Events
Social media is becoming an increasingly integral part of children’s daily lives, transforming how they communicate, learn, and interact. These platforms offer genuine opportunities for children to express themselves, participate in society, and stay informed. However, they also raise concerns due to the risks they pose and their potential impact on children’s well-being and mental health.
This day of discussions will provide an opportunity to explore the relationship between exposure to social media and children’s well-being and mental health, as well as to examine policy responses aimed at mitigating these risks. At a time when many countries are reviewing their legislation on children’s access to social media, the discussions will seek to identify ways to balance the protection of children with respect for their rights and participation.
Human Rights, Health and the Environment
Where human rights shape sustainable health and environmental action
This event will provide an opportunity to explore how human rights standards, principles and monitoring mechanisms can support the objectives of the One Health approach, while ensuring the protection of human dignity, equity and participation. By analysing existing legal and policy tools, as well as relevant case law, the event will highlight ways in which a human rights-based framework can strengthen integrated and sustainable responses to complex health and environmental challenges.
Health Literacy: Strengthening the relationship between institutions and people
Side event to the High-Level Conference on Social Rights
Health literacy was identified as a priority for action during the 2025 Council of Europe Conference on Health Protection. Health literacy is the ability of individuals to find, understand, and use health information, stands at the heart of equitable, resilient, and rights-based health systems.
Yet, almost half of European populations have limited health literacy. It is estimated that low health literacy costs economies between 3-5% of the total annual healthcare budget amounting to billions of Euros in many member states of the Council of Europe.
In line with commitments under the European Social Charter and the Oviedo Convention, the Council of Europe aims to support member states in scaling-up equitable access to health information and services. This strengthens the link between political decision-making and people, through the engagement of institutions, with particular attention to the health of individuals and groups in situations of vulnerability.
This conference will serve as the international gathering in Armenia dedicated exclusively to patients’ rights, bringing together policymakers, legal experts, experts of the biomedical field, patient organisations, healthcare professionals, and international organisations. It will also support the Reform Agenda of the Government of Armenia by raising awareness on and strengthening public understanding of patients’ rights thus promoting these rights for the benefit of Armenian population.
Conference on Health Literacy and Human Rights - Listening and empowering people to build trust
This event is organised by the National Office Against Racial Discrimination of Italy, in cooperation with the Council of Europe, and with the support of the Minister for Family, Natality and Equal Opportunities of Italy, and the Minister of Health of Italy (tbc).
This workshop will explore whether and how human rights law in its current form can serve as an effective legal framework to address the challenges arising from the increasing use and development of neurotechnologies.
Conference on the Protection of Health
Health is not merely a matter of public policy but of human rights. The Council of Europe, through its human rights-based approach, places health protection at the core of its mandate. As social inequalities, environmental degradation, demographic shifts, and global crises such as pandemics and conflicts threaten the stability of healthcare systems, it becomes imperative for member States to act with solidarity and determination and at every level governance from local to international.
The 2025 Conference on the Protection of Health will showcase the comprehensive, cross-sectoral actions of the Council of Europe in advancing the protection of health as a human right. It will reaffirm the commitment to ensuring that no one is left behind, emphasizing solidarity, equality, and dignity.
The Council of Europe actively contributes to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, and in particular Sustainable Development Goal 3, by promoting health in all its dimensions. Furthermore, the Conference supports the Secretary General’s vision of a New Democratic Pact for Europe linking health protection to the broader democratic and human rights agenda.
With their increasing deployment in everyday treatment and care, it becomes ever most important to consider how best to transition towards AI-enabled healthcare systems.
Building on the report of the Council of Europe Steering Committee for Human Rights in the fields of Biomedicine and Health (CDBIO) on the impact of AI on the “patient-doctor” relationship, the purpose of the conference will be to discuss the human rights implications for patient autonomy, professional standards, equitable access to healthcare, and private life and right to information. This will culminate in a forward-looking approach to supporting patients, enabling doctors and safeguarding the therapeutic relationship.
Conference - Promoting children’s participation in decisions about their health
Building on the participation of experts, healthcare professionals and a group of children, this session will provide a platform for exchanges on the important topic of child participation in decisions about their health, and will be an opportunity to increase awareness, discuss challenges as well as opportunities.
The session will include a presentation of the Council of Europe’s resources on the topic: the Guide to children’s participation in decisions about their health, and related material developed with a group of children.
Panelists will present and discuss some of the good practices highlighted in the guide. Part of the discussion will focus on how to deal with situations where disagreements arise between children/parents/healthcare professionals.
