Council of Europe’s Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) are designed and implemented by the Organisation and conducted in line with the relevant decisions of the Committee of Ministers. They constitute the operational support to the dialogue the international community strives to facilitate or restore between people from post- or frozen conflict areas. To do so, the CBM projects rely on the defence of human rights and democracy.

LATEST EVENTS
Psychological support to refugees: Council of Europe strengthening professional capacities in Romania

The Directorate of Political Affairs and External Relations of the Council of Europe organised in Bucharest, Romania, on 23-24 November, a training on Psychological Support to Refugees: Strengthening Professional Capacities. The training was organised  in close cooperation with the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees (SRSG) and the Romanian Government.

It is a follow-up to the report of the SRSG fact-finding mission to Romania in the framework of the  Council of Europe Action Plan on Protecting Vulnerable Persons in the Context of Migration and Asylum in Europe (2021-2025).

Addressing the event, SRSG Leyla Kayacik underlined that providing mental and psychological support for all displaced persons remains a priority, adding that her report also identified the need to strengthen the capacities of those professionals, who, in their daily work provide psychological support to women and children who suffered war traumas.

“This two-day training aims to concretely support and contribute to the efforts of teams of front-line workers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Romania including police officers and border police,  psychologists of the General Inspectorate of Immigration, the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations and of the National Agency Against Trafficking in Persons , conducting emergency interventions with health and social services staff working on psycho-social support and trauma rehabilitation,” the SRSG stated.

Bucharest 23 - 24 November
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 CBMs: What for 

CBMs have been implemented in order to promote dialogue and to spread Council of Europe principles throughout the whole of Europe. CBMs are aimed at building bridges between population groups and enhance human rights protection in post-conflict regions. Their objective is to help create an improved level of mutual trust, by addressing concerns which are common to the entire population so that they focus on the way to build a peaceful future rather than memorising their divided past.


CBMs: For whom

The main target groups of the CBMs are professionals who influence public opinion, such as journalists and teachers, as well as local NGOs involved in human rights protection and decision-makers from the different sides involved in the conflicts.

The Council of Europe Secretariat remains in contact with local NGOs and specialists in order to design and implement people-to-people contacts and activities aimed at ensuring respect for, and knowledge of, human rights in the affected areas.