Newsroom
Minorities in Hungary: Roma need “urgent” help for education, housing and health care
In its latest opinion on Hungary, the Council of Europe’s Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM) found that persons belonging to the Roma minority face structural difficulties in all spheres of public life, including education, employment...
National minorities in Bulgaria: more needed to combat segregation and hate speech
Bulgaria has made progress in the implementation of the Framework Convention through advancing non-discrimination legislation, promoting education for Roma children and supporting religious rights. However, the legal framework for exercising minority cultural, linguistic and participation rights...
Digital solutions to fight COVID-19: shortcomings protecting privacy and personal data
A new Council of Europe report has identified a number of shortcomings in the protection of privacy and personal data in some of the legal and technical measures adopted by governments to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic among the 55 African, Latin-American and European countries which...
World Day against the Death Penalty, 10 October 2020: joint declaration by Secretary General and EU High Representative
Today on the World and European Day Against the Death Penalty, the European Union and the Council of Europe reaffirm their opposition to the use of capital punishment in all circumstances and call for the universal abolition of the death penalty. We welcome the continued decline in the use of the...
A ‘Living Instrument’ for Everyone: Advancing Equality for LGBTI persons
A conference to mark the 70th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights has taken place in Strasbourg. Entitled “A ‘Living Instrument’ for Everyone: The Role of the European Convention on Human Rights in Advancing Equality for LGBTI persons”, it was organised by the Council of...
Secretary General appoints Special Representative on Antisemitic and Anti-Muslim Hatred and Hate Crimes
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has appointed the Council of Europe’s Director of Communications Daniel Höltgen, to the new position of Special Representative on Antisemitic and Anti-Muslim Hatred and Hate Crimes. Commenting on the appointment, the Secretary General said: “On Friday it...
New study: Slovenians consider sexual abuse of children a serious problem, but nearly half would not be able to recognise its signs
A majority of Slovenians consider sexual abuse of children to be a serious problem, with nearly one in five having experienced at least one form of sexual abuse. However, awareness of this type of abuse is low, as parents don’t feel comfortable discussing it with their children, and schools don’t...
Even in difficult times, Partnership for Good Governance programme keeps delivering
An online event to reflect on the mid-term results of the second phase of the European Union and Council of Europe Partnership for Good Governance (PGG), launched in 2019 for the Eastern Partnership region, started today under the title ‘Improving the lives of citizens through better Governance’....
Implementing ECHR judgments: Latest decisions from the Committee of Ministers
The latest case-by-case decisions on the implementation of judgments and decisions from the European Court of Human Rights have been published by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers. The Committee adopted 27 decisions concerning 13 member states during the meeting, including six...
Congress President deplores yet another blow to local self-government in Turkey
“I am deeply concerned about continued arrests, over the last days, of democratically elected representatives from the opposition in Turkey, notably of Mr Ayhan Bilgen, Co-Mayor of the city of Kars in the south-east of the country, who is a member of our Congress. This morning, news arrived about...
Secretary General warns of humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, made the following statement today: “As the armed conflict around Nagorno-Karabakh escalates with a growing number of civilian casualties, I mourn the deaths of the many people, including civilians, who are falling victim to...
Preventing corruption of parliamentarians, judges and prosecutors: France can do better
In a new report published the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) notes that some progress has been made regarding members of parliament, such as oversight of senators’ operational expenses, the system for dealing with conflicts of interest and the two Houses’...
The Russian authorities should end continuous judicial harassment of human rights defenders
Statement by Commissioner for Human Rights
Human Rights for the Planet conference
What is the future role of international human rights law in helping to tackle challenges posed by climate change and the degradation of the natural environment? On Monday 5 October 2020, the European Court of Human Rights will host a high-level conference entitled “Human Rights for the Planet”....
Moldova: Draft constitutional amendments meet Venice Commission requirements
On 28 and 29 September the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Moldova Mr Fadei Nagachevski had a series of exchanges with the High-Level Working Group established by the Council of Europe to support the Republic of Moldova in the crucial task of reforming its judicial system. Representatives...
Secretary General delivers keynote speech to Athens Democracy Forum
Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić is in Athens today for a series of bilateral meetings with President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Alternate Foreign Affairs Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, Greek Justice Minister Costas Tsiaras and...
The EU’s accession to the European Convention on Human Rights
Joint statement on behalf of the Council of Europe and the European Commission
Implementing European Court of Human Rights judgments
The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers is holding its latest quarterly meeting to oversee the execution of judgments and decisions from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg from 29 September to 1st October. Cases to be examined in detail during the meeting concern Bosnia and...
San Marino: Council of Europe anti-corruption body calls for a structural reform of the judiciary
The Council of Europe’s anti-corruption body (GRECO) recommends that the composition of the Judicial Council be changed to limit political influence. In a new report it also calls for a reappraisal of the workload, internal procedures and resources of the court to improve and streamline its...
Congress Rapporteur calls for solidarity with local authorities to urgently remedy refugee situation after Moria fires
Against the background of the devastating fires in the “Moria Reception and Identification Centre” on the Greek island of Lesbos, Yoomi Renström (Sweden, SOC/G/PD), Rapporteur of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe deplored the lack of joint action in Europe,...
New Council of Europe guide to public debate on human rights and biomedicine
The Council of Europe has launched a new guide to assist member states in initiating and promoting dialogue with the public on the challenges posed by biomedical developments, both for individuals and society. Aimed primarily primarily at government officials, public authorities, national ethics...
Nagorno-Karabakh: Secretary General calls for immediate end to hostilities
The Secretary General of the 47-nation Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović-Burić, has made the following statement concerning the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh: “I am gravely concerned about reports of military escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. I call on our Member States Armenia...
World Forum for Democracy adapts to Covid-19 pandemic conditions
Exceptionally, the 9th edition of the World Forum for Democracy "Can Democracy Save the Environment? will take place over a whole year and will be launched on 18 November 2020. The Forum will kick off with a campaign of activities "12 months to answer 1 question". In a real spirit of...
26 September: The European Day of Languages
Statement by Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić
EU Pact on Migration and Asylum: a renewed opportunity to uphold human rights in migration governance
The Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees of the Council of Europe and the Regional Representative for Europe of the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) have welcomed the presentation by the European Commission of its new Pact on Migration and Asylum. The launch of...
Netherlands and Slovenia: Committee of Ministers adopts recommendations on promoting regional and minority languages
The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers has adopted recommendations to the Netherlands and to Slovenia, based on the evaluation reports by the Committee of Experts under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML). In the Netherlands, the Charter applies to Frisian,...
Congress to organise remote meeting of the Statutory Forum
The Statutory Forum of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe will hold a remote meeting on 28 September 2020 to examine, for adoption, several reports on the state of local democracy in Europe and on grassroots elections in major crisis situations, as well as its...
Commissioner: Human rights violations in Belarus must stop immediately
More than a month after the beginning of mass protests following the presidential elections in Belarus, the human rights situation in the country remains extremely worrying. Thousands of peaceful protesters have been arrested, and several individuals have been reported missing. Yet, non-violent...
GREVIO report on Belgium: violence against women should be more visible in national anti-violence policies
In its first report on implementation by Belgium of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (known as the “Istanbul Convention”), the Group of Experts (GREVIO) highlights how gender-based violence against women is relatively...
Secretary General: member states must work together to learn COVID-19 health crisis lessons
Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has called for increased multilateral cooperation among the organisation’s member states to draw lessons from the pandemic crisis and enhance preparedness for addressing health concerns on the basis of common principles and best...