Conference on Health Literacy and Human Rights - Connecting policy with practice to promote inclusion and combat discrimination
People face challenges in understanding and acting upon information regarding their health, which can be more acute for certain people and groups in vulnerable situations.
Building on the first conference on health literacy and human rights (Rome, 12 December 2023), a second conference is being organised to consider how to better connect policy makers and health literacy stakeholders to promote inclusion and combat discrimination.
With this purpose, the conference will discuss gaps in health literacy provision and how different stakeholders and systems can collaborate across sectors and disciplines. It will highlight the importance of health literacy in promoting inclusion and combating discrimination in society. New AI tools will be explored vis-a-vis the information and understanding that people need to access and consent to AI-enabled services in their treatment and care. This will culminate in a forward-looking approach to setting-up a broad coalition of stakeholders to promote best practice and initiatives in the field of health literacy and human rights.
This event is organised by the Council of Europe in cooperation with the National Office Against Racial Discrimination of Italy, and with the support of the Ministry of Family, Natality & Equal Opportunities and of the Ministry of Health of Italy.
Health literacy makes a fundamentally important contribution to safeguarding the human rights principle of equitable access to healthcare, especially when existing healthcare resources are less accessible to certain populations due to their circumstances.
Improving the health literacy of people and systems has the potential to improve the safety and quality of health care, reduce disparities in health outcomes thereby promoting more prosperous and equitable societies.
The conference is organised by the Steering Committee for Human Rights in the fields of Biomedicine and Health (CDBIO), in cooperation with the Ombudsman of the Republic of Latvia and the University of Latvia, under the auspices of the Latvian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers, as part of the work carried out by the Council of Europe for the further development and application of human rights-based responses in mental health care services.
Thanks to a voluntary contribution made by Ireland, a pilot youth forum on bioethics is to be held at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on 6 June 2023.
The pilot youth forum aims to provide the Committee with valuable insights from a diverse group of young people to inform its own work, including its strategic objectives and actions in the field of human rights and biomedicine.
Dialogue on genomic medicine is important because it helps to address issues which relate to individuals and societies. For example, access to genomic testing and the consent to the storage of (individual) genomic data can have implications for healthcare, such as access to health services. Dialogue helps to foster understanding and appreciation of the concepts of altruism and solidarity as well as the principle of reciprocity. In agreeing to share genetic information, there are corresponding obligations on the part of researchers, healthcare professionals and the state to provide inter alia information to data donors, robust governance mechanisms and equitable access to the treatments developed.
Seminar on relevant legislation and examples with regard to early intervention on intersex children
Organising a seminar on relevant legislation and good practices with regard to early intervention on intersex children (hereinafter - Seminar) is an action foreseen by the Strategic Action Plan on Human Rights and Technologies in Biomedicine (2020-2025), adopted by the Committee on Bioethics (DH-BIO) in 2019. The objective of this action is safeguarding children’s rights in relation to medical practices which have future or long-term implications for them.
Conference on Social Resilience and Health Equity: A human right prospective for better resilience and preparedness
In the framework of the Italian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, the Council of Europe is organising an event on Social Resilience and Health Equity. In the current international context, member States are urged to further engage in dialogue and co-operation, and to rediscover the very essence of their commitment to protecting human rights. The Council of Europe has been quick to react namely by providing Member States with tools and expertise to ensure that the crisis dos not undermine common values and principles.
Although the health emergency has accentuated disparities within and among countries, it has also provided an unprecedented opportunity to take decisive action to finally place equitable access to healthcare at the heart of governments' concerns.
More information:
Technological innovation often creates its own dynamic. Major technological breakthroughs in fields such as artificial intelligence, genome editing, and neurotechnology have the potential to advance biomedicine and healthcare. However, uncertainty exists about the impact and direction of these developments. The Council of Europe Strategic Action Plan on Human Rights and Technologies in Biomedicine (2020-2025) (SAP), adopted by the Committee on Bioethics (DH-BIO) stands an objective of embedding human rights in the development of technologies which have an application in the field of biomedicine. This Round Table gathers international experts from academia, industry and policy to discuss human rights issues raised by the applications of neurotechnologies.
The objective of the webinar will be to share national experiences of public debate during the COVID-19 pandemic and to consider what have we learned. It will reflect on the utility of public debate for better preparedness regarding future public health crises. Key questions to address are:
- What role has public debate played in COVID19 and what have we learned (i.e. what worked well, what worked less well)?
- Preparedness for future public health crises – how does/should public debate feature in addressing future health challenges?
