European Court of Human Rights 31/05/2011 Russian businessman Mikhail Khodorkovskiy’s detention in breach of the Convention European Court of Human Rights In today’s Chamber judgment in the case Khodorkovskiy v. Russia, which is not final, the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been violation of the Convention. The case concerned the arrest and detention for several years of one of the then richest people in Russia on charges of economic crimes. Relying on Articles 3, 5, and 18 of the Convention, Mr Khodorkovskiy complained that he was detained unlawfully and for too long in appalling conditions and that the charges against him had been politically...

Secretary General 30/05/2011 Jagland names special media freedom envoy to Turkey Thorbjørn Jagland t During his regular press briefing, Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland today informed journalists that he has appointed Gérard Stoudmann as his Special Envoy to assess the situation of media freedom in Turkey, following an invitation made by the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in April. “Turkey is a founding member of the Council of Europe and has played an important role in this Organisation for over sixty years. This mission has to be seen in the context of regular co-operation between the Council of Europe and its member states'', said Secretary...

ECRI 30/05/2011 Anti-Racism Commission publishes reports on Azerbaijan, Cyprus and Serbia Fight against racism and intolerance The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) published its reports on Azerbaijan, Cyprus and Serbia. ECRI’s Chair, Nils Muiznieks, said that, while there have been improvements in the three countries, there are still concerns: for example in Azerbaijan, the situation of unregistered religious groups and of persons seeking international protection; in Cyprus, disproportionately high concentration of Turkish Cypriot and Roma pupils in particular schools and vulnerability of foreign domestic workers; in Serbia the Law on Churches and...

Secretary General 29/05/2011 Jagland urges constructive dialogue for freedom of assembly in Russia Thorbjørn Jagland Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, today issued the following statement: “I regret the clashes that occurred between gay activists and nationalist extremists in Moscow yesterday. I also regret that the police were not able to prevent the clashes. The right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, as enshrined in Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, belongs to all people without any discrimination and law enforcement authorities have a duty to protect peaceful demonstrators. 

EuroDIG 2011 29/05/2011 European conference on Internet Governance in Belgrade EuroDIG 2011 The fourth European Dialogue on Internet Governance - EuroDIG 2011 - takes place on 30 and 31 May in Belgrade, following the editions in Strasbourg, Geneva and Madrid. Over 400 participants from Europe are expected to participate in the meeting, including ministries of European countries, the Council of Europe, regulatory agencies, and Internet companies. In her welcome message the Deputy Secretary General, Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, stressed that internet governance was “first and foremost about ensuring a maximum of rights, a minimum of restrictions and a level of security and dignity for...

Parliamentary Assembly 26/05/2011 Assembly President welcomes release of Azerbaijan opposition journalist Mevlüt Cavusoglu Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly President Mevlüt Çavusoglu welcomed the imminent release of Azerbaijan opposition journalist Eynulla Fatullayev and others, following their pardon by President Aliyev. “With Mr Fatullayev’s release, the authorities of Azerbaijan put an end to the injustice done to this journalist, Mr Çavusoglu said. He stressed that  the prison sentence violated the journalist's freedom of expression protected by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Secretary General 25/05/2011 Thorbjørn Jagland welcomes arrest of Ratko Mladić Thorbjørn Jagland Following the news of the arrest of Ratko Mladić, wanted on charges for war crimes, Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland said: "The arrest of Ratko Mladić will help to close a dark chapter in the history of the Balkans. It will open the way for reconciliation in the region, and help all countries to focus on their European future. Therefore this is also good news for the people of Serbia. At the same time, my thoughts today go out to the victims of Srebrenica.”

Commissioner for Human Rights 24/05/2011 Human Rights Defenders in Belarus are severely persecuted Thomas Hammarberg “In Belarus, the crackdown on opposition politicians, civil society groups, human rights defenders and media continues. While no less than seven hundred demonstrators were arrested in the evening after the elections of 19 December, several of them have now been brought to court, have faced unsubstantiated charges and received extreme sentences.” In a new Human Rights Comment published today, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, underlines that it is important that the fate of the Belarusian people is not forgotten, and...

