Committee of Ministers 10/11/2011 Roma eviction, “aggravated” violation of the European Social Charter Committee of Ministers The Committee of Ministers took note, on 9 November, of the report including the decision of the European Committee of Social Rights taken on 28 June 2011 and decided to make it public immediately. In its Resolution, the Committee of Ministers invited France to report at a forthcoming meeting on the measures taken or foreseen in order to deal with the situation described in the complaint and to report on co-operation with other countries concerned. The European Committee of Social Rights had concluded unanimously, in its decision on the merits, that the forced...

European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 10/11/2011 Anti-torture Committee: solitary confinement in prisons should be minimised Photo Gamma Strasbourg, 10.11.2011 – In its annual report, which was published today, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) urges States to minimise the use of solitary confinement of prisoners. This measure should be applied only in exceptional circumstances and for the shortest possible period of time.   “Solitary confinement can have an extremely damaging effect on the physical, mental and social health of...

Commissioner for Human Rights 08/11/2011 Self-regulation protects independence of media, says Commissioner Hammarberg Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg The media play an important role in the protection of human rights. They expose human rights violations and enable different voices to be heard in public discourse. However, the power of the media can also be misused to the extent that the very functioning of democracy is threatened, says Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, in his latest Human Rights Comment published today. He stresses that some media outlets, including in European countries, have been turned into propaganda tools for those...

Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities 07/11/2011 Council of Europe minorities monitoring body publishes report on Slovenia Roma The Advisory Committee’s third Opinion on the implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities by Slovenia and the Slovenian government Comments have been made public.   The opinion covers the Committee’s findings after its visit to Slovenia in November 2010 and makes recommendations to the government on how to improve protection for persons belonging to national minorities.   The Advisory Committee commends several initiatives to tackle the root cause of some of the main...

Committee of Ministers 07/11/2011 Reforms to human rights “overarching” theme for Europe, says UK Foreign Secretary William Hague and Thorbjørn Jagland UK Foreign Secretary William Hague today stressed the determination and political commitment of his government to drive forward essential reforms of the Court of Human Rights during the British chairmanship of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers.   Speaking shortly before the official handover from present chair Ukraine, Mr Hague said that human rights were central to UK foreign policy and an overarching theme for the chairmanship. The UK – a founding party to the European Convention on Human Rights - would broker...

Council of Europe 03/11/2011 Kyiv: Conference of Ministers Responsible for Local and Regional Government Kyiv, Ukraine The 17th session of the Council of Europe Conference of Ministers Responsible for Local and Regional Government started in Kyiv today. The Conference is hosted by the Minister of Regional Development, Construction and Municipal Economy of Ukraine Mr Anatoliy Blyznyuk.     The main goal of the Conference is to consider the most important political issues in the field of local and regional democracy: the impact of economic crisis on local and regional government and policies to deal with the crisis, ensure recovery and tackle long-term societal challenges;...

Secretary General 03/11/2011 Secretary General makes first official visit to Netherlands Thorbjørn Jagland "Europe is a place where nations, cultures and people meet and mix and this constitutes our true identity", has said today Thorbjørn Jagland in a key-note speech at the prestigious Leiden University, during his first official visit to the Netherlands. The Secretary General met with the Prime Minister Mark Rutte, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Uri Rosenthal, with the Minister of Security and Justice, Ivo Willem Opstelten, and with the Minister of Education, Culture & Science, Marja van Bijsterveldt-Vliegenthart. Meetings at the Parliament with the PACE...

Commissioner for Human Rights 03/11/2011 Former Yugoslavia: Europe gets second chance to offer constructive support Thomas Hammarberg European institutions failed to protect people in the former Yugoslavia from ethnic cleansing and other war atrocities in the 1990s. The return to normalcy has been slow and major obstacles still remain. However, there are now grounds for some hope – which gives Europe a second chance to offer constructive support, says Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, in his latest Human Rights Comment published today.     Key political leaders in the area have shown moral leadership and initiated a process towards...

North-South Centre 02/11/2011 Council of Europe North-South Prize 2011 Laureates of the CoE North-South Prize: Souhayr Belhassen and Boris Tadić Since 1995, the North-South Prize of the Council of Europe is awarded every year to two personalities who have distinguished themselves by their commitment to the promotion of human rights, the development of the intercultural dialogue and the strengthening of solidarity between North and South. This year the Award is given to:   - for the North, to Boris Tadić, President of the Republic of Serbia, in recognition of his political action for the reconciliation of the Balkans and the integration of his country in the process of...

Parliamentary Assembly 28/10/2011 Assembly monitoring co-rapporteurs to visit Ukraine Ukrainian flag Marietta de Pourbaix-Lundin (Sweden, EPP/CD) and Mailis Reps (Estonia, ALDE), co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on the honouring of obligations and commitments by Ukraine, will make a fact-finding visit to the country on 2-4 November 2011. They will meet with the President of the Republic, the Speaker of Parliament, the Ministers of the Interior and of Education and leaders of political parties. Meetings are also planned with the Commission for the Strengthening of the Rule of Law, the Ukrainian delegation to PACE, various NGOs and the defence...

