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UK prison system in deep crisis says anti-Torture Committee
The United Kingdom’s prison system is in deep crisis, according to a report published by the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) following a targeted visit to the country in May 2019. (see executive summary). The CPT delegation found that the three male prisons...
Council of Europe NGO platform calls on Hungarian parliament to drop legal provisions on gender
The Standing Committee of the Conference of international NGOs, which is part of the Council of Europe, has addressed the Hungarian authorities calling on the Hungarian Parliament to drop Article 33 of the draft omnibus Bill T/9934, because it would make it impossible for transgender and...
COVID-19 tracing apps: side effects on personal data protection should be avoided
In a joint statement the Chair of the Council of Europe’s data protection “Convention 108” committee, Alessandra Pierucci, and the Council of Europe’s Data Protection Commissioner, Jean-Philippe Walter, have warned of the possible side effects of digital contact tracing applications used to help...
COVID-19 crisis: Council of Europe Bank supports Comunidad de Madrid health sector with €200 million loan
The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) and Comunidad de Madrid have signed an agreement for a 200 million euros loan to support the latter’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and reinforce the level of medical services provided to its citizens. Spain has been particularly hard hit by the...
Robert Spano elected President of the European Court of Human Rights
Icelandic judge Robert Spano has been elected President of the European Court of Human Rights. Judge Spano, who is currently a Vice-President of the Court, has been the judge in respect of Iceland since November 2013. He studied law in Iceland and the United Kingdom and has worked in a range of...
Secretary General: acquittal of Ilgar Mammadov and Rasul Jafarov is to be welcomed
Statement by Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić: "The acquittal today of Ilgar Mammadov and Rasul Jafarov by the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan is to be welcomed. As the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers has repeatedly emphasised, the execution of the European Court...
PACE President on COVID-19: 'Let’s not normalise the abnormal'
Rik Daems, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, spells out the red lines no democracy should cross, even in a crisis – and warns that the COVID-19 emergency measures fast-tracked by governments around Europe should not become “the new normal”: There’s an old proverb...
Fighting COVID-19: Council of Europe values and standards must be upheld
David Zalkaliani, President of the Committee of Ministers and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Georgia, has expressed his satisfaction following the Committee of Ministers’ adoption of a Declaration on the COVID-19 pandemic. "During this very difficult time we are living through, I am pleased that...
European Committee of Social Rights: the right to protection of health in times of pandemic
In a statement of interpretation on the right to protection of health (Article 11 of the European Social Charter) in times of pandemic, the European Committee of Social Rights endorses many measures adopted by states in response to COVID-19: “testing and tracing, physical distancing and...
Challenges to human rights in Europe intensified in 2019
The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, has published her annual activity report covering 2019. The report provides an overall picture of the main problems, challenges and opportunities that European countries are facing in the field of human rights. “The image I get...
Council of Europe Bank approves € 300 million loan to Czech Republic to combat the COVID-19 pandemic
The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) has approved a € 300 million loan to the Czech Republic to finance health expenditure to combat the spread and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Czech Republic was quick to undertake COVID-19 protective measures in January before any confirmed cases...
COVID-19 pandemic: GRECO warns of corruption risks
The Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) has published guidelines addressed to its 50 member states aimed at preventing corruption in the context of the health emergency caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The guidelines, issued by GRECO’s president, Marin Mrčela, underline...
COVID-19 pandemic: tackling the dramatic increase in cases of violence against women
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, a dramatic increase has been reported in recorded cases of violence against women and domestic violence, both worldwide and in Council of Europe member states. The Committee of the Parties to the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence...
Council of Europe Bank approves € 300 million COVID-19 healthcare loan to Italy
The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) has approved a € 300 million loan to Italy to finance health expenditure associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. In a decree issued on 23 March 2020, Italy defined a set of extraordinary immediate term measures aimed at managing the COVID-19 pandemic,...
During virus crisis states should ensure rescue at sea and allow safe disembarkation
Statement by Commissioner for Human Rights “Despite the unprecedented challenges European countries face due to COVID-19, saving lives at sea and disembarking survivors in a safe port must continue”, stated today Dunja Mijatović, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights. The...
COVID-19: Human rights principles must guide health decisions
A statement published by the Council of Europe's Committee on Bioethics recalls the fundamental principles, based on the respect for human dignity and human rights, which must guide medical decisions and practices in the context of the current crisis. Health care systems are under extreme...
Council of Europe and UNHCR support member states in bringing refugee health workers into the fight against COVID-19
As many European countries continue to struggle with the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis, the Council of Europe and UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, are encouraging states to benefit from the support that refugee health professionals can provide to national health systems at this critical...
Greece: Reforming prison system and ending police ill-treatment are urgent priorities, says CPT
After a visit to prisons in Greece last year, the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) recommends that the Greek authorities remedy structural problems that have led to enduring ill-treatment of detainees, prison...
Algorithms and automation: new guidelines to prevent human rights breaches
The Council of Europe today called on its 47 member States to take a precautionary approach to the development and use of algorithmic systems and adopt legislation, policies and practices that fully respect human rights. In a Recommendation on the human rights impacts of algorithmic systems, the...
Coronavirus: guidance to governments on respecting human rights, democracy and the rule of law
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, has issued a toolkit for governments across Europe on respecting human rights, democracy and the rule of law during the COVID-19 crisis. The Information Document was sent to all 47 Council of Europe member states yesterday....
