Newsroom
Visit to Ukraine: Commissioner Mijatović calls for continuous support and justice for victims of the war
“The extent and gravity of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law that have taken place as a result of the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine are staggering. Providing redress and support for victims and their families and delivering justice will be an...
Reassembling the building blocks of democracy to respond to violent nationalism
European Conference on Democracy and Human Rights
Reassembling the Building Blocks of Democracy
Europe should respond to violent nationalism by “reassembling the core building blocks of democracy” to “construct something that is stronger and more resilient than ever before” Deputy Secretary General Bjorn Berge told delegates at the third annual European Conference on Democracy and Human...
Launch of website in Spanish
Today, coinciding with Europe Day of the Council of Europe, the Council of Europe has launched a Spanish-language website. The website will make available relevant content on the Council of Europe´s work to promote human rights, democracy and the rule of law among Spanish speaking audiences. It...
Secretary General - Europe must remain resilient in the face of aggression and war
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has marked Europe Day 2022 by calling on European states to renew their investment in human rights, democracy and the rule of law in the face of “terrible violence and seismic change.” Launching her annual report, Moving Forward 2022, the Secretary...
Council of Europe experts release guidance to protect Ukrainian refugees from traffickers
New guidance from the Council of Europe’s anti-trafficking body GRETA will give European countries the advice they need to protect Ukrainians refugees from traffickers and to detect potential victims. The move comes following reports of suspected trafficking cases as the war causes an...
Anti-money laundering experts MONEYVAL publish 2021 report
Governments need to step up their efforts and coordination to combat money laundering and terrorist financing by adopting stricter regulation and supervision of the virtual assets sector and the specialised “gatekeeper” professions, such as lawyers, accountants and other services providers who...
European Conference of Prosecutors in Palermo
In the framework of the Italian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers, the European Conference of Prosecutors (5-6 May) is taking place at the Palazzo dei Normanni, the Sicilian Regional Assembly’s headquarters. The conference is promoted by the Prosecutor-General’s Office of the Court of...
Support for “Strasbourg Principles” in inter-religious dialogue on religion and peace, religion and human rights
An international conference took place today within the framework of the Italian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers on the subject of “Inter-religious dialogue on religion and peace, religion and human rights”. The aim of the event was to relaunch within the Council of Europe a dialogue...
Press Freedom Day: Media and journalists need better protection
Statement by the Secretary General
Congress President meets representatives of Kyiv City Council in show of support for Ukraine
The President and Secretary General of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe have met with a delegation of representatives from Kyiv City Council. During the meeting, held on 28 April, President Leendert Verbeek and Secretary General Andreas Kiefer held an...
PACE calls for an ad hoc international criminal tribunal to hold to account perpetrators of the crime of aggression against Ukraine
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has called on all the organisation’s member and observer states to urgently set up an ad hoc international criminal tribunal, with a mandate to "investigate and prosecute the crime of aggression allegedly committed by the political and...
The expulsion of Russia from the Council of Europe was inevitable, Di Maio tells PACE
“The expulsion of the Russian Federation from the Council of Europe was made inevitable by the atrocity of the crimes committed in Ukraine. Not only has Russia illegally and unjustifiably invaded another Member State, but it has continued its aggression in open violation of human rights and the...
Confiscated homes of Russian citizens should house refugees, Assembly says
Council of Europe member states should “identify and freeze” the homes of Russian citizens and state enterprises that have been targeted as part of sanctions in the war against Ukraine and transform them to receive Ukrainian refugees, the Parliamentary Assembly said in a resolution based on a...
Russian aggression must stop, Assembly urges
Russia must immediately and unconditionally cease aggression against Ukraine, and the international community must unite to defend the democratic world order, PACE has urged. Voting on a report by Frank Schwabe (Germany, SOC), the Assembly warned that a new dividing line was back on the map of...
“Guaranteeing security and peace is a responsibility of the entire international community” says President of Italian Republic Mattarella at PACE
“Guaranteeing security and peace is a responsibility of the entire international community and cannot be left to bilateral relations”, observed President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella while addressing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). The Italian President...
Secretary General: Media should be able to report free from attacks and intimidation, including in times of war
A new report issued by 15 media freedom organisations partners to the Council of Europe’s Platform for the Protection of Journalism and Safety of Journalists shows that the number of alerts reported on the platform concerning serious threats to media freedom in Council of Europe member states in...
PACE President expresses shock at Kavala sentence and calls for his immediate release
Reacting to the conviction of Osman Kavala to an aggravated life sentence, Tiny Kox, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), made the following statement: “I am deeply disappointed by the life sentence handed to Osman Kavala yesterday by an Istanbul Court. The...
“We must do everything we can to support Ukraine” Secretary General tells PACE
Responding to questions from members of the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić confirmed that the organisation had proposed adjustments to the Ukraine Action Plan to address the immediate consequences of the Russian aggression. “We must do...
More action needed by Lithuania to curb high-level corruption in politics and law enforcement
The Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) has called for further measures to prevent corruption in Lithuania in respect of persons entrusted with top executive functions, including the President of the Republic, ministers, chancellors and political advisers, as well as...