Invited experts include:
- Espen Nakstad, Assistant Director, Directorate for Health and Social Affairs, Norway
- Joacim Rocklöv, Professor, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University, Sweden
- Claudia Chwalisz, Innovative Citizen Participation Lead, OECD
- Diane Beddoes, Director, Deliberate Thinking, UK (moderator)
Webinar: Promoting health literacy in the context of a pandemic - relevance and challenges
On 30 June 2020, in the framework of the launching of the Strategic Action Plan on Human Rights and Technologies in Biomedicine (2020-2025) organised under the auspices of the Greek chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, the Council of Europe Committee on Bioethics (DH-BIO) held a webinar on promoting health literacy in the context of a pandemic: relevance and challenges.
Invited experts :
- Prof. Karine Lefeuvre, Vice-President, National Ethical Consultative Committee for life sciences and health (France)
- Dr Leena Paakkari, Research Center for Health Promotion, University of Jyväskylä (Finland)
On 26 June 2020, in the framework of the launching of the Strategic Action Plan on Human Rights and Technologies in Biomedicine (2020-2025) organised under the auspices of the Greek chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, the Council of Europe Committee on Bioethics (DH-BIO) held a webinar on COVID-19 testing - key human rights and ethical concerns.
Invited experts :
- Dr Ross Upshur, Co-Chair, WHO Working group on Ethics and Covid-19 (Canada)
- Prof. Dominique Sprumont, Health Law Institute, University of Neuchatel (Switzerland)
The Council of Europe’s Committee on Bioethics (DH-BIO) organised a round table in Brussels on the scope and the methodology to be adopted in a study on “Good practices in mental health care
More information
Know more about bioethics - safegarding Human Rights in Biomedicine. What are the challenges for human beings posed by developments in biomedicine and how do they affect our human rights?
HELP course on key human rights principles in biomedicine presented during the 7th European Conference of Health Law at dedicated workshop
The objective of the event was to explore why public debate on biomedicine and human rights is so important for policy makers in an era when emerging technologies have an increasing impact on our societies.
Legal assessment of the Law of the Republic of Belarus No. 28-З on transplantation of human organs and tissues
Legal assessment of the Law of the Republic of Belarus No. 28-З on transplantation of human organs and tissues of 4 March 1997 vis-à-vis its compliance with the Council of Europe standards will be conducted by the leading international experts
Ethical issues raised by gene editing technologies, protection of the elderly, and the importance of public debate highlighted by the Council of Europe in EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF).
Cross-Sectoral Challenges of Law and Ethics: the Regulation of Biomedical Technologies. The legal control of cutting-edge biomedical technologies was discussed at the VIII St. Petersburg Legal Forum.
2017 marked the 20th anniversary of the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine (Oviedo Convention). On this occasion an international conference was held on 24-25 October 2017, in Strasbourg, under the auspices of the Czech Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers
The Conference is being jointly organised by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, the Russian State University of Justice under the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and the Bioethics Unit of the Council of Europe. The main focus will be on the key principle of human rights’ protection enshrined both in the Constitution of the Russian Federation and in the Oviedo Convention.
On 12 April, a session on the protection of human rights in the biomedical field (bioethics) took place during the short-term courses "Implementation of the international and constitutional guarantees of human rights in Russian law and law enforcement practice", which were jointly organised by the European Studies Institute of the MGIMO University and the Council of Europe, in Moscow on 10-14 April 2017.
Council of Europe and the Ministry of Health of Belarus held a seminar on bioethics for representatives of executive, legislative and judicial authorities, as well as professionals in the legal and health field. The seminar was held in the framework of the implementation of the Council of Europe Action plan for Belarus 2016-2017.
High-level Seminar on International Case-Law in Bioethics: Insight and Foresight
A Seminar “International Case-Law and Bioethics: Insight and Foresight” took place on 5 December 2016 in Strasbourg under the auspices of the Cypriot Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
The Council of Europe organised with the Turkish authorities the End-of-Life Care Symposium in the framework of the Council of Europe cooperation activities.
Seminar in Yerevan on the decision-making process regarding medical treatment in end-of-life situations
Decision-making process regarding medical treatment in end-of-life situations
International conference Human rights and Biomedicine - Ethical and Legal Aspects of Organ Donation
At an international conference organised by the Council of Europe and the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, ethical, legal and health professionals, together with representatives of relevant authorities, agreed on the need for more experience-sharing, co-operation and public dialogue to ensure better protection of human rights in the biomedical field. The conference was part of the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of Russia’s membership of the Council of Europe.
The International Conference on « Emerging Technologies and Human Rights » took place in Strasbourg on 4-5 May 2015.
