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Lithuania should do more to ensure access to justice for trafficking victims, say Council of Europe experts
The Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) has called on Lithuania to take further action against human trafficking, notably by improving the access of victims of trafficking to legal assistance and compensation, and by disassociating the...
Secretary General meets Yulia Navalnaya
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has met Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Alexei Navalnyy. While expressing condolences and deep sadness for the loss of the prominent Russian opposition leader, the Secretary General underlined how Mr Navalnyy’s death cannot be separated from the grave human...
Civic Space, Democracy and Artificial Intelligence: how do they intersect?
On the occasion of World NGO Day, the Council of Europe’s Conference of International NGOs, bringing together representatives of civil society organisations enjoying participatory status with the Council of Europe, held a public interactive and hybrid event “Civic Space, Democracy and Artificial...
Congress President condemns plans for Russian presidential elections in occupied Ukrainian regions
The President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Marc Cools, has made the following statement: “I strongly condemn the plans by the Russian Federation to organise presidential elections in the temporarily occupied regions of Ukraine.” “The illegal conduct...
Congress President denounces so-called local elections in Belarus
The President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Marc Cools, has made the following statement: “The so-called local elections organised in Belarus on 25 February 2024 are nothing but a sham. Without freedoms of speech, assembly and association, without...
PACE President: “The ‘elections’ in Belarus are a travesty of democracy”
“There cannot be free and fair elections in a situation where freedoms of speech, assembly and association are curtailed; where opposition political parties are liquidated and their leaders persecuted; where the freedom of the media is not respected; and where there is no redress against these...
Hungary: report calls for improving access to justice and legal remedies for human trafficking victims
In a new report the Council of Europe Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) calls on the Hungarian authorities to take further action against human trafficking, notably by improving the assistance provided to victims of trafficking and their access to legal aid...
Council of Europe marks two years of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine
The Council of Europe has marked the second anniversary of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine by holding a special ceremony in front of its main headquarters building in Strasbourg, France. Taking part in the ceremony were Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić, President of the...
Extraordinary meeting of Ministers’ Deputies (23 February 2024) - Second anniversary of full-scale aggression of Russian Federation against Ukraine
On 23 February, the Ministers' Deputies held an extraordinary meeting on the occasion of the second-year anniversary of the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. They recalled the measures already taken by the Council of Europe and adopted a series of decisions,...
GRETA calls on Italy to better prevent human trafficking for labour exploitation and ensure effective sanctions for traffickers
The Council of Europe Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) has urged the Italian authorities to take further action against human trafficking, notably by strengthening measures to combat trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation, ensuring effective...
Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine: Two years on
Council of Europe leaders reiterate support and solidarity
Two years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine: Declaration of the Congress Bureau
The President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, Marc Cools, has made the following statement: “24 February 2024 will mark two years since the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On this occasion, the Congress Bureau adopted a Declaration in which it reiterated...
Experts concerned about reduction of minority languages’ use and learning in Latvia
The Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities has expressed concern in an opinion about Latvia’s policy to reduce the use and learning of minority languages and has addressed a number of urgent recommendations to the Latvian authorities. While...
Poland: Small cells and lacking legal access for remand prisoners among concerns raised by anti-torture group
A new report by the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) found problems regarding lacking legal assistance and prison cell sizes below the norm, among other issues. The report notes that most detained persons confirmed...
Challenging misunderstandings and myths about languages in Europe
With regard to attitudes towards languages in today’s society, two developments are of special concern for the Council of Europe. The first is a tendency on the part of public authorities and civil society to think that proficiency in one additional language is enough - as long as that language...
Minute of silence for Alexei Navalnyy
At the beginning of their meeting, on 21 February 2024, the Ministers' Deputies held a minute of silence in tribute to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalnyy, who died on 16 February at the Russian Artic penal colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence. On 16 February, the President of the...
Council of Europe commemorates two years of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine
On 23 February, the Council of Europe will hold a ceremony to mark two years of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, followed by an extraordinary meeting of the Committee of Ministers (to be broadcast live). At 9 am, on the Council of Europe forecourt, Secretary General Marija Pejčinović...
