Opening Remarks

Gianluca ESPOSITO,

Director General – DGI Human Rights and Rule of Law, Council of Europe

Strasbourg, 3 July 2025

Madame President of the Ministers’ Deputies,

Ambassador Kos,

Members and Partners of the Council of Europe HELP Network,

Dear Participants,

I am pleased to welcome you all – both here in the room and online – to this year’s HELP Network Conference.

The focus of our Conference is twofold: first, to advance justice and human rights training and the impact of the HELP Programme, and second, to provide a platform for networking to enhance the protection of human rights and the rule of law in Europe and beyond.

Let me begin by recalling the context in which this year’s event is taking place.

In the words of the Council of Europe Secretary General, Alain Berset, in his 2025 Report “Towards a New Democratic Pact for Europe”:

“Today, Europe faces a perfect storm – war, shifting geopolitics, democratic backsliding, rising impunity, climate crisis, disinformation, rapid technological change and a retreat from co-operation into nationalism and protectionism.

It threatens to undo the peace, stability and hard-won progress the Council of Europe has helped deliver across an entire continent over the past 75 years.”

Tragically, one of the most burning crises on our continent – the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine – persists in 2025. It continues to affect millions of lives, causing immense destruction, devastation and suffering to the Ukrainian people, in and outside Ukraine. This will have long-term and far-reaching repercussions for our continent and beyond.

A dedicated session this afternoon will focus on the assistance provided to Ukraine by the Council of Europe, including the specific support provided to our partners in Ukraine through the “HELP in Ukraine” Project.

For more than 75 years, the Council of Europe has remained a guiding light in preserving values of humanity and fundamental principles. It continues to offer concrete support against straying from these principles, and against slipping further into the depths of war, autocracy and repression.

How does training fit into this picture? Simply put, it is one of the most effective ways of imparting knowledge and developing the skills needed to apply international standards effectively at the national level.

In this context, HELP has become a widely sought after tool for delivering systematic training on the European Convention on Human Rights, especially in cases involving persistent, structural, or complex national issues. Such targeted trainings have increased significantly in the past year, and we would like to see this growth continue.

This morning, we have the honour of welcoming Judge Arnfinn Bårdsen, Vice-President of the European Court of Human Rights, to deliver the keynote speech: “The Convention at 75: Instrument of Peace – Compass for the Future”. Training is one of the key tools for contributing to greater compliance with the Convention requirements.

This is why the Council of Europe – through numerous cooperation initiatives and through the HELP Programme – focuses on training key actors at the forefront of defending human rights at the national level.

However, HELP would be nowhere if it were not for member States’ commitment, your commitment, and the institutions you represent, to integrating human rights training in the curricula of relevant professionals.

While our member States are, clearly, our primary focus, the Council of Europe is not about geographical boundaries. It is about the values we share. It is, therefore, only natural that HELP extends beyond the borders of our member States. On this note, I am grateful for the warm welcome HELP has received in regions beyond Europe, such as in the South Mediterranean and Central Asia, where we pursue co-operation projects. Interest in HELP goes even further, with countries from South America and Asia reaching out to the HELP Secretariat.

Later today, my colleague Ana-Maria Telbis, the Head of the HELP Programme, and her team, will tell you more about the accomplishments in the past year. I encourage you to actively engage in that discussion.

These achievements are only possible thanks to all your commitment, the invaluable EU support, the outstanding cooperation with the national Judicial Training Institutions and Bar Councils, and digitalisation which has been an integral part of HELP´s expansion and relevance.

In closing, let me thank all of you for being with us here today, both in person and online. And let me thank the HELP team for their continued efforts and creative approaches, which have led to remarkable results despite limited resources. I am deeply convinced that our joint commitment benefits us all.

I wish you a successful event.