Newsroom
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...
Secretary General: Anti-money laundering controls should not be relaxed
Addressing MONEYVAL on the occasion of its 60th plenary meeting, Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has stressed the importance of not relaxing anti-money laundering controls, which is taking place in some countries, and of strengthening effective compliance with...
International Day of Democracy: statement by the President of the Congress
The President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Anders Knape, made the following statement on the occasion of the International Day of Democracy: "If democracy is the foundation on which our common values are based, it is at the level closest to citizens,...
Anti-torture committee urges Moldova to end persistent inter-prisoner violence and intimidation
Moldova should take resolute action to put an end to inter-prisoner violence and intimidation linked mainly to informal hierarchies in the country’s prisons, says the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) in a new report. (see executive summary) In the report, based on...
Rencontre avec Clément Beaune, secrétaire d’Etat français chargé des affaires européennes
La Secrétaire Générale a rencontré lundi 14 septembre le secrétaire d'État français chargé des affaires européennes, Clément Beaune. Au cours de cette première rencontre, ils se sont entretenus notamment du rôle du Conseil de l’Europe pour aider ses Etats membres à lutter efficacement contre la...
Commissioner calls on Greek authorities to provide adequate support to all those affected by fire at Moria
“The fire that destroyed most of the Registration and Identification Centre of Moria and the informal settlements surrounding it, on the Greek island of Lesvos on Tuesday night has dramatically worsened the living conditions of more than 12 000 asylum seekers and migrants, including more than...
Council of Europe Bank and Italy sign € 300 million loan agreement to support COVID-19 response
The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) and Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance have signed a € 300 million loan agreement to finance the emergency and health expenditure associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Italy was the first EU country to declare the state of emergency on 31 January...
Secretary General gravely concerned by human rights violations in Belarus
The Secretary General of the 47-nation Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, has made the following statement concerning Belarus: “The Council of Europe is gravely concerned about the latest threats to human rights in Belarus. The reported harassment and persecution of members of the...
United Kingdom: experts report “considerable progress” on regional and minority languages
The Committee of Experts on the European Charter for Regional or Minority languages (ECRML) has reported considerable progress in the United Kingdom’s implementation of the charter. In its latest report on the UK, the committee noted that institutions and many public services in Wales and...
Armenia completes ratification of Lanzarote Convention
Armenia has become the 47th state to have completed the ratification of the Council of Europe’s Convention on Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (“Lanzarote Convention”). The Permanent Representative of Armenia to the Council of Europe, Ambassador Paruyr...
Digital surveillance by intelligence services: states must take action to better protect individuals
In a joint statement the chair of the Council of Europe’s data protection “Convention 108” committee, Alessandra Pierucci, and the Council of Europe’s Data Protection Commissioner, Jean-Philippe Walter, have urged states to strengthen the protection of personal data in the context of digital...
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 second part of the Committee’s latest regular human rights meeting took place in Strasbourg from...
Implementing ECHR judgments: Council of Europe closes infringement procedure against Azerbaijan
The Committee of Ministers has closed infringement proceedings launched against Azerbaijan for failing to implement a judgment from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) concerning opposition politician Ilgar Mammadov. The decision follows a ruling from the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan in...
Implementing ECHR judgments: Council of Europe urges Turkey to release Osman Kavala
The Committee of Ministers has urged Turkey to ensure the immediate release of jailed businessman and human rights defender Mehmet Osman Kavala pending the Turkish Constitutional Court’s forthcoming decision on his case. The decision was taken during the Committee’s latest regular meeting to...
9th World Forum for Democracy is postponed
Due to the global Covid-19 pandemic and the various restrictions being imposed by national authorities, in particular on travel and on large gatherings, the 9th edition of the World Forum for Democracy « Can Democracy Save the Environment?” has been postponed until 8-10 November 2021. Climate...
COVID-19: Trends in money laundering and terrorism financing
The Council of Europe’s MONEYVAL Committee has issued a report aimed at helping the global community to counter new criminal activities which are exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic, including the sale of counterfeit medicines and cybercrime. The Committee, which specialises in measures to tackle...
A virtual celebration of Europe’s heritage
Thousands of cultural sites are preparing to open their virtual doors for the first time ever as the Council of Europe and the European Union once more join forces to celebrate the annual Heritage Days. Held since 1985, the Days give visitors a chance to see inside places of historical and...
Implementing European Court of Human Rights judgments
The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers will carry out the second part of its latest meeting to oversee the execution of judgments and decisions from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg from 1 to 3 September. The first part of the meeting took place by written procedure in...
European states must no longer procrastinate on the duty to establish the truth concerning missing persons
“The lack of truth and justice for thousands of missing persons remains a serious human rights issue in Europe. So many families of missing persons in Council of Europe member states, including in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other countries in the Balkans, Cyprus, Georgia,...
MONEYVAL publishes new follow-up report on Ukraine
The Council of Europe’s body MONEYVAL has published a new report reviewing the efforts of Ukraine to improve its anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) measures since the adoption of its mutual evaluation report in December 2017. Due to the high number of...
