A group of Ambassadors from the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers’ Rapporteur Group on External Relations (GR-EXT) held two days of productive meetings in Geneva. The Ambassadors engaged in a highly fruitful exchange with Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Global Leadership Team of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), as well as with representatives from the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), digital technologies agency (ITU), Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), and other stakeholders. Discussions focused on cooperation between the Council of Europe and the United Nations, which strengthens the protection of human rights and multilateralism. The Council of Europe Strategy on External Action is working towards these goals.

The group also met with representatives of civil society to explore ways to make engagement with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) more prominent and meaningful in the work of the Council of Europe. The Ambassadors visited the premises of the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA) where they learned about the transformative potential of connecting science and diplomacy to anticipate future challenges.