The Council of Europe supports its 47 member states in the promotion of democracy and human rights in and through education. The legal framework for this work is the Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education adopted by the member states in 2010.

The Council of Europe Education Department runs a programme of inter-governmental activities “Learning Democracy and Human Rights” with a view to facilitate exchange and cooperation among the member states, with the network of officially nominated coordinators (EDC/HRE coordinators) playing a key role. Trainings for education practitioners are organized in the framework of the “Pestalozzi” Programme and regional Summer Academies. Joint European Union / Council of Europe Programmes, such as in Turkey support individual countries to put into practice the Charter.

The Council of Europe Youth Department organises training for youth NGOs and education practitioners. The key publication used in these trainings is COMPASS - A manual on human rights education with young people.

Building a Europe for and with children” is a transversal Council of Europe Programme for the promotion of children’s rights and the protection of children from violence. Education is an important part of the Council of Europe Strategy on the Rights of the Child, which is put into practice in cooperation with the above-mentioned departments.

The Council of Europe Directorate of Human Rights offers training to professional groups such as judges, prosecutors, court managers, lawyers, law enforcement personnel, prison staff, bailiffs, staff of national human rights institutions, and members of non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

Promotion of human rights education is also part of the mandate of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights.