Human rights

Brussels and Ankara, the bad deal

17/03/2016 -  Nils Muižnieks Strasbourg

The migration deal between EU and Turkey is illegal and must be changed, says CoE Commissioner for Human Rights. There are other ways to address the migrants crisis, complying with the member States obligations to protect those who flee wars and persecution

National minorities under the Georgian Dream

02/03/2016 -  Marilisa Lorusso Tbilisi

Giorgi Bobghiashvili, of the European Centre for Minority Issues, spoke to us about national minorities and inclusive policies in Georgia ahead of the next general elections

Istanbul, in the traffickers' net

08/03/2016 -  Dimitri BettoniFilippo Cicciù Istanbul

For the vast majority of refugees and migrants, using the Turkish network of traffickers is the only choice in order to start the journey along the Balkan Route. Our report

Azerbaijan: Mission Nardaran Challenge

02/02/2016 -  Arzu Geybullayeva

Protests in Nardaran, a majority conservative Shia village in the outskirts of Baku, indicate a growing discontent for the country's difficult social and economic conditions

After the war, a human rights emergency in Ukraine

05/11/2015 -  Danilo Elia

A dramatic picture emerges from the new report on the situation in Ukraine released by the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights. Now that the armed conflicts have ceased, it is daily life that kills

A Balkan Odyssey

27/10/2015 -  Andrea Oskari Rossini

The flow of migrants and refugees along the Balkan trail is turning into a humanitarian crisis, with no recognition of the needs of vulnerable categories. Reports of violence by the Bulgarian police

Refugees in Turkey, heading West

06/10/2015 -  Fazıla Mat Istanbul

Turkey is hosting some 2 million Syrian refugees, but won’t grant them refugee status. This, and the tough life they are leading, drives them to try heading towards Europe

The Balkan trail: Orban's wall

22/09/2015 -  Giovanni Vale Budapest

The Hungarian wall, on the border with Serbia, casts a first curtain on the Balkan Trail, forcing refugees to change course and head to Croatia, making their journey even more difficult. Seventh and final episode of our correspondent's diary

Balkan Trail: arrival in Preševo

21/09/2015 -  Giovanni Vale Preševo

From Macedonia to the border with Serbia. The refugees cross the border and head for Preševo. Fifth episode of the travelogue by our correspondent on the Balkan Trail

Azerbaijan: Aliyev’s most wanted list

04/09/2015 -  Arzu Geybullayeva

The jail sentence inflicted on investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova is the latest episode in the fight against freedom of speech in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan: a circus trial, clowns and a glass cage

19/08/2015 -  Arzu Geybullayeva

The trial of Khadija Ismayilova, the main investigative Azerbaijani journalists in prison since last December, began last July 24 and may close as early as this week

The new wall and us: children who do and don't remember

25/08/2015 -  André Cunha, (with the collaboration of Móni Bense)

Chronicle of a journey along the border between Hungary and Serbia in late June and early July, a week from the building of a new wall in Europe. Second Episode

Kosovo approves the Special Court

11/08/2015 -  Violeta Hyseni Kelmendi Pristina

Following a month-long deadlock, the Kosovo Assembly has finally voted the law establishing a Special Court to judge the KLA alleged war crimes

Turkey of refugees, among the Yazidis in Diyarbakır

24/07/2015 -  Dimitri Bettoni Diyarbakır

In Diyarbakır, southeastern Turkey, there are at least 20,000 refugees, including many Yazidis, who dream of reaching Europe. Second part of the report

Turkey of refugees

17/07/2015 -  Dimitri Bettoni Istanbul

According to the latest UNHCR estimates, approximately 1.770,000 refugees have reached Turkey since 2011 to date. We devote a report to their situation in Istanbul, Diyarbakir, and Urfa. The first episode

Srebrenica, the way back

10/07/2015 -  Andrea Oskari Rossini Sarajevo

The commemorations of the twentieth anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide will be taking place in a town where hardly anyone lives any more

Srebrenica: the needs of the victims

08/07/2015 -  Nils Muižnieks* Strasburgo

The stand of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights ahead of the Srebrenica commemoration. Addressing the needs of the victims of the genocide must be the priority

Lights, fireworks, flying carpets: welcome to Baku 2015

23/06/2015 -  Arzu Geybullayeva

The European Games are not bringing to Azerbaijan the positive media coverage its authorities had expected, investing millions on the event. The best deal was Lady Gaga's

Sport Cannot Ignore Human Rights

04/06/2015 -  Michel ForstDunja MijatovićNils Muižnieks Geneva, Vienna, Strasbourg

Human rights officials highlight the crackdown on freedom of expression in Azerbaijan ahead of the inauguration of the European Games in Baku

Dealing with the past through feminism

19/05/2015 -  Caterina BonoraDaniela Lai Sarajevo

The Sarajevo Women's Court and transitional justice in the former Yugoslavia: preliminary reflections

Silence Of the Lambs, Azerbaijani Style

13/05/2015 -  Arzu Geybullayeva

The European Games in Baku are only a month away, while the list of the country's political prisoners keeps on growing

Sarajevo, the Women's Tribunal

11/05/2015 -  Andrea Oskari Rossini Sarajevo

The first Women's Tribunal in Europe took place in Sarajevo between May 7th and 10th. The participants came from all the countries of the former Yugoslavia

Human rights in Armenia: the Muižnieks report

18/03/2015 -  Andrea Oskari Rossini

Nils Muižnieks, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, made public on 10 March his report on the state of human rights in Armenia. Our interview

Slovenia, full rights for LGBT couples

20/03/2015 -  Stefano Lusa Capodistria

A process that began in the eighties is about – perhaps – to come to completion 35 years later. Slovenia's new Family Code puts LGBT couples on the same level as heterosexual ones. But the shadow of a possible referendum looms on the new law

Azerbaijan’s Whitewash Summer Games

11/03/2015 -  Arzu Geybullayeva

In June 2015, Baku will host the European Games. Human Rights watchdogs believe the international event will serve to whitewash the country’s deteriorating rights reputation

Turkey: the murder of Aslan Özgecan

25/02/2015 -  Fazıla Mat Istanbul

In the aftermath of the brutal murder of a female student in Turkey, women associations come out in anger: "We are not mourning, we are in revolt"

A grass-roots initiative for media freedom in Europe

20/02/2015 -  Luisa Chiodi

On January 28th, at the premises of the European Parliament in Brussels, OBC hosted a discussion on media freedom in Europe. The welcoming speech of our director, Luisa Chiodi, summarizing the achievements of the project “Safety Net for European Journalists”

Choking up freedom in Azerbaijan

16/12/2014 -  Arzu Geybullayeva

The arrest on spurious charges of investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova is being met by a disturbing silence of the international community, and shows there are no more boundaries for the Aliyev regime

Slovenia: tabloid journalism on the rise

05/12/2014 -  Stefano Lusa Koper

A tragic event shows the downhill path taken by Slovenian journalism – more and more scandal, less and less ethics

Nine out of 10 cases of journalists' murders go unpunished

24/11/2014 -  Svetla Dimitrova Sofia

Hundreds of journalists have been killed around the world in the past decade, with nine out of ten cases going unpunished, the UN and independent press freedom groups said in statements marking the first-ever International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists on November 2nd