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Application of artificial intelligence in healthcare
The impact of AI on the ′patient-doctor′ relationship is the focus of a new report by the Council of Europe’s Steering Committee for Human Rights in the fields of Biomedicine and Health...
Exchange of views at the Committee of Ministers on the abolition of the death penalty focused on the situation in Belarus
On 25 September, the Minister Deputies had a thematic exchange of views on the abolition of the death penalty which was focused on the situation in Belarus, the only country in Europe which...
Slovakia: GRECO delegation urges tangible progress to prevent corruption and strengthen integrity in government and police
Following meetings in Bratislava on 26 September the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) has called on the Slovak Republic to fully implement its recommendations to prevent corruption and strengthen integrity within the central government (persons with top executive...
Solitary confinement in prisons and its alternatives: a human rights perspective
Solitary confinement of prisoners is still widely used in many countries in Europe and around the world, although many studies suggest that it is often extremely damaging for prisoners’ physical and mental health and not conducive to their resocialisation. So how to mitigate this damage, and what...
Croatia: Implementing pilot of paperless commercial courts to improve efficiency in the judicial system
25 September – In Varaždin Croatia, high-level representatives of the Council of Europe, the European Commission’s Directorate General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM) and the...
Drugs in prison: Ensuring humane treatment of incarcerated people with substance use disorders
A conference in Strasbourg this week highlighted promising practices for people in custody who have substance use disorders (SUD). It addressed public health challenges in the drugs field and provided guidance to practitioners and policymakers in Europe. The Council of Europe’s European Committee...
Council of Europe evaluates anti-corruption progress in Ireland
The Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) has published a compliance report on Ireland, assessing the country’s progress in implementing recommendations from GRECO’s 2022 evaluation report on preventing corruption and promoting integrity in central governments (top...
First Meeting of the new Council of Europe Environment Governmental Committee
The Ad Hoc Multidisciplinary Group on Environment (GME) will hold its first meeting from 25 to 27 September 2024 in Strasbourg. This GME marks a new step in the Council of Europe’s intensified efforts to address environmental challenges and their impact on human rights, as set forth in the...
Empowering the Future: Making the Social Rights of Youth Real
As part of the UN Summit of the Future Action Days, a side event on "Empowering the Future: Making the Social Rights of Youth Real" will take place on 20 September 2024, in New York, at the...
The Bern Convention celebrates its 45th anniversary
The Bern Convention, a key international treaty for the protection of Europe's fauna, flora and natural habitats, celebrates its 45th anniversary today. Signed in 1979, it was the first treaty to provide a framework for cooperation on biodiversity conservation. Since its entry into force in 1982,...
New guidelines to protect voters' personal data
The Council of Europe has issued guidelines aimed at protecting individuals' personal data when registering as voters and when their identity needs to be authenticated to participate in elections. The guidelines, prepared by the Consultative Committee of the Convention for the Protection of...
Council of Europe contributed to the high-level ‘United for Justice’ Conference in Ukraine: Focus on Accountability for the Attacks against Civilian Objects
The Council of Europe supported the international high-level expert Conference ‘United for Justice: Accountability for Attacks Against Civilian Objects’, held in Kyiv, Ukraine, on 11 September 2024. The Conference provided a platform for expert exchange on critical topics such as the scale of...
3rd meeting of the Bureau of the Bern Convention - Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats
The Bureau of the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats held its third ordinary meeting of the year from 10 to 12 September 2024 in Strasbourg.
Council of Europe calls for strengthening international cooperation against migrant smuggling
The 2nd International Conference on Migrant Smuggling, organised by the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, has called on its 46 member states to explore all pathways to strengthen international cooperation. In her opening speech, Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić...
Kazakhstan: Anti-corruption body publishes first report on progress implementing recommendations
The Council of Europe Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) has published the first report on Kazakhstan assessing progress made in implementing the recommendations issued to the country in the Joint First and Second Round Evaluation Report (2022). See also unofficial translations in Kazakh...
Council of Europe opens first ever global treaty on AI for signature
The Council of Europe Framework Convention on artificial intelligence and human rights, democracy, and the rule of law (CETS No. 225) was opened for signature during a conference of Council of Europe Ministers of Justice in Vilnius. It is the first-ever international legally binding treaty aimed...
Justice Ministers discuss accountability for crimes committed in Ukraine and open AI Convention for signature at meeting in Vilnius
The Ministers of Justice will meet in Vilnius (Lithuania) on 5 September at a conference entitled “Towards accountability for international crimes committed in Ukraine” and held under the Lithuanian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers. Prior to the meeting, the Council of Europe’s Convention...
Italy must improve system for promoting integrity and preventing corruption in government and law enforcement agencies
In a new report, the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), calls for determined measures to prevent corruption in Italy in respect of persons with top executive functions (PTEFs), including the President of the Council of Ministers, ministers, undersecretaries of state,...
European Committee of Social Rights: Insufficient protection of workers in cases of unfair dismissal in Spain breaches Social Charter
In a new decision on the merits of the collective complaint Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT) v. Spain, Complaint No. 207/2022, the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) concludes that Spanish legislation does not afford sufficient protection to workers in cases of termination of...
GRECO calls on Monaco to supplement and extend its mechanism for fighting corruption in the executive and the police
In a new report which evaluates the effectiveness of Monaco’s framework for preventing corruption among persons with top executive functions and members of law enforcement agencies, the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) calls on Monaco to take resolute steps to...
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