Horizontal Facility - News
Strengthening the legal reasoning of Montenegro’s Administrative Court
With the aim of strengthening the quality of decisions in administrative disputes, intensive capacity building course was delivered to 14 judges and 14 advisors of the Administrative Court of Montenegro, focusing on skills needed to make a well-reasoned and fair decision. Through practical,...
Curricula working group of the state institute for education improvement finalised connecting reference framework of competences for democratic culture with selected subjects of national curricula in Serbia
Schools across Serbia will soon have access to a valuable new resource: the second volume of Guidelines for the Integration of the Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (RFCDC) in National Curricula. Developed by a team of education experts from the State Institute for the...
Psychological aid is changing lives of marginalised groups in Bosnia Herzegovina under the joint EU and Council of Europe programme "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye"
Free psychological support: A key to living authentically
"When I first consulted a psychologist, I felt lost. I couldn't openly talk about my feelings with anyone around me. I felt like I was suffocating in my own thoughts. Free psychological support was my only way out. Through conversations with a psychologist, I began to understand my feelings and...
New platform for reporting violence against LGBTI
A new website, stopmrznji.ba, has been launched as a crucial tool for reporting hate crimes and hate speech against LGBTI individuals in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This platform provides vital information and contacts for those who have experienced violence due to their sexual orientation or gender...
High-level officials of North Macedonia discussed necessary interventions following latest report of the Council of Europe Committee against Torture
In a high-level meeting, senior officials working on prison reform discussed the way forward to address the key challenges stemming from the main findings of the European Committee against Torture (CPT) 2023 report on North Macedonia. The event was attended by the State Secretary of the Ministry...
Raising awareness on free legal aid for human trafficking victims in Montenegro
A new awareness raising initiative in Montenegro is putting the spotlight on free legal aid available to victims of human trafficking. An important part of this initiative are multilingual informational leaflets designed to inform victims about their legal rights. Created in collaboration with...
Towards reducing discrimination in sports in Bosnia and Herzegovina
In an effort to promote respect and diversity in sports, the Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with support of the European Union and the Council of Europe, organised a workshop in Sarajevo on October 4. The workshop aimed at reducing homophobia and transphobia in sports...
A public initiative to raise awareness on the fight against child trafficking for forced marriages to kick off in North Macedonia
"Change Your Mind - Stay Out of the Vicious Circle”
Forced child marriage is one of the common types of human trafficking, spiralling out of the circle of poverty. A significant number of the child trafficking victims in North Macedonia are victims of trafficking for forced marriage, who are often sexually abused and exploited for their labour. To...
New pilot module to counter SLAPPs introduced for legal professionals
As part of its ongoing commitment to advance protection of freedom of expression in line with European standards, the Council of Europe Office in Pristina introduced for legal professionals in Kosovo* an importanttraining curriculum focused on countering the use of Strategic Lawsuits Against...
Montenegro takes action to strengthen local response to human trafficking and boost victim support
In a move to combat human trafficking and protect victims’ rights, three workshops were organised across Montenegro in September — gathering local authorities, social welfare centers, labour inspections, law enforcement, and judicial representatives. As part of the Strategy for the Fight Against...
Strong joint action needed that will foremost protect youth and children
Traffickers easier recruit, control and exploit victims of human trafficking
How to meet the challenges posed by the growing use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for the recruitment, control and exploitation of victims of human trafficking? More than 60 national and regional experts met at a two-day conference in Sarajevo on 2 and 3 October 2024 to...
Montenegro police to boost human rights standards with new procedures
Police officers in Montenegro are stepping up efforts to protect human rights through the introduction of newly developed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). During two days of training, held on 26-27 September in Bijelo Polje, middle management staff from the Regional Centre “North” were...
Regional co-operation key to tackling discrimination and racism
Law enforcement institutions and civil society organisations (CSOs) from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and the Republic of Moldova met in Podgorica on 26-28 September with the aim to address racism, discrimination, and the protection of minority groups, especially the LGBTI community. This...
PRESS RELEASE
Advancing Serbia’s reform agenda in human rights, rule of law and democracy in line with European standards
Serbia has made progress on its reform agenda, ranging from strengthening human rights protections and anti-trafficking efforts to promoting equality, quality education for all, as well as safeguarding freedom of expression- all in the framework of the EU and Council of Europe joint programme,...
Towards ending discrimination against blind chess players
Representatives from Serbia’s Ministry of Sport and the Government Agent before the ECtHR, as relevant government officials, and experts from the Council of Europe's Department for the Execution of Judgment of the European Court of Human Rights, gathered in Belgrade on 24 September 2024 to...
Equality bodies, public authorities and civil society organisations in Albania to join forces in the efforts to combat discrimination and hatred
Partners and beneficiaries of the action on Advancing the Protection from Discrimination in Albania valued the contribution of this co-operation initiative of the European Union and Council of Europe, that aims to bring forward the effects of the reforms in the field of anti-discrimination and...
Software to support a more efficient system of treatment of prisoners launched for the beneficiaries of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
For the first time in a prison of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Federation an Integrated Prison Management Information System (IPMIS) was put into function. This prison software together with the procurement of hardware equipment was developed with the support of the EU and Council of Europe...
PRESS RELEASE
Advancing Albania’s Reform Agenda, in line with European values: Human Rights and Democracy in the Spotlight
The programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”, a core co-operation initiative of the European Union and Council of Europe, is a fundamental instrument in the hands of the public authorities in Albania to bring forward protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms,...
New course on combating trafficking in human beings in Serbia
To support lawyers in effective protection of victims of trafficking and prosecuting perpetrators, a new HELP (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) course has been launched within the action “Strengthening anti-trafficking action in Serbia”, in co-operation with the Serbian Bar...
Serbia Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media enhances knowledge on advertising standards
Representatives of the Serbia’s Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM) had the opportunity to learn more on commercial communications and explore possibilities for co-regulation and self-regulation in various areas. The training was designed to provide an overview of the European...
Flickr
Highlights
Restricted Page 