2020 major events
Council of Europe at the Paris Peace Forum 2020
13 November 2020
The Council of Europe MEDICRIME Convention was presented at the Paris Peace Forum online. The MEDICRIME Convention as a criminal-law instrument is a tool to fight against the counterfeiting of medical products and similar crimes, especially those related to COVID-19.
Organised criminal networks control both the production and trade of falsified medical products and similar crimes. A solid coalition between all actors involved (the judiciary, health and law-enforcement authorities) is the only way to counter this scourge. When joining the Convention, governments are assisted in obtaining the right tools, restoring confidence and trust in health care.
25th Council of Europe Conference of Directors of Prison and Probation Services (CDPPS)
9-10 November 2020
Directors of prison and probation services from the 47 Council of Europe member states as well as renowned experts and researchers in this field met online to discuss the measures taken to face the COVID-19 pandemic in prisons and services in charge of supervising community sanctions and measures - such as conditional release, community service, electronic monitoring or home arrest - also known as alternatives to imprisonment.
The 25th Council of Europe Conference of the Directors of Prison and Probation Services was an opportunity to examine the managerial and sanitary decisions, their implementation in practice and the lessons learned since the beginning of the pandemic.
Conference of Ministers of Justice
9 November 2020
The video Conference "Independence of Justice and the Rule of Law" had the opportunity to highlight how the principle of the rule of law, one of the three pillars upon which the Council of Europe was established 70 years ago, is so relevant in our times for the quality of our democracies and for the citizens’ confidence in justice.
The Conference built on the work done so far by the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) which attempted to define the rule of the law for the first time, the work of CEPEJ, the relevant references in the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) and other political documents and legal instruments.
Council of Europe at the Internet Governance Forum 2020
2-17 November 2020
Digital technologies can greatly facilitate the exercise and the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms, boost participatory and democratic processes and facilitate social and commercial activities. But also, they carry with them human rights challenges that require prompt and balanced solutions.
The Council of Europe engages in setting standards, promoting the rule of law and fostering multi-stakeholder dialogue to ensure a sustainable, people-centred and human rights-based approach to the challenges of the digital environment.
The police role in a democratic society: European code of police ethics, nearly 20 years
20-21 October 2020
The Council of Europe is organising a Conference of high-level representatives of the Ministers of the Interior to discuss the role of the police and its development in a democratic society.
The objectives of this conference are to strengthen knowledge, to stimulate cooperation between member states to combat phenomena which affect them all more effectively and will underline the importance of human rights education as a fundamental element of the fight against all forms of delinquency in a sustainable and proactive manner.
Campaign "Death is not justice"
10 October
On the World and European Day Against the Death Penalty, the European Union and the Council of Europe reaffirm their opposition to the use of capital punishment in all circumstances and call for the universal abolition of the death penalty. We welcome the continued decline in the use of the death penalty, confirming the overall trend towards universal abolition. In 2019, for a second consecutive year, executions were carried out in only 20 countries around the world.
This is a historic low, but it is nonetheless 20 countries too many. We, therefore, use this occasion to call on all Members of the United Nations to support the Resolution on a Moratorium on the Use of the Death Penalty at the 75th session of the UN General Assembly in December 2020.
Council of Europe at the Saint-Petersburg Legal Forum
10 April 2020
The ongoing sanitary catastrophe and the reaction measures taken by the States affect public health, economy, social fabric, rights and liberties, and not least the way our life is regulated by law.
The Directorate General Human Rights and Rule of Law co-chaired the on-line debate on the above issues organised at the special digital session of the Saint-Petersburg Legal Forum on 10 April 2020. The debate was preceded by a high-level plenary session which was attended on-line by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, and the Vice-President of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev.
High-level Conference - Environmental Protection and Human Rights
27 February 2020
The Georgian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe organised a High-level Conference on Environmental Protection and Human Rights at the headquarters of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg (France).
The objective of this event was to discuss the relation between human rights and environmental protection in the context of national policies. The participants explored how to develop a strategy to support member States in better meeting their obligations in the field. In this context, they examined the potential of the European Convention on Human Rights and other Council of Europe instruments for protecting the environment, while also considering current or previous initiatives at universal, regional and national levels, notably with the Global Pact for the Environment.