Secretary General 23/05/2011 Joschka Fischer and Thorbjørn Jagland launch debate on "Diversity and Freedom" Joschka Fischer, Dunja Hayali and Thorbjørn Jagland In the first of a series of events to be held in European capitals, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland and former German Foreign Secretary Joschka Fischer presented the report "Living together - Combining Diversity and Freedom in the 21st century" to an audience of 300 representatives from civil society, academia, business, media and government. In his speech addressing new threats to democratic societies, the Secretary General warned of the dangers of extremism in Europe. ...

Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers 23/05/2011 All-inclusive strategies needed to combat violence against children Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Deputy Secretary General and Kostyantyn Gryshchenko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine ''Holistic strategies are needed to combat violence against children in Europe'' – this is the main message of the international conference organised under the Ukrainian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers which opened today in Kyiv. Bringing together around 200 participants from twenty three countries, the two-day conference is discussing ways to implement integrated national strategies to protect children’s rights and eliminate...

Secretary General 20/05/2011 Secretary General Jagland calls for important change to Russian legal system Thorbjørn Jagland and Dmitri Medvedev In his speech to the First Petersburg International Legal Forum, Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland called for an important reform of the Russian legal system. ''A large part of cases concerning Russia which are before the European Court of Human Rights are appeals to decisions taken by the regional courts of some 80 federal entities of the Russian Federation. In my view, a final national decision in a huge country like Russia should necessarily be delivered by a supreme national judicial instance at the federal level, be it a Supreme...

World Press Freedom Day 19/05/2011 Council of Europe and PEN International call for stronger protection of freedom of expression Freedom of expression The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, and the President of PEN International, John Ralston Saul, made a joint statement to mark World Press Freedom Day on 3 May. They added that they are making this joint statement to express their concern over the growing threats to freedom of expression. 

Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers 19/05/2011 Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers – Ukraine presents its priorities Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers Ukraine has just taken over the chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for the next six months. Ukraine considers the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers as an opportunity to contribute to the developments of modern European processes in which the Council of Europe plays a significant role. It will ensure that the goals and priorities of the Council of Europe will continue to be pursued, in particular the strengthening of democracy, respect for the rule of law and protection of...

Secretary General 19/05/2011 Secretary General Jagland concerned about growing tensions in Albania Thorbjørn Jagland Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland adds his voice to those of other international partners in their call for self-restraint and full respect of the democratic process, with regard to the growing tensions in Albania following the local elections. ''I urge all political leaders to find a way out of the current crisis, in full respect of the legal and institutional framework and to avoid further escalation of tension. Albanians deserve better'', he said in a statement published today.

Parliamentary Assembly 17/05/2011 Assembly delegation visits Lampedusa to assess situation of ‘boat people’    

Secretary General 17/05/2011 Secretary General Jagland meets Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, met with Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland met today with Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov in Moscow to discuss current political issues. Addressing the ongoing negotiations on the EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights, Jagland underlined the historical importance of bringing together under the same system of legally binding standards and under the same Court all major powers in Europe.

Secretary General 16/05/2011 International day against homophobia and transphobia International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia The Council of Europe Group of Eminent Persons noted recently that LGBT persons face deeply rooted prejudice, hostility and widespread discrimination all over Europe, stresses Thorbjørn Jagland in his statement published on the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. ''Europe has spoken. We know the problems, we know what’s wrong, and we know what to do. Today, I call on European citizens, governments and national human rights structures to move from discussing this urgent issue to start acting to end discrimination of Lesbian,...

Group of Eminent Persons 11/05/2011 ''Living Together'': Combining diversity and freedom in 21st-century Europe Javier Solana Madariaga and Ayşe Kadıoğlu On behalf of the Council of Europe Group of Eminent Persons, Javier Solana Madariaga presented the report ''Living Together'': Combining diversity and freedom in 21st-century Europe, to the Committee of Ministers meeting in Istanbul. Taking stock of the challenges arising from the resurgence of intolerance and discrimination in Europe, the report analyses ''the threat'' and proposes ''the response'' for ''living together'' in open European societies.

Committee of Ministers 10/05/2011 Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers meet in Istanbul 121e sesion du Comité des Ministres The Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Council of Europe’s 47 member states will meet in Istanbul on Wednesday 11 May.  Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Turkey, chaired the official session, which began at 9.30 am. At the close of the session, Ukraine took over from Turkey the chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers for the next six months.