News
Regional conference Access to Justice for Women Victims of Violence
The theme of the regional conference Access to Justice for Women Victims of Violence organised under the Partnership for Good Governance (PGG) project will be “Strengthening Access to Justice for Women Victims of Violence in the Six Eastern partnership Countries”. The aim of the conference is to...
#MeToo: alarming levels of sexual abuse and violence found in parliaments
A new study by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) shows that acts of sexism, abuse and violence against women are widespread in parliaments across Europe. The findings reveal that 85 per cent of women MPs have suffered from...
Turkey and Montenegro: Council of Europe experts on ending violence against women publish monitoring reports
Reports that monitor the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) by Turkey and Montenegro have been published by the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic...
Yerevan, 1 October 2018
Theatre performance raises awareness on domestic violence in Armenia
An Armenian NGO theatre group called Theatre 8 Troupe performed a play “I am a Woman” for a large group of students and legal and media professionals in Yerevan on 1 October 2018. The performance was organised under the Council of Europe project Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and...
More must be done to help women and girl refugees and migrants
At a Council of Europe conference, which takes place today and tomorrow in Athens, focusing on challenges faced by women and girl refugees and migrants, Anna Zobnina, Strategy & Policy Coordinator for the European Network of Migrant Women stressed that not enough is being done to care for the...
Master Class on gender-sensitive judgments at the European Court of Human Rights
On 1 October, the Gender Equality Division of the Council of Europe organised a Master Class for judges and registrars of the European Court of Human Rights. The Master Class was led by Françoise Tulkens, former Vice-President of the Court, and Dr Alexandra Timmer from Utrecht University....
Estonia should adopt more human rights oriented policies to improve the protection of women and the inclusion of older persons
“To build a more cohesive society, the Estonian authorities should strengthen the protection of women from violence, close the gender pay gap and uphold the rights of older people”, said the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, while releasing on 28 September the...
Mapping support services for victims of violence against women in line with the Istanbul Convention standards
The Council of Europe is organising a one-day training seminar “Mapping support services for victims of violence against women in line with the Istanbul Convention standards”. The training seminar will present a Council of Europe methodology and tools for mapping support services for victims of...
Armenia’s new government should place human rights at the centre of its policies
Dunja Mijatović, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, carried out a five-day visit to Armenia from 15 to 20 September 2018. This visit focused on women’s rights, gender equality and domestic violence, the human rights of various disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, as well as...
New Council of Europe publication on the donation of oocytes
The Council of Europe Committee on Organ Transplantation (CD-P-TO), in collaboration with the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, has published a new guide entitled “Donation of oocytes: A guide for women to support informed decisions”. This publication aims at providing clear,...
New Council of Europe publication on action against female genital mutilation and forced marriage
The Council of Europe Steering Committee for Human Rights published the result of its activities on combating and preventing female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage. The publication includes the Declaration of the Committee of Ministers on the need to intensify the efforts to prevent...
Safeguarding human rights in the era of artificial intelligence – Human Rights Comment by Dunja Mijatović, Commissioner for Human Rights
The use of artificial intelligence in our everyday lives is on the increase, and it now covers many fields of activity. Something as seemingly banal as avoiding a traffic jam through the use of a smart navigation system, or receiving targeted offers from a trusted retailer is the result of big...
Greece: immediate action needed to protect human rights of migrants
“The humanity and hospitality that Greece’s people and authorities demonstrated towards migrants in recent years is truly commendable. In spite of these efforts, however, the situation remains worrying and much more needs to be done to protect the human rights of those who have had to flee their...
The Commissioner for Human Rights calls on the Estonian authorities to step up their efforts to tackle gender stereotypes and prejudices about the role of women in society, which foster attitudes conducive to violence against women
Dunja Mijatović, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, carried out a five-day visit to Estonia in June 2018. She highlighted that “Estonia should combat discrimination and abuses against older persons, tackle the gender pay gap and violence against women”. Commissioner Mijatović...
Workshop on the Istanbul Convention and its monitoring mechanism held in Georgia
The Council of Europe together with the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia organised a workshop on the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (known as the Istanbul Convention) and its monitoring mechanism in Tbilisi, Georgia on 19...
Launch of the Croatian translation of the CoE Gender Equality Strategy 2018-2023
Zagreb, 12 June 2018 - The Office for Gender Equality of the Republic of Croatia organised in the national Parliament the presentation and distribution of the Croatian edition of the Council of Europe Strategy for Gender Equality (2018 to 2023). The event took place in the framework of Croatia’s...
Project on combating violence against women launched in Armenia
"The idea of preventing violence against women and domestic violence is not western imposed nor is it culturally distinct. Violence, be that against women, children or any human being, is legally — and more importantly, morally — reprehensive. Societies and governments cannot have double or...
Georgian authorities visited Spain to exchange views on combating violence against women
On 5–6 June, members of the Chief Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia, the Department of Human Rights Protection of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, as well as selected Georgian prosecutors travelled to Madrid (Spain) for an exchange of views with key Spanish government officials on how to...
Second Working Group Meeting for developing the HELP course on Ensuring Women’s Access to Justice
The second working group for the development of a HELP course (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) on Ensuring Women’s Access to Justice took place on 30-31 May 2018 in Strasbourg. It brought together a group of three legal experts with the e-learning designer, the regional project...
Call for gender equality initiatives at the World Forum for Democracy 2018
The World Forum for Democracy (WFD) is a platform for dialogue and democratic innovation which brings new ideas into the work of the Council of Europe and promotes its principles across the world. The 2018 World Forum for Democracy will take place in Strasbourg on 19-21 November 2018. This year,...
