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Venice Commission: New reform in Poland further undermines judicial independence
In an urgent Opinion issued today, the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission, together with the organisation’s Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law, concludes that the amendments to laws on the judiciary passed by the lower house of the Polish parliament (Sejm) on 20 December 2019...
Syrian doctor who ran underground children’s hospital receives Wallenberg prize
Dr. Amani Ballour, a paediatrician from Syria who ran an underground hospital in Eastern Ghouta in 2012-2018 and is now a refugee in Turkey, has been awarded the Council of Europe’s Raoul Wallenberg Prize for her personal courage, bravery and commitment in saving hundreds of lives during the...
Psycho-neurological institutions in Ukraine: CPT report recommends more care in the community
The Council of Europe’s anti-torture committee (CPT) has made a series of recommendations after visiting three psycho-neurological centres (“internats”) in two regions of Ukraine in April 2019. The committee calls on the Ukrainian authorities to accelerate the closing of such large-capacity...
Secretary General meets Croatian PM Plenković
Croatia’s Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić met today in Strasbourg. They agreed to maximise synergies between the European Union and the Council of Europe and to boost cooperation between the two organisations, in the interest of Europe's citizens.
Kazakhstan becomes GRECO´s 50th member state
Le 1er janvier 2020, le Kazakhstan est devenu le 50e État membre du GRECO. De ce fait, le GRECO s'étend désormais sur trois continents, l’Europe, l’Amérique et l’Asie - et couvre une population de près de 1,2 milliard de personnes. En conséquence, une délégation du Kazakhstan participera au...
Italy: more measures needed to protect women from violence
A new report from GREVIO, the Council of Europe’s expert group on violence against women, has urged the Italian authorities to enact more measures to protect women from violence. While welcoming some innovative new laws, notably regarding stalking, providing paid leave for victims of violence and...
Fight against corruption: France must do better
In a report published today, GRECO, the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption body, calls on France to improve the effectiveness and practical application of measures to prevent corruption within the executive (President of the Republic, ministers, private office members and senior civil servants)...
Armenia joins the Council of Europe’s drug policy expert body, Pompidou Group
Armenia has become the 40th member of the Council of Europe’s Co-operation Group to Combat Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in Drugs (Pompidou Group). The Government’s decision takes effect from 1 January 2020. Paruyr Hovhannisyan, Permanent Representative of Armenia to the Council of Europe,...
Marija Pejčinović Burić meets the Holy See’s Monsignor Paul Richard Gallagher
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić met with Monsignor Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States of the Holy See, to pay tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Holy See’s observer status at the Council of Europe. She welcomed the Holy See’s long standing commitment to the...
Denmark needs to improve conditions in migration detention centres
A report from the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) has called on Denmark to improve conditions in two centres where migrants are detained. It also recommended improvements in two prisons, as well as better procedures for prolonged restraint of psychiatric patients, and more access to...
Azerbaijan ratifies Convention to protect children against sexual violence
Azerbaijan has become the 46th state to have ratified the Convention on Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (“Lanzarote Convention”). Today, the Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan to the Council of Europe, Ambassador Fakhraddin Ismayilov, has deposited the...
Greece: Criminal justice system inadequate to counter corruption
Following heavy criticism against Greece from the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for having downgraded and softened its anti-corruption legislation, GRECO published a report today concluding that...
Drahoslav Štefánek: new Special Representative for Migration and Refugees
Today, on the occasion of International Migrants Day, the Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić announced the appointment of Ambassador Drahoslav Štefánek as her new Special Representative on migration and refugees. The Council of Europe has followed the situation of refugees and migrants...
Serbia: Roma situation still alarming
Serbia’s legal framework for protecting national minorities is solid, Serbian authorities are making commendable efforts to improve the situation of Roma-communities and to regulate the status of stateless persons, to develop cultural initiatives and minority media. However, the contrast between...
Poland: "globally unsatisfactory" anti-corruption compliance
Poland has been ranked as “globally unsatisfactory” with respect to a follow up assessment published today on corruption concerning members of parliament, judges and prosecutors. The report comes from the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), which determines that Poland...
Committee of Ministers adopts recommendation on guardianship for unaccompanied children in migration situations
The Committee of Ministers has adopted a Recommendation to member States on effective guardianship for unaccompanied and separated children in the context of migration. Migration puts children, especially unaccompanied or separated from their parents, in a very vulnerable position. Children are...
Child Poverty: Committee of Ministers statement
The Committee of Ministers expressed concern about the very high rates of child poverty in Europe and the growing inequalities that particularly affect them. Children have been more severely affected by the austerity measures put in place in the wake of the 2008 economic crisis. They incur a...
Commissioner Mijatović urges Azerbaijani authorities to respect freedom of expression, improve access to lawyers and uphold rights of internally displaced persons
The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, published today the report on her visit to Azerbaijan, with recommendations on how to ensure freedom of expression, increase the number of lawyers and the quality of legal assistance in the country, and empower internally...
Secretary General: more states should join North-South Centre to better combat global challenges
Speaking at an event in Strasbourg to mark the 30th anniversary of Lisbon´s North-South Centre, Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić called on states from Europe and its neighbouring regions to join the Council of Europe’s North-South Centre to better tackle global...
What role of prosecutors in the fight against corruption?
At its plenary meeting in Paris on 21-22 November 2019, the CCPE adopted its Opinion No. 14 on the role of prosecutors in fighting corruption and related economic and financial crime which takes into account existing standards and instruments of the Council of Europe and other international...
