Council of Europe

The Council of Europe is an international organisation of 46 member states in the European region. Membership is open to all European states which accept the principle of the rule of law and guarantee fundamental human rights and freedoms to their citizens.

Aims

Article 1(a) of the Statute states:

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:The aim of the Council of Europe is to achieve a greater unity between its members for the purpose of safeguarding and realising the ideals and principles which are their common heritage and facilitating their economic and social progress.

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The Council concentrates on the following areas:

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• Protection of democracy and the rule of law
• Protection of human rights, notably:
• Social rights, with the European Social Charter
• Linguistic rights, with the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
• Promotion of Europe's cultural identity and diversity;
• Addressing problems facing European society including discrimination, xenophobia, environmental degradation, AIDS, drugs and organised crime
• Encouraging democratic stability via reform.