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At the High-level conference on the European Social Charter in Vilnius, ministers, deputy ministers and high-level representatives from the Council of Europe member states, adopted the Vilnius declaration and reaffirmed their collective duty to promote respect for, and the continuing development of, social rights. These rights are viewed both as human rights and also as vectors of economic growth, social progress and social cohesion, peace, security and stability.

The event, entitled “Protecting Social Rights in Times of War in Ukraine” was co-organised by the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine and the Ministry of Social Security and Labour of Lithuania. It was held within the framework of the Council of Europe project “Enhanced Social Protection in Ukraine”, on the eve of the High-Level Conference on the European Social Charter, in Vilnius on 4 July 2024.

The participating organisations of the COE-FRA-ENNHRI-EQUINET Collaborative Platform on Social and Economic Rights* today issued a joint statement addressed to the government representatives attending the High-Level Conference on the European Social Charter (4 July 2024, Vilnius, Lithuania) to reaffirm their full commitment to the protection and implementation of social rights as guaranteed by the European Social Charter system, in line with the Reykjavik Declaration adopted by the Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe in May 2023.

On the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, the Council of Europe and the Social Platform organised a round table discussion in Brussels to promote a better understanding of the key role played by the European Social Charter in safeguarding and advancing social rights.

The 25th anniversary of the entry into force of the Additional Protocol to the European Social Charter (ETS No. 158) was marked by an event, organised by the Council of Europe’s Department of Social Rights, attended by a wide range of leading stakeholders (governments, social partners, civil society, academia, and representatives of national and international bodies), who discussed the importance of the procedure for the effective protection of  social rights  in the Europe.

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What is the role of the European Social Charter in strengthening the protection of social rights in Europe? This issue was discussed at a seminar, organised by the Department of Social Rights on 8 December 2022 to mark the end of mandate of several members of the European Committee of Social Rights.

The seminar “Social Cohesion: Challenges anew”, organised by the European Committee for Social Cohesion of the Council of Europe (CCS), was held on Wednesday, 23 November 2022 in Strasbourg, France and via videoconference.