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Bosnia and Herzegovina: Anti-torture committee calls for vigorous action to prevent police ill-treatment
In a report published today, the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) calls on the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina to take vigorous action to address the problem of police ill treatment (summary of the report)....
Governments must step up the fight against antisemitism in all its forms, says anti-racism commission
The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) issues a new General Policy Recommendation to the 47 Council of Europe member states
Implementing European Court of Human Rights judgments
The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers is holding its quarterly meeting to oversee the execution of judgments and decisions from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg from 14 to 16 September.Cases proposed for detailed examination concern Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belgium,...
Secretary General participates in International Remembrance Ceremony at Natzweiler - Struthof
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić took part on Sunday in the international ceremony of Remembrance in the former concentration camp of Natzweiler – Struthof. The Secretary General lit the commemorative flame after having received the torch from deported victims Pierre Rolinet and Henri...
CPT calls on Sweden to improve conditions for remand prisoners
In a new report the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) calls on the Swedish authorities to limit restrictions on remand prisoners to only exceptional circumstances and to refrain from detaining foreign nationals in prisons instead of placing them in centres specifically designed for...
Crystal Scales of Justice Prize: shortlisted projects announced
The Council of Europe’s “Crystal Scales of Justice Prize” identifies, publicises and shares innovative practices aimed at improving the efficiency and quality of judicial systems. Of 23 applications received from 15 countries, the jury, composed of justice professionals, selected three projects...
Implementing ECHR judgments: new factsheet on rights of LGBTI people
The Council of Europe’s Department for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights has published a new thematic factsheet on cases related to the rights of LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) people. The factsheet summarises measures reported by 18 member...
National minority rights: conference in Budapest assesses NGO role and presents study on national minority youth
The Hungarian Presidency of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers is hosting a conference in Budapest on “The role of NGOs and research institutes in promoting Council of Europe norms and standards on national minority rights”. Promoting national minority rights is a priority for the...
European Heritage Days 2021 celebrate “Heritage: All Inclusive!”
The 2021 #EuropeanHeritageDays will celebrate Inclusive and Diverse Heritage to encourage broad participation in culture, to foster and celebrate diversity, and to emphasise that interaction with individuals and communities with different cultural backgrounds can enrich our lives. Particular...
Eighth Regional Rule of Law Forum for South East Europe
The President of the European Court of Human Rights, Robert Spano, a number of current and former ECHR judges and Thomas Markert, the former Secretary of the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission of constitutional experts, will take part in the Eighth Regional Rule of Law Forum for South East...
Ukraine joins Council of Europe’s drug policy cooperation platform the Pompidou Group
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has delivered a letter to Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić informing her of his country's decision to join the Pompidou Group as of January 2022. The participation of Ukrainian experts in the work of the Group will help with the...
Council of Europe member states should not undermine human rights protections in response to Afghans seeking safety
“Member states should unequivocally commit to handling the arrival of persons fleeing the horrendous situation in Afghanistan in accordance with their human rights obligations”, said the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović. “Various governments and local authorities...
Tunisia: statement by Venice Commission President Gianni Buquicchio
“Since the declaration of the state of emergency on 25 July 2021, the President of Tunisia has concentrated in his hands the legislative, executive and, partially, judicial powers. Tunisia does not have a constitutional court. Tunisia is facing a very deep crisis, caused on the one hand by the...
Crimea: Secretary General underlines Council of Europe’s support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has repeated the organisation’s condemnation of the illegal annexation of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. Speaking at the Crimea Platform summit in Kiev, she said “We remain steadfast in our support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and...
PACE President: international community should demand respect for human rights and an immediate end to violence in Afghanistan
“The entire world is watching the events unfolding in Afghanistan with grave concern and sadness. The international community should remain united and firm in demanding an immediate end to violence and the respect of human rights for all, both in the current situation and once a system of...
Deputy Secretary General: many LGBTI people in Europe can “state their pride”, but more remains to be done
“Much progress has been achieved in Europe and many LGBTI people can march in many streets throughout our continent, stating their rightful pride in who they are, but much more remains to be done,” said Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge in an address to participants of the...
Pride vs. indignity: political manipulation of homophobia and transphobia in Europe
World Pride is being celebrated on our continent this week, but a surge in intolerance towards LGBTI people in Europe is nothing to be proud about. In more and more European countries, politicians and public officials are shamelessly targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex...
Young people must have their say in protecting the environment, says Secretary General
On the occasion of International Youth Day, marked on 12 August, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Marija Pejčinović Burić calls for more meaningful participation of young people in decision-making processes to tackle the climate crisis and to revitalise democracy. “The consequences...
