Newsroom
Photo exhibition “The DAWN" on Ukrainian children who suffered under Russian bombardment and occupation opens in Strasbourg
A photo exhibition has opened today, 19 February, at the Council of Europe, illustrating what the dawn of a new life would look like for Ukrainian children whose homes, villages and towns have suffered under Russian bombardment and occupation. Featuring pictures by French-Ukrainian photographer...
Sweden should ensure equal access to rights of all minorities through clearer guidance to its municipalities
Sweden continues to apply the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities to the Jewish minority, Roma, Sweden Finns, Tornedalians and the Sámi people. The Advisory Committee’s Opinion on the implementation of the Framework Convention by Sweden concludes that despite some...
Death of Alexei Navalnyy: Statement by Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić
"I am profoundly dismayed and outraged by the news of the sudden death of prominent Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalnyy in a Russian prison. The Russian authorities must conduct an immediate and thorough investigation and make the findings available to the public in line with their...
"There is little doubt that the Russian state bears full responsibility for the death of Alexei Navalny", PACE President says
Following the death of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) President Theodoros Rousopoulos made the following statement: "I am deeply shocked by today's terrible news of the death in prison of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny....
Death of Alexei Navalnyy: Statement by Committee of Ministers' President
Liechtenstein Minister of Foreign Affairs, Education and Sport and President of the Committee of Ministers, Dominique Hasler made the following statement: "Saddened and deeply disturbed by the reported death of Alexei Navalnyy today, I, in my capacity as President of the Committee of Ministers of...
Congress President dismayed at the death of Alexey Navalny in Russia
Congress President Marc Cools has made the following statement today: “I am shocked and dismayed by the news of the death of Alexey Navalny in a Russian prison. On behalf of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, I express my deep condolences to his family....
Protecting the human rights of sex workers
“The lived realities of sex workers across Europe raise serious human rights concerns. I call for an approach to sex work that is firmly based on human rights and focuses on the effective protection of sex workers’ rights, prioritising their safety, agency and bodily autonomy over stereotypes and...
Cinema attendance in Europe up by 18% in 2023, but is still below pre-pandemic levels
According to initial findings compiled by the Council of Europe’s European Audiovisual Observatory, cinema attendance in wider Europe rose to approximately 859 million admissions in 2023. This reflects a positive year-on-year rise of 18.1%, signifying an increase of 131.8 million tickets compared...
Rights of volunteer firefighters: Council of Europe concludes that France is in violation of the European Social Charter
In a new decision the Council of Europe’s European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) concludes that France is in violation of the revised European Social Charter on the ground of the discriminatory difference in treatment with regard to remuneration between certain volunteer firefighters (VFF)...
Addressing delays in family law proceedings involving children: a key goal of a new EU-Council of Europe project in Slovenia
A new joint project of the European Union and the Council of Europe “Ensuring the best interests of the child in civil court proceedings in Slovenia” has been launched in Bled. The project, co-funded by the EU and the Council of Europe and enacted by the Council of Europe's Children’s Rights...
Azerbaijan should step up investigations and prosecutions of money laundering and improve supervisory arrangements, says MONEYVAL
In the new report published today, Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering body MONEYVAL calls on Azerbaijan authorities to further strengthen measures to combat money laundering (ML), the financing of terrorism (TF) and financing of proliferation, in particular in the areas of preventive...
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Anti-torture committee highlights immigration issues in the UK
The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) has raised a number of concerns related to immigration issues in the United Kingdom, following an ad hoc visit to the country early last year. The main objective of the CPT’s visit, which took place from 27 March to 6 April...
Commissioner highlights key steps to better respect victims’ rights and deal with the past in former Yugoslavia region
In her letters to the Prime Ministers of the Council of Europe member states in the region of the former Yugoslavia, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, recommends specific steps to be taken to deal with the violent past and move more resolutely toward social...
Secretary General makes official visit to Slovenia
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has met the President of Slovenia Nataša Pirc Musar and other key personalities during an official visit to the country. During her meetings, the Secretary General discussed the follow-up to the Reykjavik Summit and the forthcoming 75th anniversary of the...
