At the initiative of Secretary General Alain Berset, an informal ministerial conference is being held at Council of Europe headquarters in Strasbourg today (Wednesday 10 December) to discuss issues related to migration and the European Convention on Human Rights. A large number of ministers from across the 46 member states have come to Strasbourg to set out their views.
“Migration issues are high on the agenda of countries and people across Europe,” Secretary General Berset said ahead of the event.
“The European Convention on Human Rights provides the framework we need to address these issues effectively and responsibly. Our task is not to weaken the Convention, but to keep it strong and relevant – to ensure that liberty and security, justice and responsibility, are held in balance.”
Reaffirming commitment to the European Convention on Human Rights
Building on the commitment to the Convention expressed by Council of Europe Heads of State and Government in the Reykjavik Declaration of May 2023, the conference is intended to provide clear guidance to the organisation, through a set of conclusions shaping its future work in this area at the political level.
In recent years, issues related to migration – including the relationship between the Convention and national measures to control migration – have become the subject of intense political debate in, and between, many Council of Europe member states.
This event is intended to bring those discussions within the framework of the Council of Europe, in addition to the organisation’s on-going work on migrant smuggling and on other initiatives to deal with pressing migration issues and related policies.
A livestream of the press conference after this event will be available in English and French via www.coe.int from 12.30 CET on 10 December 2025.
Read the full speech of Secretary General Alain Berset
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