevent corruption and strengthen integrity in government and police

Group of States against Corruption of the Council of Europe (GRECO) 27 Septembre 2024 Strasbourg

Following meetings in Bratislava on 26 September the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) has called on the Slovak Republic to fully implement its recommendations to prevent corruption and strengthen integrity within the central government (persons with top executive...

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Vilnius conference: multilevel governance's key role in strengthening democratic resilience

Congress 27 September 2024 Strasbourg

Improving participation, a clear distribution of competences between levels of governance, and dynamic dialogue between all actors can help ensure that effective multilevel governance counters populism and the polarisation of society. These were among the key takeaways of a conference organised...

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Journalist safety campaign: improving cooperation between journalists and police at public events

Council of Europe 26 September 2024 Strasbourg

As part of the Council of Europe's Campaign for the Safety of Journalists "Journalists Matter", a special seminar in Strasbourg is bringing together representatives of governments, police forces, press freedom organisations and associations of journalists to discuss the role of the police in...

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European Day of Languages: Greetings from Gitanas Nausėda, President of Lithuania

Lithuanian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers 26 September 2024 Strasbourg

On the European Day of Languages, we can all better appreciate what it means to be European and celebrate our unity in diversity. It is no coincidence that as early as 1599, Mikalojus Daukša, the publisher of the first books in Lithuanian, wrote in his "Postilė" chapter The Preface Unto...

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Smart, inclusive, fair policies needed to counter instrumentalisation and politicisation of minority rights in Europe, says expert committee

Advisory Committee on the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities 25 september 2024 Strasbourg

Over the past two years, from mid-2022 to mid-2024, despite some positive developments and good practices, very worrying trends against diversity and minority rights in Europe have been observed, says the Advisory Committee on the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of...

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