The Secretary General of the 47-nation Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, has expressed his support for the United Nations Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration which is due to be adopted in Marrakech next week:
“Migration is one of the biggest challenges of our time. It affects the well-being, dignity and sometimes even the survival of millions of people, many of whom are fleeing war zones, persecution or natural disasters.
“The Council of Europe has contributed to the Global Compact, which will help to promote cooperation between countries and also at the international level. The human rights of refugee and migrant children, in particular, deserve special attention.
“Ahead of Monday’s anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, I would like to pay tribute to the foresight and determination of UN Secretary General António Guterres in making the Global Compact a reality.”
The Council of Europe’s European Convention on Human Rights, based on the UN Declaration, enables over 830 million people to bring claims of alleged human rights violations before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
