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Ukraine: Anti-torture committee expresses concern over prison overcrowding and informal hierarchies
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published the report on its October 2023 periodic visit to Ukraine, the first since the start of the full-scale military aggression by Russia in February 2022. Despite the efforts by...
Human Rights Commissioner calls for stronger support for Ukraine
The new Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, carried out a visit to Kyiv, Ukraine from 23-25 April. This was his first visit to a member state since taking up his post on 1 April. With the current human rights landscape in Europe being dominated by Russia’s war...
Secretary General attends OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna
“I said at the very beginning of my mandate, in 2019, that I wanted to reinforce co-operation between the Council of Europe and other international organisations in the interest of people in Europe, and the wider world. And I cannot think of a better way to mark the Council of Europe’s 75th...
Anti-torture annual report: Rights of transgender prisoners in focus
The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) has issued a set of standards and recommendations to European prisons aimed at ensuring that transgender prisoners, a highly vulnerable segment of the prison population, are treated with respect and protected from the risks of...
Secretary General meets Deputy Foreign Minister of Georgia
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has met the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Georgia Lasha Darsalia. During the meeting, the Secretary General highlighted once more the unwavering commitment of the Council of Europe to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country, as...
Serious human rights concerns about United Kingdom’s Rwanda Bill
“The adoption of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill by the UK Parliament raises major issues about the human rights of asylum seekers and the rule of law more generally”, said Michael O’Flaherty, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights. “The United Kingdom government...
The Netherlands: “Council of Europe is your friend who helps you stick to the rules”
On the 3rd of April 2024, at the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security and at the Utrecht University, Ambassador Tanja Gonggrijp, Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the Council of Europe gave presentations on the Council of Europe’s central role in strengthening human rights, the...
Secretary General meets French Minister Delegate for Europe
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has met the French Minister Delegate for Europe Jean-Noël Barrot. The meeting focused on current global challenges for democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. Marija Pejčinović Burić and Jean-Noël Barrot exchanged views mainly on the finalisation of...
Secretary General on official visit to Lithuania
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has met with President of the Republic Gitanas Nauseda, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, Foreign Affairs Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, Justice Minister Ewelina Dobrowolska, and other key personalities during an official visit to Lithuania to discuss...
Council of Europe to celebrate the Freedom of Artistic Expression at Venice Biennale
On the occasion of the 60th Venice Biennale, the Council of Europe is organising an event in Venice on 20 April under the title the Other Session, to discuss and assess, through dialogues, performances and exhibitions, the landscape of artistic freedom in Europe, and to identify measures needed...
Congress Secretary General urges Bulgaria to advance fiscal decentralisation
“Fiscal decentralisation is not about administrative restructuring; it is about political empowerment and citizen trust”, stated the Secretary General of the Congress Local and Regional Authorities, Mathieu Mori, at closing the final conference of the EU/CoE project “Developing fiscal...
2024 Europe Prize awarded to Terrassa (Spain)
The 2024 Europe Prize has been awarded to Terrassa, Spain. This award is given annually by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to the town most active in promoting the European ideal. Terrassa is a city of 225,000 inhabitants in central-eastern Catalonia (Spain). A...
“There will be no peace without justice” – H.S.H. Hereditary Prince Alois tells PACE
“Aggressive power politics must not prevail. Those challenging our common commitment to the rules base international order must be held to account,” was the message at the heart of His Serene Highness Hereditary Prince Alois von und zu Liechtenstein’s address to the Parliamentary Assembly of the...
Secretary General meets Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has met His Serene Highness Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein. The meeting has been an opportunity to take stock of the Liechtenstein Presidency and of the celebrations for the upcoming 75th anniversary of the Organisation. The exchange of views...
Armenia: GRECO calls for stronger oversight and accountability in police and top executive functions
In a new report the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) calls on Armenia to pursue its efforts to prevent corruption in respect of persons with top executive functions and the police (see the non-official translation in Armenian). GRECO notes the positive steps taken...
