Migration challenges: Council of Europe ministers call for political declaration on rights

Council of Europe ministers have called for the preparation of a political declaration on issues related to migration and the European Convention on Human Rights, and a new recommendation on migrant smuggling for 2026, in a set of conclusions adopted by all 46 member states.

At a conference held at the initiative of Secretary General Alain Berset, the ministers reaffirmed their deep and abiding commitment to both the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights, while acknowledging the challenges posed by irregular migration and the situation of foreigners convicted of serious offences.

"The European Convention on Human Rights is the final safeguard of individual rights and freedoms across our continent and a pillar of democratic security. The instrumentalisation of migration, migrant smuggling, human trafficking, and other criminal activities that threaten stability and security are real and legitimate challenges, said Secretary General Berset. "What we need is dialogue, cooperation, and shared solutions that allow member states to engage on an equal footing within the framework of the Council of Europe," he concluded.

To continue the dialogue, participants today called on the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers (composed of the Foreign Affairs ministers of the organisation's 46 member states) to prepare a draft political declaration reaffirming the obligation to ensure the effective enjoyment of the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Convention to everyone within the jurisdiction of member states, in the context of these challenges. The text should also take into account governments' fundamental responsibility to ensure national vital interests such as security and public safety, ministers specified.

The political declaration is expected to be adopted at the next formal session of the Committee of Ministers in Chisinau (Republic of Moldova) in May 2026.

In addition, the ministers supported the elaboration of a new recommendation on deterring and fighting the smuggling of migrants, with full respect for their human rights, as well as further efforts to address pressing migration issues and related policies.

Finally, they encouraged the Secretary General to engage in discussions at an international level relating to migration.

Background

Building on the commitment to the European Convention on Human Rights expressed by Council of Europe Heads of State and Government in the Reykjavik Declaration of May 2023, this conference was intended to provide guidance to the organisation, shaping its future work in this area at the political level.

In recent years, issues related to migration - including the relationship between the Convention and national measures to control migration - have become the subject of intense political debate in, and between, many Council of Europe member states.

This event brought those discussions within the framework of the Council of Europe, in addition to the organisation's on-going work on migrant smuggling and on other initiatives in this area.