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Alain Berset, new Secretary General
Addressing the Ministers' Deputies, the Secretary General highlighted the vital importance of the Organisation's ongoing work and the importance of delivering results, saying: "In this, the Council of Europe’s 75th anniversary year, it is hard to quantify the amount of good that this Organisation...
Congress President deplores adoption of anti-LGBTI legislation in Georgia
Marc Cools, President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, has made the following statement: “I am deeply concerned about the adoption by the Parliament of Georgia of the legislation “On protecting family values and minors”, despite the persistent calls from the Council of Europe...
Nuevas directrices para proteger los datos personales de los votantes
El Consejo de Europa ha publicado directrices destinadas a la protección de los datos personales de las personas a la hora de su registro como votantes y cuando se necesita autentificar su identidad para participar en las elecciones. Las directrices, preparadas por el Comité Consultivo del...
Sentencia de la Gran Sala del TEDH contra España
La Gran Sala del Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos ha determinado que existe una violación del Convenio Europeo de Derechos Humanos en el asunto Pindo Mulla vs. España, relativo a las transfusiones de sangre administradas a una Testigo de Jehová en contra de su voluntad. Más precisamente, el...
Study visit to Austria sets groundwork for a free, post-war Ukraine
As part of a project to prepare for a free and independent Ukraine, ten representatives from six pilot territorial communities in Ukraine (local authorities and civil society organisations or CSOs) will participate in a study visit to Austria from 17 to 21 September 2024. The five-day visit,...
PACE committee urges steps to prevent violence and discrimination against lesbian, bisexual and queer women
PACE’s Equality Committee has called for a series of measures to combat violence and discrimination against lesbian, bisexual and queer (LBQ) women in Europe, pointing out that these women are now “especially targeted by anti-gender movements” which attempt to silence them or deny them their...
Committee calls on the Council of Europe Development Bank to boost support for reconstruction in Ukraine and focus on social dimensions of climate change
The Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development, meeting in Lisbon on 13 September, congratulated the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) for “its flexible and tailored support to its member states” in the context of the pandemic and natural disasters, and for the rapid...
Palabras de despedida de la secretaria general ante los delegados de los ministros de Asuntos Exteriores
«Hace cinco años realicé una intervención aquí mismo en la que afirmé que “el Consejo de Europa debe mantenerse como un referente de la defensa y protección de la democracia, los derechos humanos y el Estado de derecho en nuestro continente. De hecho, es menester velar por esta misión. Este es el...
PACE committee proposes a ‘right to food’ in national constitutions
A PACE committee is urging steps to ensure accessible, sustainable and adequate food for all – including enshrining a “right to food” in national constitutions and giving priority to a coherent legal framework to make food distribution, processing and marketing systems fairer and more stable....
La secretaria general recibe la Legión de Honor en Estrasburgo
“La Legión de Honor es un reconocimiento al esfuerzo realizado, pero también es una llamada a seguir luchando sin descanso por la paz, la justicia y la solidaridad entre los pueblos. Hoy estos valores son más necesarios que nunca. Recibiendo hoy este galardón, reafirmo mi compromiso para...
Implementing European Court of Human Rights judgments
The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers is holding its quarterly meeting to oversee the execution of judgments and decisions from the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg from 17 to 19 September. Cases proposed for detailed examination concern Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belgium,...
European Audiovisual Observatory: new report on the share of women in today’s European film industry
The proportion of women working in the various different roles in European film production only grew from 19% in 2015 to 24% in 2023. Between 2019 and 2023, the proportion of women in the cinema industry represented around 30% for producers, editors, screenwriters and directors, and only 12% for...
«No me había percatado de que la brutalidad humana pudiera tener tales expresiones»
En poco más de cuatro años, 52.000 seres humanos —entre judíos, romaníes y sinti, personas LGBTI, opositores políticos y otros— fueron encarcelados en Natzweiler-Struthof. Veintidós mil personas perdieron la vida allí. La crueldad absoluta —la maldad flagrante— supuso un enorme golpe para muchos...
El Congreso examina la aplicación de la Carta Europea de Autonomía Local en San Marino
Una delegación del Congreso de Poderes Locales y Regionales, integrada por los relatores Alexander Boomgaars (Países Bajos) y Tanja Joona (Finlandia), realizará una visita de seguimiento a la República de San Marino del 17 al 18 de septiembre de 2024 para evaluar la aplicación de la Carta Europea...
Local innovation is a catalyst for empowering communities
“We are living through unprecedented crises that pose new challenges and require innovating in response to them; local authorities are at the forefront of responding to these new challenges,” underlined Melanie Lepoultier, Deputy Permanent Rapporteur of the Congress on human rights and Mayor of...
Boosting citizen participation
A round table on “Boosting democracy by engaging all citizens”, held in Strasbourg on 13 September 2024, focused on the challenges faced by democratic societies such as a crisis of trust in...
Congress and national associations: Renewed commitment to upholding democratic values in cities and regions
At the close of the two-day conference in Strasbourg, the Congress of the Council of Europe and national associations of local and regional authorities from the 46 member states reiterated their shared commitment to upholding democracy, the rule of law, and human rights at the grassroots.
La democracia se construye desde la base: declaración del presidente del Congreso por el Día Internacional de la Democracia
“La democracia, construido desde la base, es nuestro bien común. Las autoridades locales y regionales pueden hacer una valiosa contribución para mantener la estabilidad democrática”, ha destacado Marc Cools, presidente del Congreso de Poderes Locales y Regionales del Consejo de Europa,...
Resilience and reconstruction of Ukraine: call for expanded partnerships with Ukrainian municipalities - Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
There is a need for expanding municipal partnerships and co-operation between Ukrainian and other European municipalities, and for sharing good practices of municipal support for rural and...
Co-rapporteurs express concern at Russia's attempts to interfere in the Republic of Moldova's domestic politics and electoral processes
In an information note declassified by the Monitoring Committee on 11 September, the co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of the Republic of Moldova, Pierre-Alain Fridez (Switzerland, SOC) and Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica (Latvia, EPP/CD), expressed their concern at “the exponential increase in attempts...
