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Secretary General Berset to open Council of Europe UN Observer Office during General Assembly week in New York
The new permanent presence of the 46-member country Council of Europe comes as the Secretary General travels to New York and Washington to argue for closer links between international and regional organisations
Fostering demographic renewal through family-friendly measures
The demographic change in Europe, marked by low birth rates, population ageing, shrinking cohorts of working-age people and depopulation of rural areas, requires adaptation and mitigation measures “that focus on people’s rights, choices and empowerment”, the Committee on Social Affairs said...
Towards coherent policies on veterans in Europe
Europe is facing its “largest cohort of veterans since the Second World War”, mainly as a result of Russia’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine, which has created more than two million veterans, PACE’s Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development has said. The...
France: Commissioner calls for stronger rights protection for older persons in care homes
Following his June visit to France, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty addressed a letter to the French Minister for Autonomy and Persons with...
Italy needs to sustain its efforts to end child poverty – Council of Europe Commissioner
Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, published today a memorandum on child poverty in Italy. The Commissioner appreciates that child poverty is...
European Committee of social rights annual activity report reveals continued challenges in social-rights implementation in Europe
Wider understanding and application of ECSR jurisprudence in member states vital
Congress Standing Rapporteur on Human Rights calls on Oradea authorities to ensure Pride March can proceed safely
“The Congress is concerned by reports coming from Oradea, Romania, that local authorities may once again refuse permission to the Oradea Pride March, scheduled for 25 July 2026, marking the...
International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking 2026: Statement by the Council of Europe International Co-operation Group on Drugs and Addictions (Pompidou Group)
On the occasion of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, the Council of Europe International Co-operation Group on Drugs and Addictions (Pompidou Group) reaffirms its commitment to addressing drug-related challenges and addictions through balanced, evidence-based and...
Safe digital environments: Pompidou Group’s advancing action on the mental health and wellbeing of children and youth online
Policymakers, researchers and practitioners from the Pompidou Group member States and internationally gathered in Vienna and online on 2–3 June 2026 for a thematic seminar dedicated to the topic of online and digital addictions....
Europe strengthens co-operation on drug policy and addictions at Pompidou Group meeting in Vienna
How can Europe respond more effectively to organised crime linked to drug trafficking, protect human rights, and tackle emerging forms of addiction in an increasingly digital world? These questions were at the centre of the 98th meeting of the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe, held in...
Pompidou Group adopts new Guidelines to strengthen member States' response to drug-related organised crime (OC-DT)
The Permanent Correspondents of the Pompidou Group have adopted new Guidelines designed to strengthen member States’ response to Organised Crime linked to Drug Trafficking, while ensuring full respect for human rights.
Romania: Reforming long-term care to safeguard rights and dignity of older persons
Country visit - The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, conducted a visit to Romania from 26 to 29 May 2026, focusing on the human rights situation of older persons living in long-term care facilities.
Kyiv citizens’ assembly delivers 24 recommendations to support war veterans and their families
The citizens’ assembly was organised with the support of the Council of Europe’s Congress
PACE calls for stronger action against social dumping and labour exploitation
Social dumping and labour exploitation, which at its worst includes forced labour and trafficking in human beings, “represents a grave violation of human dignity and fundamental rights,” warns a resolution adopted PACE. In the adopted resolution based on a report by Valérie Piller Carrard...
Social rights: Bridging the gap from policy to people
Institutional statement to the High-Level Conference on the European Social Charter, Chișinău, Republic of Moldova Madam President, Secretary General, Excellencies,...
Petra Bayr: ‘Protecting social rights is not a secondary political agenda, but the very foundation of democratic stability’
“Protecting social rights is not a secondary political agenda. It is the very foundation of democratic stability,” said PACE President Petra Bayr today, addressing the High-Level Conference on Social Rights and the European Social Charter, organised in Chisinau by the Council of Europe and the...
European countries reaffirm importance of European Social Charter at conference in Chișinău
France extends charter to overseas departements and territories
Local authorities at the heart of ensuring access to social rights
Congress President Marc Cools at the Council of Europe Conference on Social Rights “Social rights only become truly effective when they are implemented at the grassroots level. It is at that...
President Sandu and Secretary General Berset open Conference on social rights in Chișinău
Reaffirmation of support for European Social Charter on ministers’ agenda
Social Rights: An Essential Component of the Fight Against Poverty
Joint Statement of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights on the occasion of the Council of Europe High-Level Conference on Social Rights...
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