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European and World Day against the Death Penalty, 10 October 2024
The death penalty is an inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, representing the ultimate denial of human dignity. On the occasion of the European and World Day against the Death Penalty, the European Union (EU) and the Council of Europe strongly reaffirm their unequivocal opposition to the...
First Donor Coordination Meeting to discuss social rights in Armenia
Social rights and relevant reforms remain high on the agenda of the Armenian authorities and are included in the strategic area of cooperation with the Council of Europe, as envisaged in the Council of Europe Action Plan for Armenia 2023-2026. On 4 October 2024 the Council of Europe organised the...
Civil society networking to support refugee women and girls in Armenia
The Council of Europe held the “Together to Empower” networking conference, which brought together over 17 civil society organisations (CSOs), including well-established groups and organisations recently founded by refugee women. The event helped strengthen the capacities of CSOs in supporting...
International Day of Non-Violence: violence against grassroots politicians has a chilling effect on local democracy
On the occasion of International Day of Non-Violence (2 October), Bernd Vöhringer, Congress Rapporteur on combating violence against local and regional elected representatives, has made the following statement: “Over the last ten years, we have witnessed an alarming rise in violent attacks...
Promoting human rights-based approaches in clinical practice
As part of its significant initiative to promote the human rights and ethical standards in healthcare, the Council of Europe, in close collaboration with the Yerevan State Medical University, conducted a comprehensive training on the key human rights principles enshrined in the Council of...
Secretary General at the United Nations General Assembly
“During the Council of Europe’s 75th anniversary year, we will be making the case for as many countries as possible to sign and ratify our key conventions, at a time of democratic backsliding, for our member states to do ever more to uphold our values, both in words and in action. That is the way...
The Council of Europe contributes to the reform agenda of the Government of Armenia in the field of the right to health
Armenia ratified the European Social Charter in 2004, however Article 11 of the Charter, which focuses on the right to health protection, is still awaiting ratification. The signing of the Council of Europe Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine (Oviedo Convention) in May 2024 highlights...
Equality and non-discrimination training session for Armenian police officers
After the first training held in June 2024, Armenian police officers participated to a follow-up training on European standards on equality and non-discrimination. Arpine Sargsyan, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, opened the training, highlighting the importance of...
Smart, inclusive, fair policies needed to counter instrumentalisation and politicisation of minority rights in Europe, says expert committee
Over the past two years, from mid-2022 to mid-2024, despite some positive developments and good practices, very worrying trends against diversity and minority rights in Europe have been observed, says the Advisory Committee on the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of...
Languages for Peace: European Day of Languages 2024 highlights Europe’s linguistic and cultural diversity
Every year since 2001 the European Day of Languages marked on 26 September celebrates the wealth of languages coexisting in Europe and beyond. Over 225 languages are native to Europe alone, not including languages that arrived on the continent through migration. The motto of this year’s day is...
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