News
Public discussion on the draft Criminal Procedure Code of Armenia
On 6 December in Yerevan, a public discussion on the draft Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia was organised where a variety of stakeholders, representatives of international organisations and civil society discussed various issues and proposals regarding the text of the draft...
Findings of the legislative review on the Moldovan legislation in the field of anti-discrimination discussed in Chisinau
The Council of Europe carried out a legislative review offering the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Moldova an expert opinion, in view of ensuring that the national legislation in the field of anti-discrimination is aligned with European standards, particularly the European Convention on...
Members of the national Financial Intelligence Unit and General Prosecutor's Office trained on Open Source Intelligence in Azerbaijan
A five-day “Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) Training” took place in Baku, Azerbaijan from 25-29 November 2019 by bringing together the analysts of the Financial Monitoring Service and investigative professionals of the Anti-Corruption Directorate under the General Prosecutor’s Office. The...
International conference: Implementing non-discrimination commitments – a path to achieving European human rights standards
The necessity of strong cooperation between national authorities and civil society, role of lawyers and the use of communication strategies as key tools for preventing and fighting discrimination were the focus of the joint European Union and Council of Europe international conference that took...
Equality bodies/Ombudsoffices and civil society from the EaP to explore how to best communicate with, and inform victims of discrimination, in regional thematic event
Strengthening the capacity of equality bodies/Ombudsoffices and NGOs to inform the public about available redress mechanisms to discrimination, hate speech and hate crime is at the core of the regional project “Strengthening access to justice through non-judiciary redress mechanisms for victims...
The European Union and the Council of Europe support discussions on the draft Law on national minorities in Armenia
On 31 October 2019, the PGG regional project “Strengthening access to justice through non-judiciary redress mechanisms for victims of discrimination, hate crime and hate speech in Eastern Partnership countries” supported the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, in cooperation...
Council of Europe and the European Union present the Partnership for Good Governance Programme 2019-2021 in the Republic of Moldova
The European Union and the Council of Europe will carry out two projects aimed at improving the justice system in the Republic of Moldova under the Partnership for Good Governance (PGG) 2019-2021. These two projects were presented today in Chisinau during the 1st PGG II Local Steering Committee...
First Mentoring Programme for legal professionals in Eastern Partnership countries
On 21-22 October 2019, Eastern Partnership countries’ training institutes for judges and prosecutors took part in a 2-day training of mentors’ programme organised by the Council of Europe. Through discussions and interactive experiential methods, the participants were made conversant with the...
Workshop on Assets Declaration System in Armenia
On 16 October, the workshop on Assets Declaration System in Armenia in the frame of the PGG II Project on “Strengthening institutional capacities to fight and prevent corruption in Armenia" was held in Yerevan. The objective of the workshop was to present the findings and recommendations from the...
Venice Commission: no provisions of the Istanbul Convention can be considered contradictory to the Constitution of Armenia
In an opinion adopted on 11 October, the Council of Europe’s constitutional law body, the Venice Commission, concluded that, while the ratification of any treaty is a sovereign act of the state, and it belongs to the Constitutional Court of Armenia to rule on the compatibility of the Council of...
Council of Europe and the Delegation of the European Union present their joint projects in Ukraine for the 2019-2021 period
On Thursday, 11 October, the Council of Europe and the Delegation of the European Union presented to the media in Kyiv the Partnership for Good Governance (PGG) projects in Ukraine for the period 2019 - 2021 during the 1st PGG II Local Steering Committee meeting. One country specific project...
Training on mutual legal assistance in anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing in Azerbaijan
The training on “Mutual Legal Assistance In Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) Investigations” took place on 9-10 October 2019 in Baku, Azerbaijan and brought together 30 prosecutors and investigators of the Anti-Corruption Directorate, General Prosecutor’s Office, as...
Council of Europe and the EU Delegation present joint projects in Belarus for 2019-2021
On Tuesday, 8 October, the Council of Europe and the Delegation of the European Union presented to media in Minsk their joint projects in Belarus for the period 2019 – 2021. The presentation was part of the first meeting of the Local Steering Committee under the second phase of the Partnership...
The EU Delegation and the Council of Europe present joint projects for Azerbaijan for 2019-2021 under the second phase of the Partnership for Good Governance
On Thursday, 3 October, the Delegation of the European Union and the Council of Europe presented new joint projects to be carried out in Azerbaijan under the second phase of the joint Partnership for Good Governance (PGGII) programme. The presentation was part of the first Local Steering...
New joint EU-Council of Europe projects for 2019-2021 to help combatting money laundering, strengthening judicial system in Azerbaijan
New joint projects presented today in Baku by the Delegation of the European Union and the Council of Europe to be carried out in Azerbaijan in 2019-2021 under the second phase of the joint Partnership for Good Governance (PGGII) programme aim at assisting the authorities in fighting and...