Building bridges between past and present, to enable a better future
In a statement to mark European Roma Holocaust Memorial Day, on 2 August 2021, Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Buric has highlighted the importance of remembering Roma Holocaust victims. She stressed that learning from the past would allow for a better future for Europe’s...
World Day against Trafficking in Persons: joint statement from GRETA and ICAT
On the occasion of the World Day against Trafficking in Persons, the Council of Europe Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) joins the Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT) in calling on stakeholders to include victims’ and...
North Macedonia: Cramped prison conditions, detainee ill treatment and opaque prison management among longstanding concerns for anti-torture committee
Despite minor improvements including the renovation of one wing of the remand section of Skopje Prison and the closure of three problematic wings of Idrizovo Prison, most longstanding concerns with respect to living conditions in prisons persist, concludes the latest report on North Macedonia...
Developments in Varosha district of Famagusta, Cyprus
We are deeply concerned by the announcements of the President of Turkey and the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community on 20 July regarding the further re-opening of the fenced-off area of Varosha. Such unilateral action is regrettable as it would be in contradiction with the relevant United...
Un site web sur l’égalité de genre et la lutte contre les violences à l’égard des femmes lancé en Tunisie
Le site web sur l’égalité de genre et la lutte contre la violence à l’égard des femmes a été lancé aujourd’hui dans le cadre d’un événement en ligne tenu le 16 juillet 2021 en présence de la Ministre de la femme, de la famille et des séniors et de la Cheffe du bureau du Conseil de l’Europe en...
A 10th Palme d’Or for Eurimages
With an exceptional selection of 18 films supported by Eurimages, including 8 in the official competition, the 74th edition of the Cannes Film Festival wrapped up on Saturday evening with Julia Ducournau’s TITANE, a co-production between France and Belgium and supported by the Fund, receiving the...
Launch of the 2nd edition of the "Junior Crystal Scales of Justice" Prize
This Prize, organised jointly by the CEPEJ and the Faculty of Law of Strasbourg, complements the existing Crystal Scales of Justice Prize. It is open to Master's students from law schools in one of the member States of the Council of Europe or an observer country to the CEPEJ and is organised...
Searches and detentions of civil society representatives in Belarus
Statement by Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić
Public symposium to assess behavioural addictions linked to technology including smartphone addiction
From internet and smart phone use addiction to artificial intelligence simulating the effects of psychoactive substances, an online international symposium – Addictions of the 21st Century: Challenges and Effective Responses – will evaluate the “crossover” between psychoactive substances and...
Moldova celebrates 26 years of Council of Europe membership
13 July 2021 marks 26 years since the Republic of Moldova became a full-fledged member of the Council of Europe on 13 July 1995. It was the first former CIS state to join the organisation. “During the past 26 years, the Council of Europe and the Republic of Moldova have been working together...
Statement of Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić on the commemoration of the Srebrenica genocide
« The genocide of Srebrenica was the most horrible atrocity in Europe since the Second World War, one we all thought impossible. Nationalism, hatred and ethnic cleansing led to death, destruction and human rights violations on a massive scale on our continent. The immeasurable suffering of the...
Effective remedies at European borders for migrants, asylum applicants and refugees: Council of Europe and EU Fundamental Rights Agency publish a new joint note
The Council of Europe and the European Union’s Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) have published a joint Note entitled “European standards on legal remedies, complaints mechanisms and effective investigations at borders”. In an effort to join forces in the protection of human rights at European...
Council of Europe Congress to co-organise the First Citizens' Assembly in Mostar to promote deliberative democracy
The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, jointly with the City of Mostar, is organising a Citizens’ Assembly, which will be inaugurated on 10 July 2021, as part of the first deliberative process of this kind in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the South East of...
Striking the right balance between the public interest and individual rights: role of prosecutors discussed in Saint-Petersburg
Role of prosecutors in the protection of individual rights and public interest in light of requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights has been the topic of the high-level conference that concluded in Saint-Petersburg today. The Conference was co-organised by the General Prosecutor’s...
Minority languages in Slovenia: progress on German and Italian welcomed; renewed recommendation to recognise Croatian, German and Serbian
A new report published by the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages evaluates the measures taken by Slovenia to implement the recommendations for immediate action given to it in November 2019. The Charter entered into force in Slovenia in 2001; it applies...