Belarus: joint statement by the Committee of Ministers Presidency, PACE President and Secretary General
In a joint statement by the Alternate Foreign Minister of Greece, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, President of the Committee of Ministers, Rik Daems, President of the Parliamentary Assembly and Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General, the three Council of Europe leaders called on the Belarusian...
Commissioner for Human Rights calls for prompt investigations into Alexei Navalny’s case
"Alexei Navalny’s condition remains serious a week after he fell into a coma. I express my sympathy to him, his family and friends, and I hope he will fully recover soon," said Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović. "Mr Navalny is a prominent Russian anti-corruption...
Czech Republic strengthens anti-money laundering measures, but shortcomings remain
In a follow up report on the Czech Republic, the Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering body MONEYVAL concludes that the country has improved measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, but still needs to make progress in certain areas. Since the adoption of its mutual...
Situation in Belarus: statement by Congress President
The President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Anders Knape, has made the following statement on the situation in Belarus: "The events in Belarus following the Presidential election have brought to the fore the people’s desire for democratic change in...
New factsheet on effective investigations into deaths or ill-treatment caused by security forces
The Department for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights has published a new factsheet on effective investigations into deaths or ill-treatment caused by security forces. The factsheet summarises measures reportedly taken by 23 member states to reopen, resume or...
Russia makes progress on corruption but more is needed, GRECO concludes
GRECO, the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption body, has called on Russia to make further progress in the next eighteen months to comply with its recommendations on preventing corruption by members of parliament, judges and prosecutors. Its latest report welcomes Russia’s progress with nine of...
Secretary General comments on the situation in Belarus
Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has made the following statement with regard to Belarus: “The situation in Belarus is of ongoing concern. Although Belarus is not a member state of the Council of Europe, we have cooperated in several areas and Belarus is party to a...
International electoral standards must be respected in Belarus
Statement by Venice Commission President Gianni Buquicchio
Tunisian Women's Day: "Gender equality, an essential condition for democracy"
"With the promulgation of the Personal Status Code in Tunisia on 13 August 1956, the principle of equality between men and women was established in the area of citizenship. Since then, Tunisia has made considerable progress, particularly in recent years, by adopting concrete measures to...
Presidential election in Belarus: statement by PACE President
Following the Presidential election in Belarus, PACE President Rik Daems made the following statement: “I have been following closely the Presidential election in Belarus as well as the events of last night following the closing of the vote – I deeply regret that this election was far from being...
Anti-torture Committee publishes two reports on Turkey
The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published reports on its 2017 periodic visit and 2019 ad hoc visit to Turkey. The main objective of the 2017 and 2019 visits was to examine the treatment and conditions of...
Secretary General honours Roma Holocaust victims
On 2 August 1944, the remaining Roma of the so-called “Zigeunerlager” (Gypsy camp) – some 3,000 men, women and children – were exterminated in the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The Roma Holocaust was an attempt by the Nazi regime and its supporters to exterminate the Romani people of...
"Challenging the Istanbul Convention is a serious setback for women's rights": Jelena Drenjanin
"The Istanbul Convention is the first legally binding instrument at European level, providing a comprehensive legal framework for the prevention of violence, the protection of victims and an end to impunity for perpetrators," said Jelena Drenjanin, Congress Spokesperson on Gender Equality, in a...
Know your rights: new “passport” for human trafficking victims in Tunisia
A “passport” setting out the rights of human trafficking victims has been launched at the Council of Europe office in Tunis. The same size and colour as a real Tunisian passport, the 66 page document contains detailed information on the rights of human trafficking victims, aimed at ensuring full...
Poland should not withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, says Secretary General
Following recent news of Polish intentions to withdraw from the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, also known as the Istanbul Convention, Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić made the following statement: ...
Why the media still lacks gender equality: new report
A new Council of Europe report points out that the “mindset and culture” in newsrooms must be “tackled”, with active participation from within the industry, in order for the media sector to “contribute at its fullest” to gender equality. Assessing legal and policy aspects of gender equality and...
Ukraine: Venice Commission adopts an “urgent joint opinion” with ODIHR
The Venice Commission has adopted an “urgent joint opinion” with ODIHR (the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights) on Ukraine’s Draft Law 3612 concerning Democracy Through All-Ukraine Referendum. The opinion, requested in May by the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s...
Fight cybercrime with the Budapest Convention!
A new report from the Cybercrime Convention Committee (T-CY) lays out the benefits and impact of the Budapest Convention on law making, domestic and international investigations, public/private cooperation and the strengthening of criminal justice capacities on a global scale. Practical...
Council experts welcome online learning during pandemic
Experts from the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages have welcomed the speed with which countries have adapted online courses to give access to learning for all ages and urged them to go even further to support learners. They are calling for countries to develop comprehensive...
Mostar: Congress spokespersons welcome adoption of amendments to the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina
In a statement made on 9 July, the spokespersons of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities for the observation of local and regional elections, Jakob Wienen (Netherlands, EPP/CCE) and Stewart Dickson (United Kingdom, ILDG), commended the adoption of amendments to the Election Law of...
