Country monitoring
Country visit report
Austria: improve reception and integration of migrants and protection of women’s rights
The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, published today the report following her visit to Austria carried out in December 2021, with recommendations on improving the reception and integration of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants and on strengthening women’s...
Letter
Spain: the review of the 2015 Law on Citizens' Safety should result in better protecting human rights
In a letter published today, the Commissioner calls on the Parliament of Spain to ensure that the review of the 2015 Law on Citizens’ Safety is used as an opportunity to bring it fully in line with European and international human rights standards, in particular as concerns the provisions...
Opinion article
Op-ed: De-escalate Bosnia and Herzegovina - before it is too late
EUObserver, 18/11/2021 Warmongering has seriously intensified in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As some politicians, including in the neighbouring countries Serbia and Croatia, ratchet-up their inflammatory rhetoric, the international community struggles to find a response to escalating tensions. This...
Letter
Germany should pursue efforts to fully ensure children’s rights
In a letter addressed to Christine Lambrecht, the Federal Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection and Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth of Germany, made public today, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, urges the German...
Letter
United Kingdom: Parliamentarians should reject restrictions on peaceful demonstration, criminalisation of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities
In a letter to the UK House of Commons and House of Lords, published today, the Commissioner urged parliamentarians to reject restrictions on peaceful demonstrations contained in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. She also urges them to reject a new proposed criminal offence of...
Country Memorandum
Slovenian authorities should halt the deterioration of freedom of expression and media freedom
In a Memorandum published today, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, calls on the Slovenian authorities to put a stop to the marked deterioration of freedom of expression and of the media in the country. The Commissioner warns that some steps taken by the...
Letter
Greek authorities should investigate allegations of pushbacks and ill-treatment of migrants, ensure an enabling environment for NGOs and improve reception conditions
In a letter addressed to the Minister for Citizens’ Protection, the Minister of Migration and Asylum, and the Minister of Shipping and Island Policy of Greece, made public today, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, urges the Greek authorities to put an end to...
Letter
Romania: the appointment of the new leadership of the CRPD Monitoring Council should be an opportunity to strengthen the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities
In a letter to the President of the Senate of Romania and the Chairperson of its Human Rights Committee, made public today, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights invites the Senate to use the appointment of the new leadership of the CRPD Monitoring Council to strengthen the...
Country Memorandum
It is high time for Hungary to restore journalistic and media freedoms
“The combined effects of a politically controlled media regulatory authority and distortionary state intervention in the media market have eroded media pluralism and freedom of expression in Hungary”, said the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, in a Memorandum...
Country Memorandum
Portugal should act more resolutely to tackle racism and continue efforts to combat violence against women
In a memorandum published today, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, called on the authorities of Portugal to address more resolutely the increasing level of racism in the country, as well as to take additional steps to prevent and combat violence against women...
Letter
Turkey: authorities should refrain from further restricting NGOs activities and freedom of association in the name of counter-terrorism
In a letter addressed to the Minister of Interior and the Minister of Justice of Turkey, made public today, the Commissioner calls on the authorities to refrain from further implementing the Law on Preventing Financing of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, pending the outcome of the...
Letter
The Commissioner urges the Russian authorities to halt the practice of arresting peaceful demonstrators and to align policing of demonstrations with human rights standards
Today the Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatovic published a letter addressed to the Minister of Interior of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Kolokoltsev, in which she highlights a number of human rights concerns related to the policing of demonstrations that had taken place in many...
Letter
Bosnia and Herzegovina must urgently improve its migrant reception capacities, improve access to asylum and protect unaccompanied migrant children
In a letter published today, the Commissioner calls on the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina to address the persistent shortcomings in their handling of migrants and asylum seekers. The letter was addressed to Mr Zoran Tegeltija, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina,...
Letter
Commissioner calls on Slovenia’s Prime Minister to ensure that the decision to suspend public funding for the country’s Press Agency be reversed
In a letter published today, the Commissioner calls on Slovenia's Prime Minister, Mr Janez Janša, to ensure that the government’s decision to suspend public funding for the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) be reversed. "The suspension of public funding may seriously hamper STA's work, possibly even...
Memorandum
Poland should stop the stigmatisation of LGBTI people
“Public officials and opinion makers should stop promoting an atmosphere of hate and intolerance vis-à-vis LGBTI people and instead, improve respect for their human rights. Stigmatisation and hate speech carry a real risk of legitimising violence. LGBTI are people, not an ideology”, said the...
Letter
The Commissioner calls on the Russian investigating authorities to take urgent action in the case of Mr Salman Tepsurkayev, abducted in September and subjected to torture in Chechnya
Today the Commissioner published a letter she had addressed to the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Mr Alexander Bastrykin, concerning the case of Mr Salman Tepsurkayev, a 19-year old chat moderator on the 1ADAT news channel on Telegram who was abducted,...