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European and World Day against the Death Penalty: Joint declaration
Ahead of the European and World Day against the Death Penalty on 10 October, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, and the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, have issued a joint declaration reaffirming the...
2021 Nobel Peace Prize: Statement by the Council of Europe Secretary General
The Secretary General of the 47-nation Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, today made the following statement: "I am delighted that the Nobel Committee has decided to award the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize to journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov for their efforts to safeguard freedom of...
Fundamental Rights Forum 2021: social rights, data protection and artificial intelligence among Council of Europe sessions
The Council of Europe will host a series of sessions at the hybrid Fundamental Rights Forum 2021 on 11 and 12 October. Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić will take part in the opening session of the multi-location event from 13h30 Central European Summer Time (CEST) on...
Secretary General opens conference on women’s access to justice and full ratification of the Istanbul Convention
To mark the 10th anniversary of the Istanbul Convention – the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence – the Council of Europe is holding an international conference on 7-8 October 2021 to promote full ratification and implementation of...
Implementing ECHR judgments: new factsheet on freedom of assembly and association
The Council of Europe’s Department for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights has published a new thematic factsheet on cases related to freedom of assembly and association. The factsheet summarises measures reported by 17 member states to protect and further strengthen...
Czech Republic should intensify efforts to combat stereotypes and hate speech against national minorities
In its latest Opinion on the Czech Republic the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM), whilst acknowledging some progress in combatting discrimination, urges the authorities to intensify their efforts to combat stereotypes and prejudice...
Secretary General exchanges views with Italian Undersecretary Della Vedova
Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has had an exchange of views with Benedetto Della Vedova, Undersecretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation of Italy. The meeting focused on the priorities of the up-coming Italian Presidency of...
Commission against racism and intolerance publishes conclusions on Russia and Latvia
The Council of Europe’s Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) has published its conclusions on the implementation of its priority recommendations made in 2019, by Russia and by Latvia. In its conclusions ECRI expresses its concern about the non-implementation by Russia of the priority...
Digital technology and artificial intelligence on the agenda of justice ministers’ conference
Council of Europe ministers of justice are meeting in Gödöllő (Hungary) today for a conference held under the Hungarian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers on Digital Technology and Artificial Intelligence – New Challenges for Justice in Europe. The conference is being opened by Hungarian...
2 October vote: a missed opportunity for local democracy in Georgia, says Head of Congress delegation
The Congress concluded its mission to observe the local elections held on 2 October in Georgia. David ERAY (Switzerland, EPP/CCE, R), Head of the delegation, underlined the extremely polarized political environment in the country as well as an increase in verbal aggression, hate speech and fake...
Statement by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe concerning the reported liquidation of the Belarusian Helsinki Committee
The Secretary General of the 47-nation Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, has today made the following statement: “I am very concerned by reports that the Supreme Court of Belarus has this week liquidated the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, one of the oldest NGOs defending human rights in...
French Ministry of Justice wins the Council of Europe Crystal Scales of Justice Prize
The 2021 European "Crystal Scales of Justice" prize, organised by the Council of Europe and rewarding innovative judicial practices within European judicial institutions, was awarded to the French Ministry of Justice on 1st October 2021 in Ljubljana (Slovenia) for a project "Simplified filing of...
A warm welcome at the Council of Europe for Little Amal
There was a warm welcome today at the Council of Europe for Little Amal, a 3.5m-tall animated puppet of a nine-year-old refugee from Syria, the latest stop on her 8,000-kilometre journey across the continent to raise awareness of the situation of child refugees. “The Walk” is Amal’s epic voyage...
10th Annual Advisory Forum on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe: Online from 29 September-1 October
The Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe Annual Advisory Forum 2021 “Resilient and Sustainable Cultural Routes – Innovating Out of Crisis" will take place online from 30 September-1 October. Organised by the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe (EPA) in...
Right to a healthy environment: reducing inequalities, protecting the rights of climate migrants and promoting research and development policies
Adopting a resolution today in Strasbourg, based on a report by Edite Estrela (Portugal, SOC), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) said that access to the fundamental right to a safe, clean and healthy environment was unequally shared between regions, countries and...
PACE sets out steps to address humanitarian consequences of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan
Following the recent conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan / Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, PACE has set out a series of recommendations to both countries to address the humanitarian consequences in the short and long term, and move towards a process of peace and reconciliation. Approving a...
Hungarian Foreign Minister presents the work of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers
The situation in Afghanistan, access to Covid vaccines, national minority rights, the persecution of Christian communities worldwide, and promoting family values online were among topics raised by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó, presenting the Communication from the Committee of...
Secretary General tells PACE: implementing ECtHR’s judgments is a non-negotiable obligation
In her regular dialogue with the PACE, Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić underlined the vital importance of Council of Europe member states fully implementing the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. This is a non-negotiable obligation, essential for upholding the system of...
“Cycling for Democracy” or hitting the road in pursuit of original initiatives that help answer the question “Can democracy save the environment?”
In 13 short films, each roughly 5 minutes long, Nicolas introduces us to the individuals behind environmental and community-based groups around the world, which have been selected for the World Forum for Democracy (8-10 November 2021, Strasbourg). In search of answers to the environmental...
2021 Václav Havel Prize awarded to Belarusian opposition leader Maria Kalesnikava
The ninth Václav Havel Human Rights Prize – which honours outstanding civil society action in defence of human rights – has been awarded to Belarusian opposition leader and activist Maria Kalesnikava. The 60,000-euro prize was presented at a special ceremony on the opening day of the autumn...
