News 2021
Addressing intolerance and discrimination against LGBTI people: new publication by ECRI
Key recommendations of the Council of Europe’s anti-racism commission (ECRI) to the Organisation’s member states on how to end policies and practices that may lead to intolerance and discrimination against LGBTI people, are the basis of a new publication (factsheet) that was launched today, on...
New publication from Pompidou Group: ‘Covid-19 and people who use drugs’
A new publication from the Pompidou Group presents experiences and responses to the Covid-19 pandemic by frontline workers on the one hand, and people who use drugs on the other. It builds on practice examples from 21 countries submitted on the Pompidou Group’s Save Lives - Protect People...
Austria: Compliance with anti-corruption recommendations for MPs, judges and prosecutors is “globally unsatisfactory”
In an interim compliance report on Austria, with respect to corruption prevention for members of parliament, judges and prosecutors, the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) concludes that Austria has implemented satisfactorily or dealt with in a satisfactory manner only...
Secretary General on events in Yerevan: “All political disagreements should be resolved in a peaceful manner”
Statement by Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić
Seventh anniversary of the annexation of Crimea by Russia
Statement by Heiko Maas, President of the Committee of Ministers
Secretary General addresses United Nations Human Rights Council
On 23 February Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić addressed the 46th session of the Human Rights Council by video link. Dear friends, When I addressed your 43rd Session, almost exactly one year ago, the world was very different. Since then, COVID-19 has changed how we live and work....
Anti-racism commission publishes new report on Norway, conclusions on Spain and San Marino
In its new report on Norway published today together with the government’s comments, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) calls on Norwegian child welfare services to further strengthen their assistance to struggling families with a migration or minority background in...
Hate speech - Everyone loses!
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić explains how the Council of Europe is fighting hate speech
New Congress report: Time to reverse “clear trend towards recentralisation” in Hungary
In a new report approved today by the Statutory Forum of the Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, two rapporteurs express concern about a clear trend towards recentralisation in the country, a lack of effective consultation and significant interference by the central...
European Sports Charter and Human Rights in Sport: resolutions adopted at Conference of Ministers
The 16th Conference of Ministers responsible for Sport of the Council of Europe, organised in line with the activities of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS), has adopted two resolutions : 1) A European approach to sport policies: the revision of the European Sports Charter The...
Human Rights Commissioner urges Russian authorities to halt the practice of arresting peaceful demonstrators
Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic has published a letter addressed to the Minister of Interior of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Kolokoltsev, in which she highlights a number of human rights concerns related to the policing of demonstrations that have taken place in many Russian...
New reports show increasing discrimination and attacks on LGBTI people in Poland and Europe as a whole
A report on a fact-finding mission to Poland in November last year draws attention to increasing attacks and discrimination against LGBTI people in the country, focusing on cities, provinces and regions that are adopting family charters and resolutions against so-called "LGBT ideology". Another,...
Implementing ECHR judgments: New thematic factsheet on children’s rights
The Department for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has published a new factsheet focusing on cases related to children. The factsheet summarises measures reported by 29 member states to safeguard and protect children’s rights in response to 62 different...
Congress: 6th Statutory Forum to meet remotely
The 6th Statutory Forum of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe will hold a remote meeting on 12 February (9.30 – 12.00). Members of the Statutory Forum will examine the “Revision of the Congress Rules and Procedures: provisions relating to ethics” presented for...
Slovakia: GRECO regrets slow progress in preventing corruption of parliamentarians, judges and prosecutors
The Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) has expressed disappointment at the slow progress of the Slovak Republic in implementing measures to prevent corruption of parliamentarians, judges and prosecutors. In a new compliance report assessing the progress of the country...
Didier Reynders: ‘Respect for the rule of law cannot be taken for granted, even within the EU’
“The rule of law is of fundamental importance, as it guarantees the protection of all other values, including democracy and respect for fundamental rights. Unfortunately, respect for the rule of law cannot be taken for granted, even within the Union,” declared the European Commissioner for...
ECHR President: Polarisation and COVID-19 threaten difficult times ahead
Increased polarisation and challenges to Europe’s fundamental principles, together with the global COVID-19 pandemic, are likely to create the most difficult period we have seen in many years, according to the President of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Speaking at the court’s annual...
Facial recognition: strict regulation is needed to prevent human rights violations
The Council of Europe has called for strict rules to avoid the significant risks to privacy and data protection posed by the increasing use of facial recognition technologies. Furthermore, certain applications of facial recognition should be banned altogether to avoid discrimination. In a new set...
Data Protection Day: 40 years of Convention 108
Forty years ago tomorrow, on 28 January 1981, the first ever binding international treaty addressing the need to protect personal data was opened for signature in Strasbourg: the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data,...
Cards to explain rights to victims of human trafficking in Tunisia
To mark the celebration of the National Day for the Abolition of Slavery which took place on January 23, the “Instance nationale de lutte contre la traite des personnes” (INLTP) – national anti-trafficking body, has launched "The Cards of Rights of Victims of Trafficking in Persons". Developed in...
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