"The aim of the Council of Europe is to achieve greater unity between its members..."

Article 1, Statute of the Council of Europe
 

Origins and mission

Founded in 1949, the Council of Europe seeks to develop throughout Europe common and democratic principles based on the European Convention on Human Rights and other reference texts on the protection of individuals.
 

Aims

- To protect human rights, pluralist democracy and the rule of law;
- To promote awareness and encourage the development of Europe’s cultural identity and diversity;
- To seek solutions to problems facing European society, such as: discrimination against minorities, xenophobia, intolerance, environmental protecting, human cloning, terrorism, human trafficking, organised crime and corruption, cybercrime, violence against children;
- To help consolidate democratic stability in Europe by backing political, legislative and constitutional reform.

The current Council of Europe’s political mandate was defined by the third Summit of Heads of State and Government, held in Warsaw in May 2005.