Council of Europe news
Calls for participants
The Youth Peace Camp is the flagship activity of the Council of Europe youth sector on promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies. The Youth Peace Camp project was born in 2003 in the framework the programme of the Council of Europe’s confidence-building measures and has been providing a...
Armenia and Azerbaijan: statement by Secretary General Alain Berset
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, has welcomed the announcements of Armenia and Azerbaijan on the finalisation of negotiations on the draft Agreement on Peace and Establishment of Interstate Relations. When joining the Council of Europe in 2001, both countries pledged...
Women as equal partners in the AI revolution: a call for gender equality in the digital age
“The AI and digital revolution must also be a revolution for gender equality,” says Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset ahead of International Women’s Day. “Together, we can break down barriers to build a future where women and girls lead, innovate, and drive the digital world...
Statement by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on Human Rights Day 2024
Let this Human Rights Day be the turning point we need
Amid all the troubles and deep concerns facing Europe and the wider world, it is important that on this Human Rights Day we remember that the future is ours to decide – and that the time to act is now. Over recent years, we have seen a concerted effort to undermine the human rights standards that...
Secretary General: new technologies must stop child sex abuse, not facilitate it
This year’s Day for the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse is an opportunity for governments and international organisations to commit to using new technologies to stop these crimes. Emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and extended...
Azerbaijan is multi-ethnic but possibilities to enjoy national minority rights must be improved, say Council of Europe experts
Azerbaijan as a multi-ethnic country strives to promote ethnic cultural, linguistic and religious tolerance and respect. Most national minority cultures are celebrated, and religious tolerance and interreligious dialogue are high on the government’s agenda. The rights of persons belonging to...
Secretary General at COP29 in Baku
Council of Europe Secretary General, Alain Berset, participated in the World Leaders Climate Action Summit in the context of the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on climate change (COP29) which took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, on 12-13 November 2024. In...
Human Rights, Camera, Action! - Council of Europe launches photo and video competition for young Europeans
To celebrate its 75th anniversary and to raise awareness of the role and impact of the Council of Europe, the Deputy Secretary General, Bjørn Berge, has launched a photo and video competition entitled “Human Rights, Camera, Action!” aimed at young people, inviting them to use their smartphones...
Statement by Dominique Hasler, President of the Committee of Ministers and Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe
How the Istanbul Convention is saving lives
As we approach the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, sobering statistics remind us of the urgent need to stop this violence, and a landmark treaty is proving increasingly successful to do just that: the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating...
Azerbaijani students tackled digital media literacy and disinformation
In Azerbaijan, the Council of Europe has organised a three-day training programme to show journalist students how they can use the standards of the Organisation to improve the quality of journalism by analysing the accuracy of what they see and read online on television and in newspapers every...
Mission to Azerbaijan on the execution of the European Court's judgments
On 4 and 5 September, the Director of Human Rights and the Department for the Execution of Judgments carried out a mission to Baku. Fruitful exchanges were held with the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Prosecutor General’s...
Statement by Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić
European Roma Holocaust Memorial Day
On the occasion of the European Roma Holocaust Memorial Day, Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, made the following statement: “Today, we commemorate European Roma Holocaust Memorial Day and pay tribute to the 3,000 Roma – mainly women and children – who were...
Nagorno-Karabakh: PACE President urges dialogue and fact-finding mission to Azerbaijan
Tiny Kox, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), issued the following statement today: "Given the further deterioration of the humanitarian and human rights situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, I recall the Assembly’s request of 20 June, to the Committee of...
Azerbaijan: concerns about the disproportionate use of force by police during environmental protests and restrictions to the work of human rights defenders, lawyers, and journalists
In a letter addressed to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan, Vilayat Eyvazov, published today, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, raises concerns about the recent dispersal of environmental protests and the arrests of participants in the Soyudlu...
Azerbaijan: Council of Europe’s commission against racism and intolerance notes progress, but says inflammatory rhetoric and hate speech should be tackled
Over the past seven years, Azerbaijan has developed good practices in education and migrant integration, but more needs to be done in the fields of legislation and tackling hate speech, says the Council of Europe anti-racism body ECRI in its report published today (see also the Azeri version of...
PACE monitors, ending visit: issues of serious concern persist in Azerbaijan despite some steps taken to meet Council of Europe commitments
The co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the monitoring of Azerbaijan, ending a five-day visit to the country (3-7 June 2023), have taken note of a number of steps by the authorities to meet their obligations and commitments to the Council of Europe,...
Council of Europe anti-trafficking body urges Azerbaijan to better identify victims of human trafficking and improve their access to compensation and other remedies
In a new report the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings assesses developments since the publication of GRETA’s second evaluation report on Azerbaijan in November 2018 as regards the implementation of the Council of Europe’s Convention on Action...
Heads of State and Government agree to strengthen Council of Europe, ensure accountability for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and support victims
At the Council of Europe Summit in Reykjavik, Iceland, Heads of State and Government of the organisation’s 46 member states have decided to establish a Register of damage caused by the Russian Federation’s aggression as a first step towards an international compensation mechanism. The leaders...
Secretary General calls for action against democratic backsliding in annual report
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has called on member states to mark the fourth Summit of Heads of State and Government in Reykjavik (16-17 May) with a commitment to reverse democratic backsliding in Europe. In her annual report, published today – Council of Europe Day – the Secretary...
Press Freedom Day: Secretary General urges European states to protect journalism and enhance safety of journalists
In a statement to mark World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, Council of Europe´s Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić urged European governments to make the protection of journalism and the safety of journalists and other media actors a political priority: “As journalists and other media actors...