PACE pays tribute to Alexei Navalny, calls for sweeping measures to counter Putin’s totalitarian regime
PACE has paid tribute to Alexei Navalny, declaring that the Russian state bears full responsibility for his death, and urged a series of sweeping measures to counter what it called Vladimir Putin’s “totalitarian regime”. Unanimously adopting a resolution based on a report by Emanuelis Zingeris...
Foreign Affairs Minister of Liechtenstein addresses PACE
In her communication, Dominique Hasler, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Education and Sport of Liechtenstein and President of the Committee of Ministers, mentioned the need for continued support to Ukraine and referred to the Presidency’s priorities. “In Reykjavík our leaders sent a strong message...
Montenegro to introduce Barnahus model to support child survivors and witnesses of violence, abuse and sexual exploitation
The government of Montenegro, with support from UNICEF, the Council of Europe and the European Union (EU), have announced the introduction of a multidisciplinary model that provides child-friendly support for child survivors and witnesses of violence, abuse and exploitation: Barnahus (Children’s...
Secretary General meets Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liechtenstein
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has met the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Principality of Liechtenstein and President of the Committee of Ministers Dominique Hasler. The meeting focused on the current state of play of the Liechtenstein Presidency and the upcoming 75th anniversary...
Secretary General meets Minister of Justice of Latvia
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has met the Minister of Justice of Latvia Inese Lībiņa-Egnere. During the meeting, they discussed the implementation of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, as well as the “Riga Principles” adopted at the informal conference of Ministers...
PACE recommends that Kosovo* becomes a member of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has recommended that Kosovo* be invited to become a member of the Council of Europe – while deciding to monitor its fulfilment of an extensive list of commitments and obligations as from its accession. Under the Council of Europe’s...
PACE calls for frozen Russian State assets to be used to support the reconstruction of Ukraine
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), meeting in plenary session in Strasbourg, today recommended “the seizure of Russian state assets and their use” in support of the reconstruction of Ukraine. This course of action would “strengthen Ukraine, ensure the accountability of...
Secretary General’s Question Time at the Parliamentary Assembly
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has responded to parliamentarians’ questions at the PACE Spring plenary session. During a lively Q & A session, the Secretary General reiterated the fundamental importance of the European Union accession to the European Convention on Human Rights, as an...
Secretary General meets Chair of the Parliament of Ukraine
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has met the Chair of Verkhovna Rada (the Parliament) of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk. Accountability and the Register of Damage for Ukraine, as an integral part of the future compensation mechanism, were at the centre of the meeting, with the opening of the...
'Ukraine needs right now the vital munitions which will allow it to continue to defend itself' says PACE President
“Ukraine needs our support and not just words – it needs right now the vital munitions which will allow it to continue to defend itself, to defend us all and to defend the most fundamental right of all laid down in the European Convention on Human Rights – the right of people to life,” PACE...
Deputy Prime Minister Popsoi stresses the Republic of Moldova’s commitment to reform in its path to European integration
Addressing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe during its spring session, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Mihai Popșoi, expressed his country´s commitment to “continue deep reforms and transformation of the Moldovan society, overcome...
Secretary General meets Deputy Prime Minister of Moldova
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has met the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova, Mihai Popșoi. The meeting focused on the follow-up to the Reykjavik Summit, including the Register of Damage, and the organisation’s forthcoming 75th...
Spring session of Conference of INGOs: results
An exchange with the new Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr Michael O’Flaherty (link to speech) pledging to prioritise the defence of civil society, as well as the end of mandate activity report presented by the President were the highlights of the first part of the Spring session of the...
Armenia: Council of Europe launches package of measures in response to refugee influx
The Council of Europe has launched a €2.8 million comprehensive response package to the refugee influx in Armenia. It includes four new initiatives and incorporated additional components into two ongoing projects. “The response package aims at protecting the human rights of refugees, resilience...
Annual report on the implementation of ECHR rulings: Significant progress, but important challenges remain
The latest annual report from the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers highlights significant progress on implementing rulings from the European Court of Human Rights in 2023, whilst underlining that several important challenges remain. According to the report, the Committee of Ministers...