18th Ministerial Conference of the Pompidou Group

13-14 December 2022

Closing the 18th Ministerial Conference of the Council of Europe’s Pompidou Group, ministers and high-level participants from 41 Pompidou Group member states have called for a human rights centred approach to address drug addictions and related disorders.

In their “Lisbon Declaration”, participants furthermore called for exploring strategies to address addictions related to the use of communication and information technologies, as part of a broad policy direction to be followed by the Pompidou Group over the near future.

MONEYVAL marks its 25th anniversary

7-9 December 2022

The Committee of experts on the evaluation of anti-money laundering measures and the financing of terrorism (MONEYVAL) held its 64th Plenary meeting in Strasbourg from 7 to 9 December 2022. In his opening speech, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Bjørn Berge, underlined the growing role of MONEYVAL within the Council of Europe, and congratulated the Committee on its 25th anniversary.

MONEYVAL held a discussion on its strategic priorities for the period 2023-2027 with the involvement of its former Chairs, Vassil Kirov, Anton Bartolo, Klaudijo Stroligo, Daniel Thelesklaf, former Vice-Chair Eva Papakyriacou, scientific experts, Bill Gilmore and Boudewijn Verhelst, and former Executive secretary John Ringguth. The Plenary also held an exchange of views with the Executive secretary of the Egmont Group, Jérôme Beaumont. 

Conference "Public Service Media for Democracy"

22 November 2022

Organised in partnership with the Lithuanian National Radio and Television and hosted by the Lithuanian Parliament, the conference brought together broadcasters, journalists, policy makers - including members of the Council of Europe´s Parliamentary Assembly - and representatives of international organisations and associations of journalists.

The participants discussed how to protect the essential role of public service media in sustaining democracy at a time when their sustainability and independence are being challenged in a growing number of European countries.

Launch of the new Knowledge Sharing platform of the European Court of Human Rights

18 October 2022

The Registry of the European Court of Human Rights, in cooperation with the Council of Europe Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law, launched the public version of the Knowledge Sharing platform of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR-KS).

The overall objective of the Project is to bring subsidiarity into practice at pan-European level by creating sustainable solutions for national courts to apply the ECHR in line with the case law of the ECHR. National courts will get access to the ECHR knowledge and the methodology of case management which will ensure the Convention-compliant adjudication.

European and World Day against the Death Penalty

10 October 2022

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the opening for signature of Protocol 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), concerning the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances. We commend all those Council of Europe Member States (including all of the EU Member States) that have abolished the death penalty in all circumstances and we call on the last two Member States of the Council of Europe that have not yet acceded to this Protocol – Armenia and Azerbaijan – to do so without delay.

HELP annual Network conference

30 June - 1 July 2022

The Council of Europe HELP Programme (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) held its 2022 Annual Network Conference in Strasbourg, France, and online.

Primarily aimed at Judiciary Schools and Bar Associations throughout the Council of Europe member States and beyond, as well as representatives of partner international organisations working on training of legal professionals, the Conference was fully broadcasted online and open to everyone interested in the work of the HELP Programme of the Council of Europe and in the HELP online courses.

The Conference was organised under the auspices of the Irish Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

20th anniversary of the CEPEJ

27 June 2022

For 20 years, the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) has worked to protect and promote human rights and the rule of law for the proper functioning of justice.

Established by Resolution Res(2002)12 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the CEPEJ helps to ensure that the public service of justice is efficient, accessible, and of better quality, by placing the needs of the user at the centre of the judicial process.

The CEPEJ celebrated its 20th anniversary during a ceremony, as an introduction to its 38th plenary meeting.

International conference and opening for signature of the 2nd Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime

12-13 May 2022

The Second Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime (Budapest Convention) was opened for signature in Strasbourg at the international conference, organised in the framework of the Italian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers.

The Protocol was signed by ministers and senior officials from 22 member and non-member States of the Council of Europe, Parties to the Convention: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain and Sweden, United States of America.

European Conference of Prosecutors in Palermo

4 May 2022

In the framework of the Italian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, the European Conference of Prosecutors was organised on 5 and 6 May in Palermo with the support of the Prosecutor-General’s Office of the Court of Cassation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice, in co-operation with the Council of Europe.

The event focused on theme such as the public prosecutor’s independence and accountability - protecting individual rights and common challenges with respect to the protection of human rights -, on judicial co-operation in the investigation of transnational crimes, including in particular the offences against the environment and those committed by means of the information technology.

Mariupol: Testimony by journalist Anna Murlykina (live webinar)

31 March 2022

On 31 March 2022, 36th day of war in Ukraine, Anna Murlykina, a journalist from Mariupol gave a testimony in a webinar organised by the Group of Friends on the Safety of Journalists and Media Freedom in Strasbourg and the Council of Europe.

Anna Murlykina was born and raised in Mariupol. In 2008 she had become the Editor-in-Chief of the only independent media outlet of Mariupol at that time - the www.0629.com.ua portal. She has continuously worked at the portal since then, including during the events of 2014, trying to counter Russian propaganda.

Conference on Social Resilience and Health Equity: A human right prospective for better resilience and preparedness

23 February 2022

In the framework of the Italian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, the Council of Europe organised an event on Social Resilience and Health Equity.

In the current international context, member States are urged to further engage in dialogue and co-operation, and to rediscover the very essence of their commitment to protecting human rights. The Council of Europe has been quick to react namely by providing Member States with tools and expertise to ensure that the crisis dos not undermine common values and principles.

Data Protection Day

28 January 2022

On the occasion of Data Protection Day, which marks the anniversary of the opening for signature of the Council of Europe Data Protection Convention on 28 January 1981, the Italian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe hosted a conference to discuss the potential as a global privacy standard of the modernised “Convention 108+”.

The modernised Convention, builds on the achievements of the 1981 “Convention 108”, which today is the only international, multilateral and legally binding instrument to protect privacy and personal data.