Eradicating prison overcrowding: CPT urges intensifying temporary measures introduced to prevent COVID-19
The Council of Europe's Anti-Torture Committee (CPT) has called upon the 47 member States of the Council of Europe to seize the opportunity of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in prisons to put an end to prison overcrowding through the emergency measures which have been put in place...
Multilateralism 2020: Secretary General publishes Annual Report
The Council of Europe has proven to be an essential, indispensable guardian of human rights during the Covid-19 pandemic. This is one of the main conclusions of a new report by the Secretary General covering the Council of Europe’s actions since the Helsinki Ministerial Meeting in May 2019 and...
Council of Europe to enhance professional training Europewide
The 2020 HELP Annual Network Conference (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) is today discussing the challenges in modern professional training, new opportunities and courses to be developed by the HELP Programme, and a timely initiative for mainstreaming Council of Europe conventions...
Inauguration of the Greek Chairmanship at the Temple of Olympian Zeus
The President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou will give a speech at the Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens, to mark the inauguration of the Greek Chairmanship of the Council of Europe. The event, starting at 20.15 local time on Wednesday 8 July, will also be attended by Greek...
Case weighting in judicial systems: a new tool for proper functioning of courts
In a report published today, the working group on judicial time management of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) takes stock of this internal management system aimed at assessing the “weight” of a judicial case, by detailing, through various methods, the judicial time...
Council of Europe’s anti-racism commission warns against racial profiling in policing
The Council of Europe’s 47-member anti-racism commission, ECRI, warned against racial profiling, as well as systemic racism and inequalities, all of which are to be found in Europe. ECRI has called upon European governments to send strong messages and take determined action, even if these...
Webinar on involving under-18’s in civil participation and decision-making
The Council of Europe’s Elections and Civil Society Division is organising an international webinar on Wednesday 8 July to highlight the organisation’s standards in the field of youth participation in the decision-making process, specifically by children at local level. The event, which is part...
Fighting Systemic Racism: Webinar on Instruments and Tools
The challenge of systemic racism is still widespread in Europe. Our Anti-Discrimination Department is holding a webinar on Tuesday 7 July. It will explore successful strategies and inspiring actions to address systemic and institutional racism, examine the effectiveness of Council of Europe tools...
Launch of handbook on Family reunification for refugee and migrant children
The Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees, Ambassador Drahoslav Štefánek, is launching the handbook “Family reunification for refugee and migrant children - standards and promising practices”. The handbook focuses on the reunification of families with children,...
Revised European Prison Rules: new guidance to prison services on humane treatment of inmates
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has adopted a Recommendation which updates the 2006 European Prison Rules. The rules, which contain the key legal standards and principles related to prison management, staff and treatment of detainees and are a global reference in this field,...
Sexual violence against children is an ongoing pandemic: 10th anniversary of Lanzarote Convention
The Council of Europe’s Convention for the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (known as the “Lanzarote Convention”) celebrates its 10th anniversary since entering into force. “It is quite common these days to wish each other to ‘keep safe’. But millions of...
Schools should include Roma and Traveller history in teaching curricula
The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers has adopted a Recommendation that for the first time ever calls on its 47 member states to include the history of Roma and/or Travellers (*) in school curricula and teaching materials. An effective tool to combat hatred, discrimination and prejudice,...
How should judges respond to Covid-19 challenges and what lessons should they learn?
According to the Council of Europe’s Consultative Council of European judges (CCJE), the main challenge posed by the pandemic has been to ensure that the public health emergency is not used as a pretext for human rights infringements and that new legal measures are applied with strict respect for...
Right to equal pay: European Committee of Social Rights finds violations in 14 countries
The European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) has found violations of the right to equal pay and the right to equal opportunities in the workplace in 14 out of 15 countries which apply the European Social Charter’s collective complaints procedure: Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech...
Election of the Deputy Secretary General: the Committee of Ministers submits candidatures to the Parliamentary Assembly
The Committee of Ministers has decided to submit two candidatures to the Parliamentary Assembly, for the forthcoming election to the post of Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe. The candidatures are the following, in alphabetic order (the names of the sponsoring governments are in...
International Day in Support of Victims of Torture: detainees need protection from Covid-19
To mark the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, held every year on 26 June, Mykola Gnatovskyy, President of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), and Malcolm Evans, Chair of the United Nations Subcommittee on...
International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking: facing COVID19 challenges
“Drug policies must save lives and protect people, not stigmatise.” says João Castel-Branco Goulão on behalf of the Pompidou Group’s Portuguese Presidency, to mark the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (26 June). “As new infections with COVID-19 are massively increasing...
Moldova should ratify the Istanbul Convention, improve its response to hate speech
The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, has published a report on her visit to the Republic of Moldova in March this year – which included travel to Comrat (Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia) and Tiraspol – with recommendations on violence against women and...
Webinar on human rights of intersex people
The Council of Europe’s Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Unit is to mark Pride week on June 30th with an in-depth webinar on the human rights of intersex people, its first on the theme since its mandate was extended to include them, earlier this year. Discussions will focus on a study...
