Newsroom
Albania must implement legal framework to prevent corruption of ministers, their advisers and the police
In a new report the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) finds that in Albania, the legal framework for preventing corruption of members of the Council of Ministers and their political advisers, and of the police, is comprehensive, but still overly complex. It calls on...
Poland should stop the stigmatisation of LGBTI people
“Public officials and opinion makers should stop promoting an atmosphere of hate and intolerance vis-à-vis LGBTI people and instead, improve respect for their human rights. Stigmatisation and hate speech carry a real risk of legitimising violence. LGBTI are people, not an ideology”, said the...
States should deliver on their commitments to persons with disabilities
This year, we mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities at a time when the COVID19 pandemic is still raging in Europe. The pandemic has disproportionately affected persons with disabilities and exposed all the pre-existing failings in Council of Europe member states. Among many...
“Covid-19: Local and regional authorities on the frontline”
Local and regional authorities are on the front line in containing the spread of Covid-19 and mitigating the impact of the epidemic. In order to hear the stories of those who have been organising, coordinating and delivering responses to the crisis in towns and cities, provinces and Départements,...
Nabila Hamza and Leoluca Orlando awarded North-South Prize
Portuguese Parliament President Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues today awarded the Council of Europe’s North-South Prize to Nabila Hamza (Tunisia) and Leoluca Orlando (Italy). The 2019 prize – given in the Senate room of the Portuguese Parliament – annually distinguishes two people for their exceptional...
Bulgarian psychiatric and social care institutions: ill-treatment, acute understaffing, mechanical restraint misuse
In a new report the Council of Europe’s anti-torture Committee (CPT) has expressed grave concern that many of its long-standing recommendations concerning the treatment, conditions and legal safeguards offered to psychiatric patients and residents of social care institutions remain unimplemented....
Convention on access to official documents enters into force
The Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents, the first binding international legal instrument to recognise a general right of access to official documents held by public authorities, entered into force today. The treaty, also known as the Tromsø Convention, after the city in...
Access to official documents is crucial – let’s make it a reality
People have the right to know what those in power are doing. This was the basis on which the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents was adopted more than ten years ago in Tromsø, Norway. This Convention is the first binding international legal instrument to recognise a...
Implementing European Court of Human Rights judgments
The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers will carry out its latest quarterly meeting to oversee the execution of judgments and decisions from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg from 1 to 3 December. Information on the cases to be examined in detail this week is available here....
Protecting human rights in pandemics and other emergencies: challenges faced by prosecutors
In a new Opinion, the Council of Europe’s Consultative Council of European Prosecutors addresses the implementation of the usual functions of prosecution services in emergency situations, their new or extended functions in response to such situations, how to overcome the challenges faced by...
Andorra: action needed in measuring violence against women and supporting rape victims
In its first report evaluating the implementation by Andorra 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) acknowledges significant progress in the legislative sphere...
Congress Bureau greenlights report on remote election observation procedure concerning Ukraine
The Bureau of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe adopted, on 26 November, an information report on the remote observation procedure regarding the local elections held in Ukraine on 25 October 2020. "This report acknowledges the extraordinary circumstances in...
Council of Europe adopts new Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova
The Committee of Ministers, representing the 47 Council of Europe member states, has adopted the Action Plan for the Republic of Moldova for the years 2021-2024, which aims to bring the country’s legislation, institutions and practice further in line with European standards in the areas of human...
Backsliding on minority rights weakens democracy
“Where divisions are constructed between different ethnic, cultural, linguistic or religious groups, democracy is weakened. The backsliding on minority rights is a cause for real concern as it may threaten the inclusive nature of European societies,” says the Advisory Committee on the Framework...
Polish Supreme Court delegation holds online discussion with Council of Europe
On 24 November 2020 a delegation of the Supreme Court of Poland, upon its initiative, held a virtual exchange of views with a delegation of the Council of Europe. The meeting took place against the background of previous findings by the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission, Group of States...
Spain - Action against violence against women and domestic violence
In its first report evaluating the implementation by Spain of the Council of Europe’s “Istanbul Convention”, the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO) acknowledges the commitment of the Spanish authorities to combat violence against women and the...
“We cannot allow the home to become a place of fear, again”
Statement by Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe
Venice Commission on the draft new Constitution of Bulgaria: welcome amendments introduced, but further changes and clarifications needed
The Council of Europe’s body of constitutional legal experts, the Venice Commission, has adopted on Friday its urgent interim opinion on the draft new Constitution of Bulgaria prepared upon the request of the President of the National Assembly of Bulgaria. The opinion focuses on the reform of the...
Violence against women and domestic violence in Malta: GREVIO calls for a stronger gender perspective
In its first baseline evaluation report published today on implementation by Malta 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) emphasises a number of positive legal...
New video for migrant children explaining their rights in age assessment procedures
On World’s Children’s Day the Council of Europe and the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) have launched an animated video on age assessment of migrant children and adolescents. Age assessment is a process carried out by authorities to estimate a person’s age and determine whether he/she is an...