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...
Do You Know Your Digital Rights and Responsibilities? Take the quiz and find out!
Council of Europe user-friendly tool to empower users in the digital landscape
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...
Situation of Ukrainian children: PACE calls for urgent measures and international co-operation
Following an urgent debate, PACE unanimously adopted a resolution based on the report by Olena Khomenko (Ukraine, EC/DA) underscoring the urgent need to address the situation and fate of Ukrainian children forcibly transferred and deported to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, the...
Michael O’Flaherty elected Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights
Michael O’Flaherty (Ireland) has been elected as the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights by the organisation’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) at its plenary session in Strasbourg. He will serve a non-renewable term of six years starting on 1 April 2024. Mr O’Flaherty obtained 104 of...
Educational responses to crises: Lessons learned from Ukraine and other European countries
On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the European Wergeland Centre (EWC) and the International Day of Education, a seminar on "Education as civic preparedness, bridging policy and practice: Lessons from Ukraine and other European countries" was organised jointly by the Permanent...
Secretary General meets Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liechtenstein
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has met the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Principality of Liechtenstein and President of the Committee of Ministers Dominique Hasler. The meeting focused on the current actions of the ongoing Liechtenstein Presidency. The progress registered on the...
PACE resolves not to ratify the credentials of Azerbaijan’s parliamentary delegation, citing a failure to fulfil ‘major commitments’
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has resolved not to ratify the credentials of the Azerbaijani delegation, which were challenged on the opening day of the session, concluding that the country has “not fulfilled major commitments” stemming from its joining the Council of Europe...
Police ill-treatment in Serbia persists, action by the authorities lacking, says anti-torture Committee
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published the report on its ad hoc visit to Serbia in March 2023, together with the response of the Serbian authorities. The visit focused on the treatment of persons deprived of their...
Brussels conference marks Data Protection Day
To mark the 18th International Data Protection Day, celebrated every year on 28 January, the Council of Europe is co-organising with the European Union Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) and the Computers, Privacy and Data Protection (CDPD) a one-day conference in Brussels on 25 January to take...
Prime Minister of Liechtenstein: multilateralism benefits us all
Multilateral organisations, such as the Council of Europe, play a critical role in promoting peace and stability,” said Daniel Risch, Prime Minister of Liechtenstein, when addressing the Parliamentary Assembly. “Multilateralism is one of our lifelines,” he said, adding that the multilateral...
Council of Europe joins the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance campaign #ProtectTheFacts
The Council of Europe has joined the #ProtectTheFacts campaign of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), in a signing ceremony at the Palais de l’Europe, in the presence of Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić and IHRA Co-Chair Sara Lustig. The partnership between the...
Secretary General meets Prime Minister of Liechtenstein
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has met the Prime Minister of the Principality of Liechtenstein Daniel Risch. The priorities of the ongoing Liechtenstein Presidency of the Committee of Ministers were at the centre of the meeting. The conversation also focused on the implementation of...
International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust
“Remembrance is a choice. The Shoah must remain etched on Europe’s collective conscience. Because it is by remembering the darkness that we continue to live in the light”, highlighted Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić at the Council of Europe ceremony on Wednesday 24 January, marking the...
President of Cyprus calls for deeper multilateral cooperation to face current challenges
“We are witnessing a growing attempted erosion of rules-based international order, rising nationalism and violations of human rights,” said Nikos Christodoulides, President of Cyprus, in his address to the Parliamentary Assembly. In outlining many of these and other challenges, he stressed that...
Secretary General meets President of Cyprus
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has met the President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides. The meeting focused on the follow-up to the Reykjavik Summit, highlighting the need to respond to new challenges such as artificial intelligence and the impact of climate change and...
Secretary General meets President of Montenegro
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić, in her meeting with the President of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, has welcomed the country’s active stance in the Council of Europe, including the joining of the Register of damage caused by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and excellent technical...
