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New Council of Europe/EU cooperation agreement for the Western Balkans and Turkey
The Secretary General of the 47-nation Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, and the European Union’s Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, today made the following statement: “We are happy to announce that the European Commission and the...
New European Roma Institute to promote Roma and Travellers’ cultural heritage
Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland made the following statement on the occasion of International Roma Day. “45 years ago, Roma people from across the world came together for the first World Romani Congress, near London, to congregate around their common identity. “Today...
European education ministers to discuss new teaching tool for promoting democracy
Council of Europe Conference of Ministers of Education, Brussels, 11-12 April 2016
Nominations for UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award 2016
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has announced the re-opening of nominations for the 2016 Nansen Refugee Award, from Tuesday 5 April to Monday 25 April. The award is bestowed on a person or group for outstanding work on behalf of the forcibly displaced, and aims to...
Escalation of violence in the Nagorno-Karabakh region
Statement by Daniel Mitov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
In times of crisis, Europe cannot afford to disregard children’s rights
With the new challenges Europe is facing today, governments cannot afford to put children’s rights on the backburner, said participants of the Council of Europe conference that started in Sofia today. “Keeping Europe anchored in democracy, universal human rights and the rule of law is our...
Secretary General on official visit to Poland
Yesterday 4 April, Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland had meetings with: The President of Poland, Mr Andrzej Duda The Prime Minister, Ms Beata Szydło The Speaker of the Sejm Mr Marek Kuchciński The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Witold Waszczykowski The Minister of Justice, Mr...
Businesses begin to recognise their human rights responsibilities
The effects of business practices on human rights have become a central issue for human rights protection. For a long time already, concerns have been raised about malpractices related to labour rights, health and safety at work and the use of child labour by some business enterprises. Later on,...
Secretary General Jagland urges return to Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire
Statement by Council of Europe of Secretary General Jagland: "I am dismayed and deeply concerned by the escalation of hostilities at the contact line in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone. The Council of Europe urges both sides to stop this totally unnecessary bloodshed which leads nowhere except...
Deputy Secretary General at 500th anniversary of the Ghetto in Venice
Deputy Secretary General has taken part in the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Ghetto in Venice and in the opening of the exhibition on the European Route of Jewish Heritage. Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni unveiled a commemorative plate by the Council of Europe at the local Jewish...
Anti-torture Committee calls on Belgium to tackle prison overcrowding and the adverse impact of strikes on inmates
In a report published today, the Council of Europe's anti-torture committee (CPT) calls on Belgium to solve its chronic problem of prison overcrowding and to take measures to ensure that strikes of prison staff do not have a negative impact on inmates. During its visit to Belgium in 2013, the CPT...
Cyprus should enhance refugee protection and alleviate effects of austerity measures on human rights
“Despite some progress made in immigration law and policy, Cyprus’ asylum system still suffers from a number of shortcomings that need to be urgently redressed”, said today Nils Muižnieks, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, while releasing a report based on his visit to Cyprus...
Supervision of the execution of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights
Committee of Ministers publishes 9th annual report: Positive trends continue in 2015 – new record number of cases closed
Death penalty in Japan
In a Statement adopted today, the Committee of Ministers representing the 47 Council of Europe member states deplores the execution of Yasutoshi Kamata and Junko Yoshida in Japan on 25 March 2016. The Committee of Ministers recalls that capital punishment contravenes the principles set out in the...
Protecting and empowering people on the Internet - New Internet Governance strategy
The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers today adopted its Internet Governance Strategy for 2016-2019, which aims to tackle the challenges to human rights, democracy and the rule of law in the rapidly evolving online environment. With the strategy, the Council of Europe endeavours to help the...
Paris joins the Council of Europe Intercultural Cities Network
The City of Paris today became a member of the Council of Europe Intercultural Cities Programme, which provides support for the establishment of local strategies for managing diversity and integrating migrants and minorities. “I welcome the decision of the City of Paris to join the network of...
Statement by the Committee of Ministers on the terrorist attacks in Turkey and Belgium
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, representing the governments of the 47 member States, today condemned “in the strongest terms” the terrorist attacks carried out in Turkey and more recently in Belgium. In a Statement, the Committee of Ministers paid homage to the memory of the...
New challenges for children rights in Europe in focus of high-level conference in Sofia on 5-6 April
The refugee influx, rapidly developing digital environment, economic crisis – all these new challenges that Europe is facing today create new risks for human rights of children. How the member States of the Council of Europe can best address these challenges will be the key theme of a high-level...
Ukraine: accountability for serious human rights violations is key to reconciliation process
Statement by Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muižnieks following his visit to Ukraine in March 2016
Congress adopts Recommendation following 2015 local elections in Ukraine
The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe held a debate based on the findings of the observation mission of the local elections in Ukraine on 25 October 2015. Following the debate, the Congress adopted a Recommendation focusing on electoral reform and progress of...
