News
Seminar on drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA): a challenge to gender-based violence
The phenomenon of Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault (DFSA) is closely linked to the issue of protecting and promoting women's fundamental rights and preventing gender-based violence, one of the priorities identified by the Italian Presidency at the Council of Europe (November 2021 - May 2022). A...
The Semester of the italian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe ended today at the Reggia di Venaria
The Semester of the italian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe officially ended with the handover ceremony to Ireland. It was a busy time characterised by over 60 initiatives, both in Italy and in Strasbourg, which focused on three key priorities of the Italian...
Ireland takes over the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers
Ireland has taken over the rotating Chairmanship of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers from Italy at the annual meeting of foreign ministers from the organisation’s 46 member states. At the handover, the outgoing Chair of the Committee of Ministers – Italy’s Minister for Foreign...
PACE President calls for a summit to renew, improve and reinforce the Council of Europe
In his speech at today’s Committee of Ministers session in Turin, PACE President Tiny Kox called for a Summit of Heads of State and Government to renew, improve and reinforce the Council of Europe. "This summit should lead to a Council of Europe with new competencies and better equipped to...
Protecting rights of migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking women and girls: Council of Europe recommendation adopted
The Committee of Ministers, meeting in Turin, has adopted a new recommendation to protect the rights of migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking women and girls providing measures to better respond to needs and challenges that they face. Drawing on Council of Europe treaties including the Istanbul...
Council of Europe proposes a comprehensive legal and policy framework to combat hate speech
The Council of Europe has issued a set of guidelines to its 46 member states aimed at preventing and combating hate speech, both online and offline. In a Recommendation adopted during its annual session held in Turin, the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers calls on governments to develop...
IDAHOT: LGBTI persons fleeing war face specific risks and need protection
European states should pay attention to the specific challenges faced by LGBTI asylum seekers fleeing war, declared Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić, the current President of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and...
Enhanced co-operation and disclosure of electronic evidence: 22 countries sign new Protocol to Cybercrime Convention
The Second Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention), aimed at enhancing co-operation and disclosure of electronic evidence has been opened for signature at a conference organised under the Italian Presidency of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers. The...
Foreign ministers meet in Turin to discuss their response to Russian Federation aggression against Ukraine
Foreign Affairs Ministers of the Council of Europe’s 46 member states will hold their annual session on Friday 20 May 2022 in Turin (Italy). The meeting takes place against the background of the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which resulted in the exclusion of the Russian...
Cybercrime: Council of Europe to launch new legal arsenal
The additional protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention), intended to enhance co-operation and disclosure of electronic evidence, will be opened for signature at an international conference to be held on 12 and 13 May in Strasbourg – under the Italian Presidency of the...
European Conference of Prosecutors in Palermo
In the framework of the Italian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers, the European Conference of Prosecutors (5-6 May) is taking place at the Palazzo dei Normanni, the Sicilian Regional Assembly’s headquarters. The conference is promoted by the Prosecutor-General’s Office of the Court of...
Support for “Strasbourg Principles” in inter-religious dialogue on religion and peace, religion and human rights
An international conference took place today within the framework of the Italian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers on the subject of “Inter-religious dialogue on religion and peace, religion and human rights”. The aim of the event was to relaunch within the Council of Europe a dialogue...
The expulsion of Russia from the Council of Europe was inevitable, Di Maio tells PACE
“The expulsion of the Russian Federation from the Council of Europe was made inevitable by the atrocity of the crimes committed in Ukraine. Not only has Russia illegally and unjustifiably invaded another Member State, but it has continued its aggression in open violation of human rights and the...
Presentata l’opera che celebra il Semestre di Presidenza italiana del Comitato dei Ministri del Consiglio d’Europa
“Se dimostrerò essere la pena di morte né utile, né necessaria, avrò vinto la causa dell’umanità”. Ancora oggi il pensiero del celebre giurista Cesare Beccaria, autore del trattato Dei delitti e delle pene, ispira riflessioni e analisi sulla giustizia e il suo corso. Anticipatore dei principali...
“Guaranteeing security and peace is a responsibility of the entire international community” says President of Italian Republic Mattarella at PACE
“Guaranteeing security and peace is a responsibility of the entire international community and cannot be left to bilateral relations”, observed President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella while addressing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). The Italian President...
The Turin Forum has concluded: more than 500 participants gathered for the review of the EDC/HRE Charter
After three days of discussion on the present and the future of citizenship and human rights education in Europe with young people, the Turin Forum has concluded. The event was co-organised by the Council of Europe, the Department for Youth Policies and Universal Civil Service of the Italian...
Geronimo Stilton explains the Council of Europe and the Semester of the Italian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers in a special book
A trip from Mouse Island to Strasbourg, to discover the Council of Europe. The main character is Geronimo Stilton, the mouse journalist loved by children all around the world and created from an idea by Elisabetta Dami. The occasion is the Semester of the Italian Presidency of the Committee of...
A new role for women in society: the conclusions in the margins of the Conference on Work-Life Balance and Gender Equality
There is a fundamental need to change both the role and perception of women in society by working to overcome of gender stereotypes. This concept clearly emerged from the high-level event "Work-life balance as a leverage for women’s empowerment and promoting gender equality". The event was...
Work-life balance crucial for gender equality and empowering women
Gender and labour ministers from all regions of Europe took part at a high-level conference in Rome on 12 April to explore how to face the challenge of creating a better work-life balance for women, ensure that family responsibilities can be better shared, improve gender equality and prevent...
European Label of Governance Excellence launched in Venice
A launch conference for the European Label of Governance Excellence (ELoGE) was held under the Italian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in Venice on 11 April. Good Democratic Governance is encapsulated in the 12 Principles which can be measured by applying the...