Website: Council of Europe: Commissioner for Human Rights

The Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent institution within the Council of Europe, mandated to promote the awareness of and respect for human rights in 47 Council of Europe member states.

The fundamental objectives of the Commissioner for Human Rights are laid out in Resolution (99) 50 on the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights. According to this resolution, the Commissioner is mandated to:

- foster the effective observance of human rights, and assist member states in the implementation of Council of Europe human rights standards;

- promote education in and awareness of human rights in Council of Europe member states;

- identify possible shortcomings in the law and practice concerning human rights;

- facilitate the activities of national ombudsperson institutions and other human rights structures; and

- provide advice and information regarding the protection of human rights across the region.

The Commissioner’s work thus focuses on encouraging reform measures to achieve tangible improvement in the area of human rights promotion and protection. Being a non-judicial institution, the Commissioner’s Office cannot act upon individual complaints, but the Commissioner can draw conclusions and take wider initiatives on the basis of reliable information regarding human rights violations suffered by individuals.

The Commissioner co-operates with a broad range of international and national institutions as well as human rights monitoring mechanisms. The Office’s most important inter-governmental partners include the United Nations and its specialised offices, the European Union, and the OSCE. The Office also cooperates closely with leading human rights NGOs, universities and think-tanks.

Activities of the Commissioner for Human Rights
*Dialogue with governments and country visits

The Commissioner seeks to engage in permanent dialogue with Council of Europe member states and conducts official country missions for a comprehensive evaluation of the human rights situation. The missions typically include meetings with the highest representatives of government, parliament, the judiciary, as well as leading members of human rights protection institutions and the civil society. The Commissioner’s reports contain both an analysis of human rights practices and detailed recommendations about possible ways of improvement. The reports are presented to the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly. Subsequently they are published and widely circulated in the policy-making and NGO community as well as the media.

A few years after the official visit to a country, the Commissioner or his Office carries out a follow-up visit to assess the progress made in implementing the recommendations. The Commissioner subsequently issues a follow-up report, which is also widely publicised. Last but not least, the Commissioner conducts contact visits to countries or regions in order to strengthen relations with the authorities and to examine one or a number of problem areas, albeit without issuing general reports.

*Thematic recommendations and awareness-raising

The Commissioner for Human Rights is also mandated to provide advice and information on the protection of human rights and the prevention of human rights violations. When the Commissioner considers it appropriate, his Office issues recommendations regarding a specific human rights issue in a single member state (or several). Either on the request of national bodies or on his own initiative, the Commissioner may also give opinions on draft laws and specific practices.

The Commissioner is further mandated to promote awareness of human rights in Council of Europe member states. To this end, the Commissioner’s Office organises and co-organises seminars and events on various human rights themes, and seeks to engage in permanent dialogue with governments, civil society organisations and educational institutions in order to improve the publics’ awareness of Council of Europe human rights standards.

*Promoting the development of national human rights structures

The Commissioner closely cooperates with national Ombudsmen, National Human Rights Institutions and other structures entrusted to protect human rights. The Commissioner also maintains close working relations with the European Union’s Ombudsman and organises biennial roundtables with the Ombudsmen and National Human Rights Institutions of Council of Europe member states. In countries where these do not exist or are not fully developed, the Commissioner strongly supports their establishment and effective operation.

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