Newsroom
Anti-torture committee: effective complaints mechanisms should be available to detainees across Europe
European states should ensure that persons deprived of their liberty have access to effective complaints mechanisms in prisons, police stations, immigration detention centres, psychiatric institutions and other places of detention. This is a fundamental safeguard against torture and inhuman or...
Spring session: states of emergency, hybrid war, editorial integrity, corruption
At its spring session (Strasbourg, 23-27 April), the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) will look at states of emergency and derogations from the European Convention on Human Rights. It will also discuss fighting organised crime through the confiscation of illegal assets, the funding of the terrorist...
Secretary General Jagland on official visit to Croatia on 17 April
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, is on official visit to Croatia on 17 April, where he met Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Marija Pejčinović-Burić, and Deputy Speaker of the Croatian...
Copenhagen Declaration adopted
The Copenhagen Declaration on the reform of the European Convention on Human Rights system has been formally adopted by all 47 member states of the Council of Europe following a high-level conference in Copenhagen attended by more than 20 Ministers of Justice. Full declaration Statement by Danish...
Meeting of Ministers of Justice on the European human rights system: speech of Secretary General
The Danish Government made clear from the outset of its Chairmanship that strengthening our Convention system would be a priority. And I thank them for that. I was equally clear from the beginning of my first mandate that strengthening that system – and the European Court of Human Rights – would...
Iceland needs effective tools to preserve integrity in government and the police
In an evaluation report published today, the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) called for Iceland to strengthen its systems to limit risks of corruption and improper conduct in government functions and law enforcement agencies. The Icelandic society has become over...
High-Level Conference on reform of Human Rights Convention system
The Danish Minister of Justice, Søren Pape Poulsen, will from 11 to 13 April 2018, as part of the Danish Chairmanship of the Council of Europe, be hosting a High-Level Conference titled: “Continued Reform of the European Human Rights Convention System – Better Balance, Improved Protection”. The...
Deputy Secretary General on official visit to Morocco
The Deputy Secretary General, Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni, will pay an official visit to Rabat on 11-12 April. She will have an exchange of views with the state authorities on the progress of cooperation with Morocco and the prospects for partnership for the period 2018-2021. The Kingdom of...
Romania: Group of States against Corruption deeply concerned about certain justice and criminal law reforms
In a report on Romania published today, the Group of States against Corruption of the Council of Europe (GRECO) expresses serious concern about certain aspects of the laws on the status of judges and prosecutors, on the judicial organisation and on the Superior Council of Magistracy recently...
Anti-Torture Committee calls for a co-ordinated European approach to address mass migratory arrivals in Italy
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) published today a report on an ad hoc visit conducted in Italy to examine the situation of foreign nationals deprived of their liberty in the so-called “hotspots” and immigration detention...
No Hate Speech Movement: first broad international initiative that helped recognise hate speech as human right abuse
Hate speech continues to poison public debate, and the urgency to counter it has not diminished over the past years. The youth campaign No Hate Speech Movement (NHSM) conducted by the Council of Europe in 2012-2017 as the first broad international initiative in this field has contributed to...
New reports on protection of regional and minority languages in Austria, Cyprus and Romania
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 4 April 2018 examined the implementation of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and provided recommendations to Austria, Cyprus and Romania, based on the country-specific reports of the Committee of Experts under the...
8 April, International Roma Day: Statement by Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland
With the number of elected Roma and Traveller women 'close to zero', the Secretary General urges political parties to fast-track Roma women in politics
Child sexual abuse in sport: Council of Europe calls for action to break the silence
The Council of Europe today made a call on public authorities and the sports movement to take determined action to prevent sexual abuse of children. Under the theme “Start to talk”, it launched in Madrid an international awareness-raising initiative urging governments, sports clubs, associations...
Implementing ECHR judgments: Record number of cases closed in 2017, but challenges remain
The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, which oversees the implementation of European Court of Human Rights judgments, closed a record number of 3,691 cases last year, leading to a 24% decrease in the total number of outstanding cases. There were 7,584 pending cases at the end of 2017,...
Council of Europe issues policy guidelines to protect children of imprisoned parents
The Council of Europe today issued policy guidelines to its 47 member states aimed at safeguarding the rights and interests of children of imprisoned parents. Some 2.1 million children in Europe have one of their parents in prison, according to estimates based on the number of inmates in prisons....
Council of Europe adopts new recommendation on terrorists acting alone
As Europe is confronted with returning terrorist fighters and lone-wolf terror attacks, the Council of Europe has recommended a set of measures to combat these dangers. In a recommendation adopted today, the Council’s Committee of Ministers reviews measures for preventing radicalisation, better...
21st century slavery: European anti-trafficking experts raise the alarm over labour exploitation
Trafficking for labour exploitation is on the rise across Europe. In several countries, it has overtaken sexual exploitation as the main form of human trafficking. Official figures underestimate the true scale of the problem and there have been few successful prosecutions and convictions. These...
Dunja Mijatović takes up office as Commissioner for Human Rights
Today, Dunja Mijatović takes up the post of Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights. National of Bosnia and Herzegovina, she has been elected last January by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. She is the first woman to hold this post, succeeding Nils Muižnieks...
What common challenges do smallest European states face?
Reports on local democracy and draft recommendations for Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco and San Marino were adopted by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe on the 28th of March at its 34th Session in Strasbourg. The discussions were followed by the debate on...
Events
15th European Conference of Electoral Management Bodies on “Security in Elections”
Conference on “Legal aspects of the abolition of death penalty”
resources
for the press
follow us
Galleries
Facebook
@coe on Twitter