Russia’s war against Ukraine: Latest news
Council of Europe and Ukraine sign joint declaration on the way forward in post-war period
After the two-day session of the High Level Dialogue on good democratic governance in Ukraine and the way forward in the post-war period, Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge and First Deputy Chairperson of the Parliament of Ukraine Oleksandr Korniyenko signed the following...
International event in Vilnius highlights importance of protecting social rights of Ukrainians during the ongoing Russian war of aggression
An international event in Vilnius has underscored the critical importance of protecting social rights in Ukraine in spite of the ongoing war of aggression by Russia and of the protection of children's rights as the most vulnerable group affected by the conflict. It also highlighted the role of...
Trafficking of Ukrainian children including for sexual and labour exploitation: risks in spotlight
Millions of Ukrainian children have fled their homeland as a result of Russia’s war of aggression, with many of them being hosted in Council of Europe member states. Armed conflicts create particular vulnerabilities for children leading to increased risks of abuse at many levels, including...
High-level dialogue on good democratic governance in Ukraine and way forward in post-war period
On 2-3 July 2024, Council of Europe and key national stakeholders from Ukraine gather in Strasbourg to discuss perspectives for good democratic governance reforms in Ukraine and further actions to improve the legal framework on multilevel governance and post-war elections in line with European...
PACE sets out plans to try Russian leaders, strengthen sanctions and stop the ‘erasure’ of Ukrainian identity
In a trio of resolutions, adopted today after a joint debate in Strasbourg, PACE has set out plans to try Vladimir Putin and his generals for aggression against Ukraine, strengthen sanctions against Russia and counter its attempts to “erase” Ukrainian cultural identity. Approving a resolution and...
Secretary General meets Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights
Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić has met the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets. The meeting focused on the situation of children of Ukraine who were unlawfully deported and forcibly transferred by the Russian Federation. The state of play of the Register...
CM President Landsbergis: Council of Europe must remain the driver of real action against Russia’s aggression
“Your strong and timely political recommendation to the Committee of Ministers to expel Russia was groundbreaking and – for many of us – brought back faith in our common institutions,” said Gabrielius Landsbergis, President of the Committee of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs of...
Register of Damage for Ukraine and the Congress launch awareness campaign for Ukrainian Local and Regional Authorities
The Register of Damage for Ukraine (RD4U) and the Council of Europe’s Congress held an event in Kyiv to kick off preparations for an awareness campaign aimed at involving representatives of Ukrainian cities and regions in promoting RD4U's mandate and the process of submitting claims to the...
Ukraine becomes member state of Observatory on History Teaching in Europe
After one year of membership as an observer state, Ukraine has joined the Observatory on History Teaching in Europe as a fully-fledged member state. “Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine reconfirmed the need to change approaches and practices in history teaching, the importance of implementing...
New report on role of Roma in Ukrainian war efforts and on post-war reconstruction
Roma people living in Ukraine are fighting on the front lines and in high numbers, many as volunteers, to defend the country against Russian aggression. This is the finding of a new report, Fighting for a Fairer Future: The Impact of the War in Ukraine on Roma and Lessons for Post-War...
Secretary General at the Summit on Peace in Ukraine
“Since the outset of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Council of Europe has been clear about its determination to do whatever we can to support the Ukrainian Government and people. President Zelenskyy’s Peace Formula is equally clear about the way out of this brutal,...
PACE President attends Ukraine Recovery Conference, holds high-level meetings
PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos participated in the Ukraine Recovery 2024 Conference, organised under the theme “United for Defense. United for recovery. Stronger together.” The conference followed an annual series of high-level political events dedicated to the rapid recovery and long-term...
Congress Vice-President attends Ukraine Recovery Conference
Congress Vice-President Bernd Vöhringer welcomed the local dimension put forward at the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2024) in Berlin on 11-12 June 2024. Organised by the governments of Germany and Ukraine, the Conference brought together heads of state and governments, international...
Deputy Secretary General meets Italian Justice Minister
Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge has met Carlo Nordio, the Minister of Justice of Italy. The meeting focused on the accountability for the Russian aggression against Ukraine, notably regarding the Register of Damage for Ukraine. They also discussed other ongoing initiatives in this context,...
Secretary General at Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin
“Since the beginning of Russia’s brutal and illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, the Council of Europe has been actively supporting Ukraine in its judiciary reforms, even more so after Ukraine was granted EU candidate status last June. As part of the Action Plan on Resilience, Recovery, and...
CEB and Ukraine sign a loan agreement to address urgent housing needs
At the Ukraine Recovery Conference on 11 June 2024 Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) Governor Carlo Monticelli and the Minister of Finance of Ukraine Serhii Marchenko signed a €100 million loan agreement on project “HOME: Compensation for destroyed residential properties,” supporting the...
Warsaw Ukrainian School in Poland wins CEB Social Cohesion Award 2024
Top marks awarded for innovative curriculum designed to help integrate refugee children from Ukraine
Congress fosters open government in Ukraine
The Ukrainian Platform for National-Local Dialogue has held a meeting on “Open government as a key ingredient for resilient local authorities”. “It is inspiring to witness that authorities in Ukraine continue to dedicate time and resources to engaging the population in decision-making, even under...
High-level Congress delegation attends Second International Summit of Cities and Regions in Ukraine
The President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Marc Cools, Standing Rapporteur on Human Rights, Gudrun Mosler-Törnström (Austria, SOC/G/PD) and Thematic Spokesperson on Youth, Véronique Bertholle (France, SOC/G/PD), participated in a high-level visit to...
Ukraine: Disregard false information concerning derogations from the European Convention on Human Rights
In 2022, Ukraine notified the Council of Europe of derogations to several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights resulting from the Russian aggression and ongoing state of war in the country. Ukraine regularly updates the Council of Europe about these derogations. As of 4 April 2024...