News 2020
Poland should not withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, says Secretary General
Following recent news of Polish intentions to withdraw from the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, also known as the Istanbul Convention, Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić made the following statement: ...
Why the media still lacks gender equality: new report
A new Council of Europe report points out that the “mindset and culture” in newsrooms must be “tackled”, with active participation from within the industry, in order for the media sector to “contribute at its fullest” to gender equality. Assessing legal and policy aspects of gender equality and...
Ukraine: Venice Commission adopts an “urgent joint opinion” with ODIHR
The Venice Commission has adopted an “urgent joint opinion” with ODIHR (the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights) on Ukraine’s Draft Law 3612 concerning Democracy Through All-Ukraine Referendum. The opinion, requested in May by the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s...
Fight cybercrime with the Budapest Convention!
A new report from the Cybercrime Convention Committee (T-CY) lays out the benefits and impact of the Budapest Convention on law making, domestic and international investigations, public/private cooperation and the strengthening of criminal justice capacities on a global scale. Practical...
Mostar: Congress spokespersons welcome adoption of amendments to the Election Law of Bosnia and Herzegovina
In a statement made on 9 July, the spokespersons of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities for the observation of local and regional elections, Jakob Wienen (Netherlands, EPP/CCE) and Stewart Dickson (United Kingdom, ILDG), commended the adoption of amendments to the Election Law of...
Eradicating prison overcrowding: CPT urges intensifying temporary measures introduced to prevent COVID-19
The Council of Europe's Anti-Torture Committee (CPT) has called upon the 47 member States of the Council of Europe to seize the opportunity of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in prisons to put an end to prison overcrowding through the emergency measures which have been put in place...
Multilateralism 2020: Secretary General publishes Annual Report
The Council of Europe has proven to be an essential, indispensable guardian of human rights during the Covid-19 pandemic. This is one of the main conclusions of a new report by the Secretary General covering the Council of Europe’s actions since the Helsinki Ministerial Meeting in May 2019 and...
Council of Europe to enhance professional training Europewide
The 2020 HELP Annual Network Conference (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) is today discussing the challenges in modern professional training, new opportunities and courses to be developed by the HELP Programme, and a timely initiative for mainstreaming Council of Europe conventions...
Inauguration of the Greek Chairmanship at the Temple of Olympian Zeus
The President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou will give a speech at the Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens, to mark the inauguration of the Greek Chairmanship of the Council of Europe. The event, starting at 20.15 local time on Wednesday 8 July, will also be attended by Greek...
Case weighting in judicial systems: a new tool for proper functioning of courts
In a report published today, the working group on judicial time management of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) takes stock of this internal management system aimed at assessing the “weight” of a judicial case, by detailing, through various methods, the judicial time...
Council of Europe’s anti-racism commission warns against racial profiling in policing
The Council of Europe’s 47-member anti-racism commission, ECRI, warned against racial profiling, as well as systemic racism and inequalities, all of which are to be found in Europe. ECRI has called upon European governments to send strong messages and take determined action, even if these...
Webinar on involving under-18’s in civil participation and decision-making
The Council of Europe’s Elections and Civil Society Division is organising an international webinar on Wednesday 8 July to highlight the organisation’s standards in the field of youth participation in the decision-making process, specifically by children at local level. The event, which is part...
Fighting Systemic Racism: Webinar on Instruments and Tools
The challenge of systemic racism is still widespread in Europe. Our Anti-Discrimination Department is holding a webinar on Tuesday 7 July. It will explore successful strategies and inspiring actions to address systemic and institutional racism, examine the effectiveness of Council of Europe tools...
Launch of handbook on Family reunification for refugee and migrant children
The Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migration and Refugees, Ambassador Drahoslav Štefánek, is launching the handbook “Family reunification for refugee and migrant children - standards and promising practices”. The handbook focuses on the reunification of families with children,...
Revised European Prison Rules: new guidance to prison services on humane treatment of inmates
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has adopted a Recommendation which updates the 2006 European Prison Rules. The rules, which contain the key legal standards and principles related to prison management, staff and treatment of detainees and are a global reference in this field,...
Sexual violence against children is an ongoing pandemic: 10th anniversary of Lanzarote Convention
The Council of Europe’s Convention for the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (known as the “Lanzarote Convention”) celebrates its 10th anniversary since entering into force. “It is quite common these days to wish each other to ‘keep safe’. But millions of...
Schools should include Roma and Traveller history in teaching curricula
The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers has adopted a Recommendation that for the first time ever calls on its 47 member states to include the history of Roma and/or Travellers (*) in school curricula and teaching materials. An effective tool to combat hatred, discrimination and prejudice,...
How should judges respond to Covid-19 challenges and what lessons should they learn?
According to the Council of Europe’s Consultative Council of European judges (CCJE), the main challenge posed by the pandemic has been to ensure that the public health emergency is not used as a pretext for human rights infringements and that new legal measures are applied with strict respect for...
Right to equal pay: European Committee of Social Rights finds violations in 14 countries
The European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) has found violations of the right to equal pay and the right to equal opportunities in the workplace in 14 out of 15 countries which apply the European Social Charter’s collective complaints procedure: Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech...
Election of the Deputy Secretary General: the Committee of Ministers submits candidatures to the Parliamentary Assembly
The Committee of Ministers has decided to submit two candidatures to the Parliamentary Assembly, for the forthcoming election to the post of Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe. The candidatures are the following, in alphabetic order (the names of the sponsoring governments are in...
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