The European Union Delegation and the Council of Europe to present their joint projects in Armenia for 2019-2021
On Tuesday, 1 October, the Delegation of the European Union and the Council of Europe presented to the media in Yerevan the Partnership for Good Governance (PGG) projects in Armenia for the period 2019 - 2021 during the 1st PGG II Local Steering Committee meeting. Two projects will be implemented...
Council of Europe and the EU Delegation present their new joint projects in Georgia for 2019-2021
On Tuesday, 1 October, the Council of Europe and the Delegation of the European Union presented to media in Tbilisi new projects under the Partnership for Good Governance (PGG) in Georgia for the period 2019 - 2021. Two country-specific projects were implemented in Georgia between 2019 and 2021...
“Strengthening the capacities of the justice sector actors to deliver justice in line with European Standards, in particular to fight discrimination” - First meeting of the Project’s Steering Committee
The 1st Steering Committee meeting of the PGG project on strengthening the capacities of the Moldovan justice sector was held on 25 September 2019. Participants have approved the project plan and appreciated the necessity for this country-specific project that would build on the efforts and...
Council of Europe and the European Union to present the Partnership for Good Governance Programme 2019-2021 in the Republic of Moldova
On Wednesday, 25 September, the Council of Europe and the Delegation of the European Union will present to the media in Chisinau the Partnership for Good Governance (PGG) projects in the Republic of Moldova for the period 2019 - 2021 during the 1st PGG II Local Steering Committee meeting. Two...
New online course on CPT Standards published on the HELP online platform
A new free online course on the standards developed by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) is now available on the HELP online platform. The course was developed by the Council of Europe HELP Programme in close cooperation...
Call for tenders: local consultancy in the Eastern Partnership countries on an anti-discrimination project
The Council of Europe is currently implementing and until 31 December 2021 a Project on strengthening access to justice through non-judicial redress for victims of discrimination, hate crime and hate speech in the Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of...
Death penalty should be abolished in Belarus
How to work with public opinion with a view to inform its views on the death penalty and the necessity for its abolition was the theme of the conference which took place in Minsk on 27 August 2019. The event was the result of the thorough dialogue the Council of Europe has had with the Belarusian...
The 2019 Help Network Conference "HELP: Celebrating The 70th Anniversary of The Council of Europe" is taking place in Strasbourg on 4-5 July 2019.
The European Programme for Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) of the Council of Europe aims at assisting legal professionals to effectively apply the European human rights standards in their daily work. The HELP Network is the only European peer-to-peer human rights training...
Venice Commission: the dissolution of parliament in the Republic of Moldova did not meet the required conditions
At its 2019 June plenary session, the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) adopted an opinion on the recent situation in the Republic of Moldova from a constitutional point of view, including on the conditions for the dissolution of parliament. The Venice Commission...
Venice Commission endorsed an urgent opinion on the selection and appointment of supreme court judges in Georgia
The Venice Commission, in its urgent opinion for Georgia on the Selection and appointment of Supreme Court judges, endorsed during its Plenary Session on 21-22 June in Venice, concluded that the lifetime appointment (up to retirement) of 18 to 20 new Supreme Court judges by the current majority...
Disaggregated data collection remains key to the prevention of discrimination and protection of victims
Recording and reporting hate crime, discrimination and hate speech remain an important priority for public authorities, the Ombudsoffice and civil society in Ukraine. Disaggregated data collection is a central consideration in the process of monitoring the implementation of national legislation...
The Steering Committee of the PGG II- project on “Countering Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing in Belarus” meets in Minsk
The 1st Steering Committee Meeting of the Project on “Countering Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing in Belarus” took place on the morning of 19 June 2019 in Minsk, Belarus. Members of the Steering committee are representatives from Investigative Committee, General Prosecutor’s Office,...
First national meeting on disaggregated data collection on discrimination, hate speech and hate crime in the Republic of Moldova
Improving the methods for disaggregated data collection on discrimination, hate speech and hate crime was the main topic of the first national stakeholders’ meeting on this theme in the Republic of Moldova. Stakeholders agreed that the current methods can be improved through: a national study on...
First Steering Committee Meeting of the project on “Strengthening anti-money laundering and asset recovery in Azerbaijan”
The Project on “Strengthening Anti-Money Laundering and Asset Recovery in Azerbaijan” held its first Steering Committee Meeting on 30 May 2019. The meeting brought together representatives from 15 key beneficiary institutions to present the activities to be implemented under the project and...
First Steering Committee Meeting of PGG Project on “Enhancing the systems of prevention and combating corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing in Georgia”
The First Steering Committee Meeting of the EU/CoE Partnership for Good Governance Project on “Enhancing the systems of prevention and combating corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing in Georgia” (PGG II-GE) was organized on 28 May 2019. During the meeting, the Committee members...