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Country visit
Azerbaijan should ease the pressure on free speech, improve the situation of lawyers and continue to work towards better livelihood opportunities for IDPs
“Freedom of expression in Azerbaijan continues to be under threat” said Dunja Mijatović, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, at the end of a four-day visit to Azerbaijan. Recalling the European Court of Human Rights’ judgments stressing a troubling pattern of arbitrary arrest and...
Country visit
Turkey needs to put an end to arbitrariness in the judiciary and to protect human rights defenders
“Turkey must take urgent and necessary measures to re-establish trust in its judiciary and repair the damage inflicted on the rule of law during the state of emergency and its aftermath”, said Dunja Mijatović, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, at the end of a five-day visit to...
Country visit report
Poland’s authorities should shield judges from pressure, actively protect women’s rights and step up policies for gender equality
Today the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, published a report on the visit to Poland she carried out from 11 to 15 March 2019. The report focuses on the independence of the judiciary and the prosecution service, women’s sexual and reproductive rights, gender...
Speech
The long fight for justice of the Mothers of Srebrenica and Zepa
Opening the photography exhibition “Srebrenica – Mothers’ long fight for justice” presented in the lobby of the Parliamentary Assembly during its summer session from 24-28 June 2019, the Commissioner made the following statement: Ladies and gentlemen, Thank you for coming here today for the...
Speech
It is time to end coercion in mental health
Addressing the Parliamentary Assembly’s debate on “Ending coercion in mental health: the need for a human rights-based approach”, the Commissioner delivered the following statement today: Download the speech CommDH/Speech(2019)7 (Pdf) It is a great pleasure to address the Parliamentary Assembly...
Statement
Georgian authorities must protect participants in the upcoming Pride march in Tbilisi
“All Georgians have the same human rights and they should enjoy them free from discrimination. This means that everyone, including LGBTI people, must be protected from violence and hate speech, be able to exercise freedom of expression, and to conduct peaceful demonstrations,” said the...
Recommendation
Council of Europe member states must assume more responsibility for rescuing migrants at sea and protecting their rights
“European states’ approach to migration in the Mediterranean Sea has become much too focused on preventing refugees and migrants from reaching European shores, and too little on the humanitarian and human rights aspects. This approach is having tragic consequences”, said Dunja Mijatović, Council...
Third party intervention
The Commissioner intervenes before the European Court of Human Rights in a case concerning family reunification in Sweden
Today, the Commissioner published her written observations submitted to the European Court of Human Rights in connection with the case of Dabo v. Sweden. This case concerns the refusal to grant family reunification to the family members of a person with refugee status in Sweden, because he did...
Statement
Council of Europe member states should urgently repatriate their under-age nationals stranded in Northern Syria
The camp of Al-Hol in Northern Syria hosts more than 73 000 people, including citizens of Council of Europe member states, who live in squalid and hazardous conditions according to the World Health Organisation. 90% of those stranded in the camp with almost no access to health care are women and...
Statement
ICD11 is a stride toward depathologisation of trans people, but more is needed
“The removal of gender identity from the list of mental illnesses in the 11th version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), adopted by the Assembly of States of the World Health Organisation on 25 May 2019 is a welcome and overdue development for trans people all around the...
Letter
The Commissioner regrets the adoption by the Polish Sejm and Senate of legislation on life imprisonment which is contrary to the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights
The Commissioner regrets that the Polish Sejm and Senate adopted last week amendments to the Criminal Code, despite the concerns she had raised with regard to these amendments in a letter of 22 May 2019 addressed to the Marshal of the Senate of Poland, Stanisław Karczewski, published today. “The...
Letter
Commissioner urges German Parliament to increase the human rights safeguards of the bill for improving the implementation of expulsion of migrants
Today the Commissioner published a letter she addressed to the Chairwoman of the Committee on Internal Affairs and Community of the Parliament of Germany, Andrea Lindholz, in which she raises concerns about some aspects of the bill that aims at facilitating removals of people obliged to leave the...
Country visit report
Hungary should address interconnected human rights issues in refugee protection, civil society space, independence of the judiciary and gender equality
“Human rights violations in Hungary have a negative effect on the whole protection system and the rule of law. They must be addressed as a matter of urgency,” says Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, in a report published today on her visit to Hungary in February...
Statement
Let’s defend LGBTI defenders
Ahead of International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, Commissioner Mijatović issued the following statement today. “As we mark International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, I want to pay tribute to the defenders across Europe who stand up for the rights of...
Letter
The Commissioner calls on Serbia to ensure that its draft legislation concerning life imprisonment is compliant with the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights
In a letter addressed to the Minister of Justice of Serbia, Nela Kuburović, published today, the Commissioner calls on the authorities to reconsider the draft legislation introducing the sentence of life imprisonment without eligibility for conditional release for persons convicted of some of the...
Recommendation
Unboxing artificial intelligence: 10 steps to protect human rights
“Ensuring that human rights are strengthened and not undermined by artificial intelligence is one of the key factors that will define the world we live in”, says Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, in a Recommendation published today. This Recommendation – entitled...
World Press Freedom Day
Genuine political commitment needed to protect press freedom
“The state of journalists’ freedom and safety in Europe has reached an alarming point. The killing of journalist Lyra McKee and the violence and intimidations against journalists covering demonstrations in several European countries are the most recent examples which show that press freedom in...
Statement
Commissioner commemorates the victims and survivors of the Jasenovac concentration camp in Croatia
“More than 80 000 people were brutally killed in the Jasenovac concentration camp. This is a place of profound pain and a symbol of the disastrous consequences of unbridled nationalism and hate. Today I would like to honour the victims of those atrocities, express my solidarity with all those who...
Activity Report
Commissioner Mijatović highlights main human rights challenges in Europe
Today the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, presented her first annual activity report in a debate before the Parliamentary Assembly of the organisation. While the report covers a variety of the most pressing human rights issues in the Council of Europe member...
Statement
Commissioner calls for more rescue capacity in the Mediterranean
I take note of the decision taken by the EU's Political and Security Committee with regards to Operation Sophia. I regret that this will lead to even fewer naval assets in the Mediterranean, which could assist the rescue of persons in distress at sea. Lives are continuing to be lost in the...