Thorbjørn Jagland and Ireland’s Foreign Minister, Charles Flanagan, met in Strasbourg today to discuss the state of human rights in Europe, the situation in Ukraine, Azerbaijan’s chairmanship of the Council of Europe and the Secretary General’s priorities for the next five years.
Mr Flanagan also informed the Secretary General that Ireland will be making a voluntary contribution of €45,000 to support the work of the Council of Europe’s expert anti-racism body, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI).
“I would particularly like to thank Ireland for its support to ECRI and its work to fight discrimination, which is closely related to our aims of freedom of speech and freedom of assembly for minorities,” said Secretary General Jagland.
“The fight against racism and intolerance in Europe is a key priority for Ireland. I am delighted to be able to make this contribution to the important work of ECRI, in particular to support its efforts to combat homophobic violence and discrimination,” said Mr Flanagan.
Mr Flanagan also commended the Council of Europe for its work to abolish the death penalty in Europe and worldwide.
See also:
Ireland and the Council of Europe