Declaration by the Committee of Ministers on the death penalty in the United States of America
The Committee of Ministers deplores the execution on 25 January in the State of Alabama of Mr Kenneth Eugene Smith, who was already subject to a failed execution in 2022. The Committee of Ministers is particularly concerned by the unprecedented use in the State of Alabama of a new and...
Secretary General appoints David Best as Special Representative on Migration and Refugees
Today, Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić announced the appointment of Swiss diplomat David Best as her Special Representative on Migration and Refugees. The Council of Europe provides a close dialogue and support to its member States in responding to these challenges on the basis of the...
Montenegro should step up efforts to investigate and effectively prosecute money laundering, and strengthen the supervision of high-risk non-financial businesses and professions
In a report published today, the Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering body MONEYVAL calls on the Montenegrin authorities to further strengthen measures to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism. Since 2015, when MONEYVAL last provided a comprehensive evaluation of Montenegro,...
Congress President welcomes steps to restore regional government in Northern Ireland
The President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Marc Cools, has made the following statement today: “Following the end of the boycott by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), steps can now be taken to reconstitute the Northern Ireland Assembly and thus...
GRETA publishes its third report on Andorra
Andorra has made progress in the development of a legal, institutional and policy framework to combat human trafficking, but should take additional measures to identify potential victims, according to a report issued today by the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking...
Bulgaria: Council of Europe’s anti-torture committee again highly critical of situation in psychiatric institutions, notes progress in social care homes
Continued ill-treatment of psychiatric patients by staff demonstrates, once again, a continuing serious failure by the Ministry of Health to prevent and eradicate such unacceptable behaviour. Therapy opportunities in psychiatric institutions remain deficient, staffing levels insufficient and the...
AI and deeper learning in language education, unlocking opportunities for sign languages users: the European Centre for Modern Languages launches new projects for 2024-2027
The first meeting under the new programme “Language education at the heart of democracy” (2024-2027) launched by the Council of Europe’s European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML) took place in Graz, Austria on 25-26 January 2024. Supporting the integration of children from different linguistic...
Congratulations to the winners of the Stefano Rodotà Data Protection Award 2024!
The Jury of the Stefano Rodotà Award, composed of the members of the Bureau of the Committee of Convention 108, has selected the winners of the Stefano Rodotà Data Protection Award 2024. After reviewing all the exceptional works submitted by the applicants, the Jury has decided to award; PhD...
More efforts needed to promote German outside the Danish-German border area
A new report by the Council of Europe´s Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages has concluded that the Danish authorities continue to provide a high level of protection for the German language, which is the only regional or minority language protected under...
Secretary General meets United Kingdom Attorney General
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has met the Attorney General of the United Kingdom Victoria Prentis. The meeting focused on the state of play of the Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. The Secretary General recalled that the Register is...
PACE sets out its vision of a democratic future for Belarus
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has set out wide-ranging proposals to build a democratic future for Belarus – including a new set of measures to support Belarusian democratic forces led by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who also addressed the Assembly. Approving a resolution...
Secretary General highlights Council of Europe 75th anniversary at Assembly Winter plenary session
“This May we will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Council of Europe and I think it is important to recognise how far we have come. No other continent has ever put in place a common legal area, protecting, and promoting common standards in human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. Doing...
Situation in Belarus
Statement by the Secretary General
Foreign Minister Hasler: in the spirit of the Reykjavík Summit, the Council of Europe marks its 75th anniversary united around its values
United around our values - “The 75th anniversary of the Council of Europe that we are celebrating this year is taking place under the same motto that brought our leaders together in Reykjavík,” said Dominique Hasler, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Education and Sport of Liechtenstein and President...
Photo exhibition “Beyond borders: Ukraine’s untold stories” opens in Strasbourg
A photographic exhibition depicting the suffering of people displaced from Ukraine by the ongoing full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation, entitled “Beyond borders: Ukraine’s untold stories” opened today in the Council of Europe’s headquarters. In her opening remarks, Secretary General...