European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare 28/10/2011 Medicrime Convention already signed by twelve countries Medicrime Convention already signed by twelve countries Twelve countries have paved the way for the implementation of the Medicrime Convention by signing at the end of a two-day conference, on 28 October in Moscow, the first international treaty which establishes as offences the manufacturing, the supplying and the trafficking of counterfeit medical products. The Council of Europe called on European and non-European States to follow Austria, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Switzerland and Ukraine by quickly joining...

Deputy Secretary General 27/10/2011 Protecting children against sexual abuse: conference in Zagreb Maud de Boer-Buquicchio The Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse ( Lanzarote Convention ) is a genuine asset to states for preventing and combating all forms of violation of children’s fundamental rights.   Figures suggest that one in five children in Europe are victims of sexual violence. It is estimated that in 70 to 85% of cases the abuser is someone the child knows. And in 90% of cases, the offences are not reported to the authorities. Given the scale of the problem, the Council of Europe has made...

Secretary General 25/10/2011 Secretary General in London ahead of UK chairmanship Secretetary General with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg In London today for talks with the UK government ahead of its chairmanship of the Council of Europe, the Secretary General met with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. He also met the Secretary of State for Justice, Kenneth Clarke, Foreign Office Minister for Europe, David Lidington and members of the UK delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly.   Discussions concentrated on reform of the European Court of Human Rights which is one of the UK's priorities. The UK takes over the chairmanship of the Council of Europe for six months on 7...

Council of Europe 24/10/2011 Council of Europe expresses solidarity following earthquake in Turkey Council of Europe Following yesterday’s earthquake in Turkey, Kostyantyn Gryshchenko, Chairman of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, and Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, President of the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), today made the following statement:   “On behalf of the Council of Europe, we would like to express our profound sympathy to the people and government of the Republic of Turkey following the earthquake which hit the south east of the country on Sunday, one of the strongest in recent decades.   At this difficult moment, we would...

North-South Centre 24/10/2011 North-South Centre: Role of Women in Arab Spring Rome, 24 October 2011 "Women as agents of change in the South Mediterranean Region": the international conference organised in Rome by the North South-Centre of the Council of Europe and the Italian Parliament has brought together representatives of international organisations, civil society and experts from the Southern shore of the Mediterranean.   "The issue of participation is linked to the fundamental principle of equality between men and women", Deputy Secretary General Maud de Boer-Buquicchio said on 24 October, addressing the opening session. "We all have seen the...

Parliamentary Assembly 24/10/2011 Observer delegation congratulates citizens of Tunisia for keeping their appointment with history Avenue Habib Bourguiba, Tunis Nataliya Hora / Shutterstock.com Following the election of the consitutent National Assembly of Tunisia, the observer delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe made the following statement: "The observer delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) congratulates the citizens of Tunisia for having achieved this rendez-vous with history. For the first time, they have freely elected their constituent National Assembly, laying the foundations of their democracy. They have...

Council of Europe 24/10/2011 Roma policies and good practices database launched Roma policies and good practices database launched One year after the Strasbourg high level meeting on Roma, the Council of Europe has launched a database aimed at collecting and sharing the best examples of working for the social inclusion of the Roma community. The database is the centrepiece of a wide-ranging strategy to improve life for the Roma and constitutes a central resource for local authorities, governments, policymakers and NGOs to discover successful projects that they can take adapt to their own circumstances. Jeroen Schokkenbroek, Special Representative for the Secretary General...

Secretary General 21/10/2011 ETA announcement of end to violent action: Statement by Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland In a statement on 21 October Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland responded to ETA´s announcement of an end to violent actions:   “I agree with Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero´s statement that this is a victory for democracy. ETA´s announcement shows that terrorism can never win. A society where terror is present cannot be free, and Spain has suffered the tragic consequences of terrorist violence for far too long.   I would like to honour the memory of the many victims in Spain...

Council of Europe 19/10/2011 Council of Europe condemns terrorist attacks in Turkey Council of Europe Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland today strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in South-Eastern Turkey this morning:   "I want to convey my deepest condolences to the families of the 26 Turkish soldiers who were killed in a PKK attack on military installations in Hakkari today. I also want to express our solidarity with the people of Turkey who have been suffering from terrorist violence for decades. I strongly agree with Prime Minister Erdogan who said that the only effective antidote against terrorism is more democracy and more human...

Council of Europe Medicrime Convention 19/10/2011 Fighting counterfeit medical products: Council of Europe Medicrime Convention launched Fighting counterfeit medical products: Council of Europe Medicrime Convention launched The Council of Europe, the Russian Ministry of Public Health and Social Development and the Federal Service on Surveillance in Healthcare and Social Development (Roszdravnadzor) are looking to give a boost to the fight against counterfeit medical products and similar crimes.   A new Medicrime Convention will be opened for signature at a conference in Moscow on 26 to 28 October. Views will be exchanged on providing the legislative support and practical...