As delivered by Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe

President Stanzione,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Council of Europe has just celebrated its
75th anniversary.

For three quarters of a century now our Organisation has sought to protect and promote common standards in human rights, democracy and the rule of law –

To the benefit of people throughout Europe,
and beyond.

At the centre of our work is the European Convention on Human Rights –

Which every one of our member states has ratified –

And which is interpreted and applied by the European Court of Human Rights.

That Convention was designed to ensure that no government could abuse individuals’ rights in the way that Europe had witnessed so often –

And most obviously in the horrors of the Second World War.

Article 8 guarantees the right to respect for private and family life –

To privacy –

And to the human dignity that depends on it.

Over the years, its application and interpretation have ensured that the personal details and communications of Europeans are protected from the prying eyes of the state –

And other actors.

But, of course, our societies have changed over the past 75 years –

And while our values are constant –

They cannot be limited in scope to the world as it was.

Rather, they must be adapted and applied to the challenges that face us.

Over recent decades, advances in new technology have led to the automatic and mass processing of data –

The ever-extending reach of the internet into almost all aspects of our lives –

And now the rise of Artificial Intelligence –

Which has the potential to revolutionise our societies –

With the spread of autonomous decision-making.

All of these bring benefits to our societies –

But all of them involve the uses of our personal data in ways that raise important ethical issues –

Open up routes to new kinds of crime –

And even turn the threat to human dignity into danger for our national security too.

We know that personal data can be used, stolen and deployed in cyber-attacks –

To identify and target sites, individuals and groups, including in the case of war –

And, of course, to locate and support the victims of violence and conflict –

Whether we are talking about harm done to people or property on the ground –

Or the refugees, often children, who seek shelter in other countries when their own is being attacked.

These issues, and others, are all plain to see in Russia’s brutal, illegal and ongoing war of aggression against our member state, Ukraine.

So, how do we keep up?

How do we ensure that legal systems across our continent and beyond are able to protect the personal data of citizens in the digital age?

The Council of Europe has developed specific treaties to help governments achieve this.

Convention 108 was opened for signature 43 year ago –

And it has been central to the global effort to protect people’s private information ever since.

Even now, it remains the only international, multilateral and legally binding instrument on the protection of privacy and personal data.

With 55 parties and 40 observers from around the world –

It provides governments with a robust data protection framework that can be easily adapted for use at the national level.

It makes clear that personal data must be dealt with fairly and lawfully –

Be accurate and kept up to date –

And preserved in a form that allows any individual to be identified for no longer than necessary.

Data security must be prioritised, with special categories of data needing special safeguards –

Categories that include racial origin, religious beliefs, and sexual life.

It also spells out how transborder data flows should take place safely –

And it is clear on how parties should co-operate over implementation.

All of this remains vitally important.

But the last four decades have seen extraordinary social and technological change –

With the scale, diversity and use of personal data growing beyond what had been imagined before.

That is why we have adopted an upgrade –

Convention 108+.

This instrument is tailor-made for our increasingly complex digital world.

It provides new evaluation and review mechanisms –

And countries that ratify it have their higher level of data protection recognised at international level.

They are classified as “safe players” in the “data market” –

Able to exchange specific information based on mutual trust –

And to use it safely and securely for the economic benefit of their societies.

We are now within striking distance of the 38 ratifications required to bring 108+ into force.

I hope and believe that we will reach that mark soon –

And feel the benefit of a new and effective layer of data protection for our citizens.

Central though Conventions 108 and 108+ are, they are far from our only tools in this area.

Our Budapest Convention on Cybercrime is the gold standard in its field –

And its Second Additional Protocol enhances
cross-border co-operation and the ability of justice authorities to collect and use electronic evidence.

This is vitally important given the range and scale of cybercrime.

But it too places clear limits on the use of personal information during that vital process –

And our brand-new Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law is relevant here too.

Adopted by our member states just last month, it is a first-of-its-kind international legal treaty –

Which will help ensure that the rise of AI upholds our rights, and does not undermine them –

Including of course our right to private and family life –

Which remains of such burning importance in these modern times.

In a provision specifically devoted to data protection, this new Convention requires states parties to ensure that the privacy rights of individuals and their personal data are protected –

And effective guarantees and safeguards are put in place.

Ladies and gentlemen, the means for putting these tools to use are many and varied –

At the national level and through our co-operation programmes with member states –

And it is important to note that these are open conventions that can be ratified throughout the world.

What they amount to is a comprehensive approach to ensuring the protection of our privacy in our
fast-changing societies.

Article 8 of the European Convention was the seed for this –

And over the years, we have taken care to ensure that it puts down ever deeper, ever stronger roots.

This is the right approach.

And it continues.

Thank you.