Council of Europe

News Archive By year and month 2012 2011 2010 2009

High-level conference on drug prevention in the workplace
[11/05/2012] The Pompidou Group is organising a high-level conference on "Alcohol, drugs and prevention in the workplace: what are the issues and challenges for the government, the company and the staff?" taking place on 14-15 May 2012 in Strasbourg. During this conference, a reference framework resulting from one year’s analysis of the situation will be presented as a result of the work of the Ad hoc Experts Group on the prevention of drug use at the workplace. The objective is to encourage in each member state the setting-up of a policy to prevent addictive behaviour with due regard to human rights and personal freedoms and as a lever to improve working conditions.  (More)
Programme of the conference

Council of Europe anti-torture Committee visits Bulgaria
 [15/05/2012] A delegation of the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) carried out an ad hoc visit to Bulgaria from 4 to 10 May 2012. The main objective of the visit was to review the current situation as regards the treatment and conditions of prisoners in establishments under the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice. For this purpose, the CPT’s delegation visited Burgas and Varna Prisons. (More)

Two complaints are registered against France
[11/05/2012] The case Action européenne des handicapés (AEH) v. France, Complaint No. 81/2012, concerns the problems regarding access of autistic children and adolescents to education and access of young adults with autism to vocational training. The case Comité européen d'action spécialisée pour l'Enfant et la Famille dans leur milieu de vie (EUROCEF) v. France, Complaint no. 82/2012, concerns suspension of family allowances in cases of truancy. For more information consult the Collective complaints website.

Election procedure for members of the European Committee of Social Rights
[09/05/2012] At the 1142nd meeting of the Ministers' Deputies held on 9 May 2012 a decision was adopted concerning the procedure of electing five members of the European Committee of Social Rights.

Multilateral seminar on the police response to urban violence, Strasbourg, 21-22 June 2012
[07/05/2012]The Prisons and Police Reform Unit of the Council of Europe is organising a multilateral seminar on the police response to urban violence. This topic is of crucial importance within the current activities of the Council of Europe: as a matter of fact the 31st Council of Europe’s Conference of Ministers of Justice to be held in Vienna on 19-21 September 2012 will deal with the same issue (“Response of Justice to urban violence - Organised groups and their new ways of communicating - Juveniles as perpetrators and victims”.) (More)

Meeting on Medical Ethics and Health Care in Prison, Strasbourg, 10-11 May 2012
[07/05/2012] A multilateral meeting on Medical Ethics and Health Care in Prison will be held by the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on 10-11 May 2012. The meeting is being organised by the prisons and police reform unit within the multilateral co-operation activities of the Council of Europe in the prison field for participants from a number of member States which are currently in the process of developing their policies regarding the application of medical ethics and the provision of health care in prison. (More)

Council of Europe anti-torture Committee visits Belgium
[03/05/2012] A delegation of the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) carried out an ad hoc visit to Belgium from 23 to 27 April 2012. The main purpose of the visit was to review the current situation in the Belgian prison system, in particular the conditions of detention in establishments for prisoners awaiting trial and issues connected to strikes by prison staff and other industrial action resulting in a reduced work rate within prisons. The CPT's delegation visited Forest Prison for the first time. The delegation also carried out a short follow-up visit to Andenne Prison and examined Wing B of St. Gilles Prison, which is due to be opened shortly. (more)

1st Evaluation Round: GRETA visits Poland
[03/05/2012] A delegation of the Council of Europe's Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) carried out a country visit to Poland from 23 to 27 April 2012. The visit was carried out in the context of the first round of evaluation of the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (2010-2013). During the visit, the GRETA delegation held consultations with officials from the Ministries of Interior, Justice, Foreign Affairs, National Education, Labour and Social Policy, and Health, as well as with representatives of the General Prosecutor’s Office and the National Labour Inspectorate. The GRETA delegation also met members of the Polish Parliament (Sejm). (More)

Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on Bosnia and Herzegovina
[26/04/2012] The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) published today the report on its visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina in April 2011 together with the response of the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The CPT’s delegation received a considerable number of credible allegations of severe physical ill-treatment by the police. The alleged ill-treatment mostly concerned kicks and punches to the body and blows with batons; however, detailed allegations were also received of handcuffing in stress positions, the placing of plastic bags over the heads of suspects and the infliction of electric shocks. The majority of the allegations concerned the time when suspects were being questioned by crime inspectors in their offices, and the information gathered indicates that the infliction of ill-treatment is a frequent practice at Banja Luka Central Police Station. (more)

Round table on action against trafficking in human beings, St. Petersburg, 18 April 2012
[24/04/2012] Trafficking in human beings remains a burning issue, which is why the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the Interparliamentary Assembly and the Council of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) organised together, for the first time, a round table on this subject on 18 April 2012 in St. Petersburg. The event brought together some one hundred participants, including parliamentarians, public officials from CIS countries, prosecutors, law enforcement officials, researchers and representatives of non-governmental and intergovernmental organisations. (More)

Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on France and response of the French Government
[20/04/2012] The Council of Europe's Committee for the prevention of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (CPT) has today published the report on its visit to France from 28 November to 10 December 2010, together with the French Government's response. These documents have been made public with the authorisation of the French authorities. In its visit report, the CPT notes a number of positive developments. Legal reforms had been adopted or initiated in several fields of considerable interest to the Committee (e.g. police custody, prison matters and psychiatric care). However, some of the CPT’s long-standing concerns had only been partly met by the action taken by the French authorities. (More)

Symposium on Biobanks and Biomedical Collections - An ethical framework for future research, Strasbourg, 19-20 June 2012
[12/04/2012] The objective of this Symposium is to provide a basis for the re-examination of the Council of Europe Recommendation (2006)4 on research on biological materials of human origin. To that end, the Symposium will examine the developments in biobanking and research on biological materials of human origin, which have taken place since the adoption of the Recommendation and to consider their possible evolution, in order to assess the challenges they may raise with respect to the ethical and legal principles enshrined in the Recommendation. (more)
Recommendation (2006)4
Explanatory memorandum
Programme