What is the Council of Europe?

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The Council of Europe (CoE) is a regional body of European States which aims to develop common democratic principles among its Members based on the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and other human rights standards. The CoE, which was founded in 1949, is based in Strasbourg, France.

The Council of Europe has two statutory organs: The Parliamentary Assembly and the Committee of Ministers. Its other components are the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, whose members represent Europe’s local authorities and regions and the Secretariat which is headed by a Secretary General, who is elected by the Parliamentary Assembly.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) aims to promote and protect human rights and achieve greater cooperation through common action, agreements and debates. The Assembly is composed of members of the 47 Member States’ national parliaments. Its functions include:

- electing judges for the European Court of Human Rights

- adopting Conventions and Additional Protocols

- assessing a State’s eligibility for membership of the Council of Europe

The Committee of Ministers which is made up of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Member States, is the decision-making body of the Council of Europe. It supervises the execution of judgements of the European Court of Human Rights.

The CoE’s judicial body for protecting human rights is the European Court of Human Rights based in Strasbourg.

Members of the Council

There are 47 Member States, but other States can be granted ‘special’ or ‘observer’ status at the Council.

European States can be granted ‘special guest status’ to facilitate their accession to the Council provided they have signed the Helsinki Final Act and the Charter of Paris for a New Europe. There is currently one applicant – Belarus – but its special guest status has been suspended because of the country’s lack of respect for human rights.

Countries outside Europe can be granted ‘observer status’, meaning they can send observers to cooperate with the Council, provided they are willing to accept the principles of democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Current observer States are: the Holy See, the United States, Canada, Japan and Mexico.

Child rights and the Council of Europe

The main human rights treaty of the Council of Europe, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1943), which deals with civil and political rights, makes no mention of children’s rights. The first provision for children added to this Convention was in Article 5 of Protocol No. 7, which was adopted in 1984.

The other major human rights treaty of the Council of Europe is the European Social Charter which sets out economic and social rights. The provisions relating to children’s rights refer mainly to their right to protection in the workplace and from economic and social vulnerability. See Articles 7, 8, 16, 17, 19, 27, 31 .

Fact sheet on children’s rights in the European Social Charter

The CoE has also adopted a number of specific treaties on children’s rights which may be invoked to challenge breaches of these rights:

European Convention on the Exercise of Children's Rights (1996)
This refers mainly to family proceedings.

European Convention on the Legal Status of Children born out of Wedlock

What are the mechanisms that can be used to hold governments to account if they do not respect or protect children’s rights?

The European Court of Human Rights monitors States Parties to the Council of Europe’s compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights. Read more here.

The European Committee of Social Rights monitors States Parties' compliance with the European Social Charter. Read more here.

Commissioner for Human Rights

There is noone appointed specifically to look at child rights but there is a Commissioner for Human Rights. His role is to:

promote education and awareness of human rights in Member States of the Council of Europe;
identify gaps in the laws and practices of these States; and
promote the observance and full enjoyment of human rights.

The Commissioner’s office, which was established in 1999, is an independent institution within the Council of Europe. The Commissioner, who is elected by the Parliamentary Assembly, cannot take up individual complaints before the European Court of Human Rights. However, he can submit written comments or participate in hearings as a third party in support of one of the parties in a case.

His other activities include:

undertaking country visits to engage in dialogue with governments
making thematic recommendations and raising awareness
promoting the developing of national human rights institutions

The current Commissioner is Thomas Hammarberg. He has issued the following ‘viewpoints’ on child rights:

Children in migration deserve better protection

It is wrong to punish child victims - Viewpoint on juvenile crime

Children and corporal punishment: “The right not to be hit, also a children’s right”

How can NGOs participate in the Council's work?

NGOs which have participatory status with the Council of Europe can participate in the work of all of its bodies. Some of the ways they can cooperate with the Council include:

acting as consultants on studies; preparing memoranda for the CoE’s Secretary General;
making oral or written statements to the Parliamentary Assembly’s Committees and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities;
participating in meetings.

Some of the practical ways NGOs have been involved include:

preparing and drawing up some of the CoE’s Conventions, for example, the European Convention on the Legal Status of Migrant Workers and the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture;

providing information to the European Court of Human Rights to contribute to analysis of certain issues or as third parties to a case;
lodging collective complaints with the European Committee of Social Rights.

The Council has a permanent structure for cooperation with NGOs:

The annual Plenary Conference of NGOs decides on the year’s objectives
The Liaison Committee liaises with the CoE’s Secretariat, monitors NGOs meetings in specialist areas, encourages NGO participation, and organises the Plenary Conference and programme of work.

The Conference of INGOs is the collective name for Independent Non-Governmental Organisations that have been granted participatory status at the Council of Europe.

Find out more about NGO participation here

Building a Europe for and with Children

Building a Europe for and with Children is a three-year Council of Europe programme which aims to help decision-makers develop national strategies to promote child rights and protect children from violence. The programme was launched following the Third Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe (Warsaw 2005).

Read more

Recommendations

The Committee of Ministers issues Recommendations to Member States on matters for which the Committee has agreed on a common policy. Recommendations are not binding. Search for recommendations of the Council of Europe are available here.