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Ukraine: Anti-torture committee expresses concern over prison overcrowding and informal hierarchies
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published the report on its October 2023 periodic visit to Ukraine, the first since the start of the full-scale military aggression by Russia in February 2022. Despite the efforts by...
Human Rights Commissioner calls for stronger support for Ukraine
The new Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, carried out a visit to Kyiv, Ukraine from 23-25 April. This was his first visit to a member state since taking up his post on 1 April. With the current human rights landscape in Europe being dominated by Russia’s war...
Secretary General attends OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna
“I said at the very beginning of my mandate, in 2019, that I wanted to reinforce co-operation between the Council of Europe and other international organisations in the interest of people in Europe, and the wider world. And I cannot think of a better way to mark the Council of Europe’s 75th...
Anti-torture annual report: Rights of transgender prisoners in focus
The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) has issued a set of standards and recommendations to European prisons aimed at ensuring that transgender prisoners, a highly vulnerable segment of the prison population, are treated with respect and protected from the risks of...
Secretary General meets Deputy Foreign Minister of Georgia
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has met the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Georgia Lasha Darsalia. During the meeting, the Secretary General highlighted once more the unwavering commitment of the Council of Europe to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country, as...
Serious human rights concerns about United Kingdom’s Rwanda Bill
“The adoption of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill by the UK Parliament raises major issues about the human rights of asylum seekers and the rule of law more generally”, said Michael O’Flaherty, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights. “The United Kingdom government...
Secretary General meets French Minister Delegate for Europe
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has met the French Minister Delegate for Europe Jean-Noël Barrot. The meeting focused on current global challenges for democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. Marija Pejčinović Burić and Jean-Noël Barrot exchanged views mainly on the finalisation of...
Secretary General on official visit to Lithuania
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has met with President of the Republic Gitanas Nauseda, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, Foreign Affairs Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, Justice Minister Ewelina Dobrowolska, and other key personalities during an official visit to Lithuania to discuss...
Council of Europe to celebrate the Freedom of Artistic Expression at Venice Biennale
On the occasion of the 60th Venice Biennale, the Council of Europe is organising an event in Venice on 20 April under the title the Other Session, to discuss and assess, through dialogues, performances and exhibitions, the landscape of artistic freedom in Europe, and to identify measures needed...
2024 Europe Prize awarded to Terrassa (Spain)
The 2024 Europe Prize has been awarded to Terrassa, Spain. This award is given annually by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to the town most active in promoting the European ideal. Terrassa is a city of 225,000 inhabitants in central-eastern Catalonia (Spain). A...
“There will be no peace without justice” – H.S.H. Hereditary Prince Alois tells PACE
“Aggressive power politics must not prevail. Those challenging our common commitment to the rules base international order must be held to account,” was the message at the heart of His Serene Highness Hereditary Prince Alois von und zu Liechtenstein’s address to the Parliamentary Assembly of the...
Secretary General meets Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has met His Serene Highness Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein. The meeting has been an opportunity to take stock of the Liechtenstein Presidency and of the celebrations for the upcoming 75th anniversary of the Organisation. The exchange of views...
Armenia: GRECO calls for stronger oversight and accountability in police and top executive functions
In a new report the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) calls on Armenia to pursue its efforts to prevent corruption in respect of persons with top executive functions and the police (see the non-official translation in Armenian). GRECO notes the positive steps taken...
PACE pays tribute to Alexei Navalny, calls for sweeping measures to counter Putin’s totalitarian regime
PACE has paid tribute to Alexei Navalny, declaring that the Russian state bears full responsibility for his death, and urged a series of sweeping measures to counter what it called Vladimir Putin’s “totalitarian regime”. Unanimously adopting a resolution based on a report by Emanuelis Zingeris...
Foreign Affairs Minister of Liechtenstein addresses PACE
In her communication, Dominique Hasler, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Education and Sport of Liechtenstein and President of the Committee of Ministers, mentioned the need for continued support to Ukraine and referred to the Presidency’s priorities. “In Reykjavík our leaders sent a strong message...
Montenegro to introduce Barnahus model to support child survivors and witnesses of violence, abuse and sexual exploitation
The government of Montenegro, with support from UNICEF, the Council of Europe and the European Union (EU), have announced the introduction of a multidisciplinary model that provides child-friendly support for child survivors and witnesses of violence, abuse and exploitation: Barnahus (Children’s...
Secretary General meets Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liechtenstein
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has met the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Principality of Liechtenstein and President of the Committee of Ministers Dominique Hasler. The meeting focused on the current state of play of the Liechtenstein Presidency and the upcoming 75th anniversary...
Secretary General meets Minister of Justice of Latvia
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has met the Minister of Justice of Latvia Inese Lībiņa-Egnere. During the meeting, they discussed the implementation of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, as well as the “Riga Principles” adopted at the informal conference of Ministers...
PACE recommends that Kosovo* becomes a member of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has recommended that Kosovo* be invited to become a member of the Council of Europe – while deciding to monitor its fulfilment of an extensive list of commitments and obligations as from its accession. Under the Council of Europe’s...