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Reinforcing social rights protection in Europe: to achieve greater unity and equality
In the framework of the French Presidency of the Committee of Ministers, the European Social Charter organises, on 19 September in Strasbourg, an expert seminar to highlight the protection of social rights in Europe so as to achieve greater unity and equality. Welcome addresses will be delivered...
Marija Pejčinović Burić, New Council of Europe Secretary General
Marija Pejčinović Burić (Croatia) began her position as Secretary General of the Council of Europe on 18 September, after being elected in June 2019 by the Parliamentary Assembly for a five-year mandate. She is the second woman in this position after the French Catherine Lalumière (1989-1994) and...
Symposium “The future of young people’s political participation”
The changing nature and pathways of young people engaging politically keep opening new horizons interesting for the researchers, policy-makers, youth workers and young people themselves. The EU-Council of Europe youth partnership will organise a symposium, from 18 to 20 September at the European...
Thorbjørn Jagland farewell speech at ECHR
After ten years as Secretary General, Thorbjørn Jagland delivered his farewell Speech at the European Court of Human Rights. Speech by Thorbjørn Jagland Video of the speech:
Re-enactment of the first meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and exhibition
From 8 to 13 August 1949, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe met for the first time, in Strasbourg City Hall. As part of the French Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers and the 70th anniversary of the Council of Europe, the ambassadors of the organisation’s current 47...
Online child sexual abuse experts visit Ukraine and Armenia
The Council of Europe experts will visit Yerevan and Kyiv on 17-19 September 2019 under the Project to End Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse @ Europe to analyse legislation, policies and practices to prevent and combat this crime. The EndOCSEA@Europe Project promotes, facilitates and...
New Council of Europe action against sexism
In March 2019, the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers adopted a new Recommendation on Preventing and Combating Sexism. Not only does this text contain the first ever internationally agreed definition of sexism, but it also proposes a set of concrete measures to combat this wide-spread...
North-South Prize 2018 honours fight to end female genital mutilation and the promotion of social ecology
Jaha Mapenzi Dukureh founder and CEO of the Non-Governmental organisation “Safe Hands for Girls” and Damien Carême, Mayor of Grande-Synthe are the laureates of the North-South Prize of the Council of Europe 2018. The Award Ceremony of the XXIV North-South Prize of the Council of Europe took place...
Artificial intelligence: Expert committee to explore the development of a legal framework
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe representing its 47 members states has decided to set up an intergovernmental committee of experts to examine the feasibility of a legal framework for the development, design and application of artificial intelligence. To carry out its work, the...
Congress President calls on Russia to allow international observers to strengthen the integrity of municipal elections
Following Sunday's municipal elections in the Russian Federation, the President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Anders Knape, underlined the importance of democratic framework conditions in order to ensure genuinely free and fair elections, in...
Malta: more needed to investigate and prosecute money laundering and strengthen its supervisory system
In a report published today, the Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering body MONEYVAL calls on the Maltese authorities to strengthen their practical application of their measures to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism (see also the summary of the report). The report makes a...
Free Press Unlimited and European Centre for Press and Media Freedom join Council of Europe Platform
Platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists now includes 14 partners
Moldova needs better criminal asset recovery and confiscation systems
In a report published today, the Council of Europe anti money laundering body MONEYVAL calls on the Moldovan authorities to fully and consistently use its legislative framework to combat money laundering and to increase the effectiveness of confiscation of proceeds, in particular regarding...
Finland: action needed to combat hate speech and scrap transgender persons sterilisation requirement
In a report published today, the Council of Europe Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) calls on Finland to tackle growing racist and intolerant hate speech, better coordinate integration activities for immigrants and review the law requiring transgender persons to be sterilised...
Trafficking and exploitation - Human Rights Commissioner calls for swift action
“Few human rights violations are so universally condemned by Council of Europe member states as the exploitation of the most vulnerable”, says Dunja Mijatović, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, in her Human Rights Comment published today. As a result, year on year, the fight...
School starts with more inclusion for Roma children in Romania – and beyond
On 9 September, Council of Europe Director General of Democracy Snežana Samardžić-Markovic joined Romanian President Klaus Iohannis to open the new school year through a visit to Ferdinand I Elementary and Secondary School in Bucharest, where they addressed the impact so far of a joint European...
Secretary General welcomes release of prisoners by Russia and Ukraine
Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland made the following statement today: “The Council of Europe welcomes the release of prisoners by Russia and Ukraine today. This is an encouraging step towards the reconciliation of the two member states of the Council of Europe and an important element of the...
MONEYVAL issues follow up reports on Ukraine and Isle of Man
The Council of Europe´s anti money laundering and counter terrorist financing body MONEYVAL has published two follow up reports assessing the progress made by Ukraine and the United Kingdom Crown Dependency of Isle of Man in implementing its recommendations. MONEYVAL finds that Ukraine has made...
National minorities’ rights: new reports on Georgia and the Netherlands
New opinions on the situation of national minorities in Georgia and the Netherlands have published by the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. Over the past three years, Georgia has strengthened its legislative framework for promotion of rights...
Denmark needs stronger anti-corruption policies for government and the police force
In an evaluation report published today, the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) calls upon Denmark to strengthen its policies to prevent corruption in respect of persons entrusted with top executive functions (members of the government and – in certain cases – special...