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Secretary General on official visit to Finland
Meetings with the Foreign Minister Timo Soini and President Sauli Niinistö
European Roma Institute will spread understanding of Roma culture and challenge stereotypes
Council of Europe member States have approved a proposal for the creation of a new European Roma Institute for Arts and Culture. Council of Europe Secretary General Jagland issued the following statement: “The Council of Europe wants to help celebrate the contribution of Roma art, history, and...
Secretary General questions Hungary over human rights
Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland will write to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán about new legislation adopted in the context of the migration crisis. “I am concerned about a series of recent amendments to legislation in Hungary which will, among other things, allow the Government to...
Council of Europe Bank proposes new "Migrant and Refugee Fund"
In response to the unprecedented influx of refugees in Europe the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) has launched a new grant facility named "Migrant and Refugee Fund" (MRF) to finance transit and reception centres in affected countries. The CEB will, pending approval from its governing...
Youth can lead the way to help migrants and refugees, say participants of Council of Europe’s youth event in Budapest
Young people can play a major role in fostering citizen solidarity and social integration in the current refugee crisis in Europe, including through digital means. This is a key topic of the Symposium on Youth Participation in the Digitalised World, organised by the Youth Partnership between the...
Refugee crisis: Council of Europe reminds states of respect for human rights of all
Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland has issued guidance to the Council of Europe’s 47 member States on the treatment of migrants and asylum seekers, including with regard to their reception and temporary living conditions, to ensure respect for their human rights. “The ongoing migrant crisis is...
Statement by Council of Europe Secretary General Jagland on recent events in Turkey
“Recent events in Turkey are very worrying. I strongly condemn the deadly attacks on Turkish security forces. And I express my sincere condolences to all victims of violence over the past days. I am also alarmed by the attacks on political parties and media outlets which risk destabilising...
UNHCR and Council of Europe leaders stress need to protect human rights of refugees
Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres met today in Geneva to discuss the current human rights situation of refugees in Europe and strengthen co-operation between the two organisations. "Governments should draw inspiration...
Europe can do more to protect refugees
For many years European countries have been warned about the inadequacy of their immigration and asylum systems. Now, with increased refugee arrivals and more frequent tragedies, this system is showing all its weaknesses. But refugee arrivals are not the real cause of this collapse. The real...
ECHR Lampedusa judgment underlines migrants have the same fundamental rights as everyone else
Migration crisis poses serious threat to the respect for human rights
Secretary General Jagland welcomes vote in Ukraine's parliament on constitutional reform and decentralisation
Council of Europe Secretary General Jagland welcomes the vote in Ukraine's parliament on constitutional reform and decentralisation today: “I welcome the vote in the Rada today in favour of constitutional reform and decentralisation. I hope that the reform process will continue and bring positive...
Secretary General welcomes adoption of National Human Rights Strategy in Ukraine
Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland welcomed today the approval by the Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko of the National Strategy in the Sphere of Human Rights for the period until 2020, and pledged continued support from the Council of Europe to Ukraine in its implementation. “The Council of...
Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) reports on Montenegro
Council of Europe calls for sharpened measures to counter corruption among parliamentarians, judges and prosecutors in Montenegro
Human rights defenders from Russia, Afghanistan and Balkan region shortlisted for 2015 Václav Havel Prize
Veteran Russian human rights defender Ludmilla Alexeeva, the grassroots NGO Women for Afghan Women and the Balkan NGO Youth Initiative for Human Rights have been shortlisted for the 2015 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize, it was announced in Prague today. The 60,000-euro annual prize honours...
Secretary General welcomes the release of six political prisoners in Belarus
Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland today made the following statement concerning the release of six political prisoners in Belarus: "I have been informed today that six political prisoners in Belarus, including Mr. Nikolai Statkevich, have been liberated by a decision of...
Council of Europe supports use of minority languages in public signs
The Council of Europe notes with regret that on 17 August 2015, the City Council of Vukovar / Вуковар (Croatia), where Serbs constitute a significant proportion of the population, decided to amend the city statute in such a way as not to provide bilingual signs in Latin and Cyrillic scripts at...
21st edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival
The 21th edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival, which is supported by the Council of Europe, ended today with the award ceremony. The “Heart of Sarajevo for the Best Feature Film” award, which is sponsored by the Council of Europe, went to the film “Mustang”, directed by Deniz Gamze Ergüven from...
Without papers but not without rights: the basic social rights of irregular migrants
“Those who think that irregular migrants have no rights because they have no papers are wrong. Everyone is a holder of human rights regardless of their status. It is easy to understand that the prohibition of torture protects all people but we should also be aware of the fact that basic social...
Declaration on gender equality in the European film industry
A high-level conference, entitled “Women in today’s film industry: gender issues. Can we do better?", was held in Sarajevo on 14 August, in the framework of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Chairmanship of the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers. A declaration was adopted at the conference calling...
Despite progress, Georgia still has to fully implement recommendations on transparency of party funding
The anti-corruption body of the Council of Europe, the Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO) published today a report on how Georgia has implemented its previous recommendations on criminalization of corruption offences, and on transparency of party funding. Back in 2011, GRECO issued a set...