Annual Report 2023: Commissioner Mijatović calls for determined and collective efforts to regain lost ground and advance human rights
“The intensification of challenges to the protection of human rights cannot be an excuse for giving up. Rather, the moment calls for a renewed commitment to the principles and standards for which our Organisation stands”, said the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović,...
Theodoros Rousopoulos elected PACE President
Theodoros Rousopoulos (Greece, EPP/DC) has been elected President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). Taking over from Tiny Kox (Netherlands, UEL), he is PACE’s 35th President since 1949 and the first Greek national to hold this office. The President serves for a...
Council of Europe and Georgian authorities launch new Action Plan for 2024-2027
Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge and the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Lasha Darsalia, have jointly launched the Council of Europe Action Plan for Georgia 2024-2027 in Tbilisi. Building on the work of previous years, the new Action Plan aims to support...
Support for young people from Ukraine: special call for 2024 youth organisations projects
On 18 January 2024, the youth sector of the Council of Europe organised a civil society event to connect youth organisations from Ukraine and those in other member states, discussing the needs and aspirations of young people in Ukraine, nearly two years after the Russian aggression. The meeting...
Congress celebrating 30 years in 2024: Statement by Congress President
Congress President Marc Cools has made the following statement: “Thirty years ago this week, the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers adopted a statutory resolution establishing the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities as a permanent assembly of cities and regions in Europe. From 31...
Croatian pioneer receives Raoul Wallenberg Prize for her work protecting women from domestic violence
Neva Tölle, a Croatian national who has spent almost her entire adult life working to protect women from domestic violence, has been awarded the Council of Europe’s Raoul Wallenberg Prize 2024 in recognition of her pioneering role, courage and determination in providing assistance to victims and...
Winter Session 2024: recent developments in the Middle East, situation of children of Ukraine, allegations of systemic torture in Europe
Debates on recent developments in the Middle East: Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel and Israel’s response, and on allegations of systemic torture in places of detention in Europe, will be among highlights of the 2024 Winter Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE),...
Belarus: parliamentarians and democratic forces hold dialogue in Helsinki on the country’s future
Leading representatives of democratic forces from Belarus as well as members of civil society and journalists joined with parliamentarians from across Europe in Helsinki on 11-12 January 2024 for discussions on building a democratic future for Belarus. The “Helsinki Dialogue” event, jointly...
Council of Europe body regrets Russia’s withdrawal from the national minorities’ convention: millions left without protection
Following the official notification of the denunciation by the Russian Federation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM), the FCNM Advisory Committee has issued a statement expressing its deep regret about the decision, which “deprives more than 25 million...
Anti-torture Committee publishes report on Albania
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published its report on the May 2023 visit to Albania. The main objective of the CPT’s 2023 visit to Albania was to review the treatment and conditions of detention of persons held in...
Council of Europe to announce the laureate of the Raoul Wallenberg Prize 2024
On 17 January, the laureate of the Council of Europe Raoul Wallenberg Prize 2024 will be announced. In a ceremony at the Council of Europe, Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić will award the winner for extraordinary humanitarian achievements. Speakers include the Secretary General, Roderick...
Portugal must improve effectiveness of system to promote integrity and prevent corruption in government and law enforcement agencies
The Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) has called on Portugal to improve the effectiveness of its system to promote integrity and prevent corruption in the top executive functions of the central government and in law enforcement agencies. In a 5th evaluation round...
Belarus democratic forces in Helsinki for parliamentary dialogue on the future for Belarus
Leading representatives of democratic forces from Belarus – including their leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya – as well as members of civil society and journalists are joining parliamentarians from across Europe in Helsinki on 11-12 January to discuss the democratic future of Belarus. The “Helsinki...
A 30-year long relationship with Syracuse University grows even stronger
The Council of Europe and the US-based Syracuse University have announced a new agreement that strengthens and expands an existing relationship by providing internships for students studying abroad in Strasbourg, France, as well as research opportunities for students and faculty. The agreement...
