Statement
Bosnia and Herzegovina: it is high time for a memorial to the killed children of Prijedor to be built
On the occasion of the White Armband Day in Prijedor, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović reiterates the importance of securing the right of the families of thousands of victims of war crimes and grave human rights violations committed in this town between 1992...
Letter
Ireland: Secure dignified accommodation for all refugees and asylum seekers through a government-wide approach
In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister of Ireland, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, published today, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović raises concerns about the...
Speech
Speech at the 4th Summit of the Council of Europe
Speech delivered by the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, at the 4th Council of Europe Summit in Reykjavik, Iceland Presidents, Ministers, Chairperson, Excellencies, Russia's war against Ukraine is the negation of all the values for which our Organisation stands....
Rule 9
It is high time to execute the Sejdić and Finci group of judgments and ensure full elimination of ethnic discrimination from the Constitution and electoral legislation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Commissioner published today her submission to the Committee of Ministers in the context of the supervision of the execution of the Sejdić and Finci group of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. This group of judgments relates to discrimination against the applicants on account of...
Speech
IDAHOT+ Forum 2023: member states should build on momentum to end conversion practices targeting LGBTI people
Address to the European IDAHOT+ Forum 2023, hosted in the framework of Iceland’s Presidency of the Council of Europe in Reykjavik, Iceland Dear Ministers and state representatives, dear activists, dear friends, Each year, the IDAHOT forum is an important opportunity to take stock of progress and...
Country visit report
Spain: address housing and health inequalities, safeguard freedoms of expression and assembly and provide safe and legal access to the territory for people seeking asylum
Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović published today the report on her visit to Spain carried out in November 2022, with recommendations on social rights, in particular the right to housing and the right to health, the freedoms of expression and assembly and the human...
Report
Ensure human rights in the era of AI and unleash its potential to protect rather than harm
“As AI development affects nearly every aspect of our lives and its influence will further increase in the foreseeable future, member states must take concrete steps to ensure that people’s human rights are safeguarded in the design, development and deployment of AI systems” says Council of...
Statement
The Turkish authorities must protect democratic freedoms
The Turkish authorities should put an end to the hostile environment affecting human rights defenders, journalists, NGOs and lawyers and stop silencing them by means of administrative and judicial action. Ahead of elections, the pressure on these important actors in a democratic society has...
World Press Freedom Day
States should honor the importance of free press by ensuring journalists can do their job freely and safely
"Attacks and threats against journalists have risen at an alarming rate. This is dangerous both for journalists and for democracy. There is an urgent need for member states to close the gap between standards and reality," said Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović, after...
Letter
Slovak Republic: Parliamentarians should reject a bill undermining trans people’s human rights and ensure equality for LGBTI people
“Parliamentarians in the Slovak Republic should reject a bill that would effectively prevent trans people from having their gender identity legally recognised. This legislation would put the Slovak Republic in conflict with its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights,” said the...
Annual report 2022
Annual Report 2022: Commissioner Mijatović calls for renewed commitment to human rights protection to address numerous systemic problems
“The protection of human rights in Europe has suffered serious setbacks in 2022,” said the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, presenting her Annual Report today. “A renewed commitment to human rights is needed to reverse the trend.” The report largely focuses on the...
Statement
Lithuania: human rights should be at the centre of the parliamentary debate on migration and asylum
“I call on the Lithuanian Parliament to reject the draft amendments to the Law on the State Border and its Protection, which would legalise the current practices that put persons in need of international protection at risk of pushbacks,” said the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights,...
Report
Commissioner draws attention to Crimean Tatars’ struggle for human rights
“Crimean Tatars in Crimea, and especially those opposing Crimea’s illegal annexation or expressing dissent, are being subjected to numerous patterns of serious violations of human rights, persecution, discrimination, and stigmatisation by the Russian occupying authorities. This is further...
International Roma Day
Combating discrimination against Roma through history teaching
Ahead of International Roma Day on 8 April, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, calls on all states to ensure that the history of Roma is never forgotten, but instead valued and taught to society at large. “History teaching is one of the most important tools...
Statement
National human rights structures play a key role in addressing the impacts of artificial intelligence on human rights
“Effective and independent national human rights structures are guardians of human rights at the national level in the member states and key partners for me. They play a crucial role in the prevention, mitigation, and oversight of the human rights impacts of AI systems”, said the Commissioner at...
Letter
Parliamentarians should uphold the United Kingdom’s international obligations when scrutinising the “Illegal Migration Bill”
“It is essential that parliamentarians prevent legislation that is incompatible with the United Kingdom’s international obligations being passed”, said the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, in her letter to the House of Commons and the House of Lords about the...
Statement
Demonstrations in France: freedoms of expression and assembly must be protected against all forms of violence
"In the context of the social movement against the pension reform in France, the freedoms of expression and assembly are being exercised under worrying conditions," the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, said today. "It is the responsibility of the authorities to...
Report
Commissioner calls on states to support and to protect human rights defenders in the context of multiple crises affecting Europe
“The growing gap between the risks and the obstacles faced by human rights defenders in Europe and the standards States have agreed to must be a call to action”, says Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović upon the release today of a report on a round-table with human...
Statement
High time for the authorities to accept LGBTI people and their rights, the perpetrators of the attack in Banja Luka must be sanctioned
"The violence unleashed against LGBTI people, human rights defenders and journalists in Banja Luka last Saturday is a worrying and dangerous development and violation of the rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. The authorities must condemn and investigate the incident, and...
Country visit
Serbia: more efforts needed to face the past, increase safety of journalists and human rights defenders, and protect women from violence
“It is high time for Serbia to face the legacy of the past, to protect media freedom and freedom of assembly, and to fulfil its commitments on women’s rights and gender equality” said today Dunja Mijatović, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, at the end of a visit to the country...