Committee of Ministers: Informal exchange of views with civil society representatives on free exercise of lawyer profession
At an informal meeting on 8 July 2021, delegations from the Council of Europe’s 47 member States held an exchange of views with representatives of international civil society organisations active in the area of the protection of the freedom of exercise of the profession of lawyer and the defence...
Netherlands makes voluntary contribution to Council of Europe
The Netherlands has made a voluntary contribution of €301,200 to the Council of Europe. Ambassador Roeland Böcker made the financial commitment in the presence of Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge. €100,000 will be spent on the Action Plan for Ukraine and €50,000 on the Action Plan for...
The CEPEJ publishes a Handbook on court dashboards
The European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) has produced a handbook to provides practical step-by-step guidelines on how to develop comprehensive court-level and judge-level dashboards. It covers the process of designing the dashboard including content, data visualisation and...
Special Representative of Secretary General on Migration and Refugees reports on his mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees, Ambassador Drahoslav Štefánek has published a report on his fact-finding mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The aim of the mission was to provide a picture of the current situation of migrants, refugees and asylum...
Secretary General at Ukraine Reform Conference: progress made, but further efforts needed
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić in the opening speech at the 4th Ukraine Reform Conference “Strong Ukraine in a Stronger European and Euro-Atlantic Family” spoke about the important contribution that Ukraine has made to the work of the Council of Europe,...
Human Rights Trust Fund supports three new projects
The Assembly of Contributors of the Human Rights Trust Fund (HRTF) has decided to allocate funding to three new projects: Strengthening the provision of health care and mental health care in prisons in Romania; Ensuring the effective implementation of the right to a fair trial (Article 6 of the...
Secretary General meets Holy See Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić received a courtesy visit by Holy See Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin. The exchange of views focused on Council of Europe-Holy See relations and on the importance of the inter-religious dimension of intercultural dialogue. The relevance of the...
Published Venice Commission opinions this week concern Bosnia-Herzegovina, Hungary, Romania, Russia and Turkey
The Venice Commission this week published opinions it had adopted during its summer plenary session (Friday 2 July and Saturday 3 July), which was held in a hybrid format due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns. an opinion on the draft Law on preventing conflict of interests in the institutions of...
Secretary General: Western Balkans countries play “central and valued role” in Council of Europe
Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, addressing today the Prespa Forum Dialogue International Conference “Western Balkans: the Missing Puzzle for Completing Europe” in Ohrid, North Macedonia, explained the role of the Council of Europe in helping the region along...
Drug consumption rooms important part of reducing harm, Strasbourg Symposium hears
Drug consumption rooms - special facilities that provide safe and hygienic environments for supervised drug use, protecting users from risk - are a useful element in increasing public health and safety and promoting safer drug use patterns, an expert symposium heard today. Organised by the...
Human rights training for legal professionals: number of online users doubled since 2020
HELP, Europe’s only peer-to-peer human rights training network for legal professionals, is holding its annual conference in Strasbourg on 1 and 2 July, with take-up of its online courses doubling from March 2020 to June 2021 The conference will hear how the HELP network has responded to global...
Secretary General participates in opening ceremony of Generation Equality Forum in Paris
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has underlined the relevance of the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, also known as Istanbul Convention, at the opening ceremony of the Generation Equality Forum in Paris. “Last year, we saw a surge in...
Warsaw Convention report: Burden of proof should be reversed to allow confiscations in serious offences
The Council of Europe’s Warsaw anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing convention committee has called on its States Parties to effectively apply the reversal of the burden of proof regarding the lawful origin of alleged proceeds or other property liable to confiscation in serious...
Secretary General at « Les Conversations de l'Odyssée »
Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has taken part in « Les Conversations de l'Odyssée » with Faruk Gunaltay, the director of the Odyssée cinema in Strasbourg. The Secretary General highlighted the relevance of culture in contemporary Europe and the challenges of the...
New partnership agreement between Council of Europe and City of Strasbourg
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, and the Mayor of Strasbourg, Jeanne Barseghian have signed a new partnership agreement to reinforce the longstanding co-operation between the two sides, updating the 2010 agreement. “Ever since 1949, the City of Strasbourg...
Challenge of ensuring national minority rights taking new forms, tools to address it adapting
Achievements and future challenges in protecting national minority rights has been the focus of a high-level conference in Strasbourg organised by the Council of Europe under the Hungarian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers. Persons belonging to national minorities face particular...
Automated technology to detect online child sexual abuse must respect human rights
Technology used to detect the online sexual abuse of children must respect human rights and the rule of law, says a new report for the Council of Europe. “There has been a sharp rise in the exchange of online child abuse material during the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Council of Europe Secretary...
