The Oslo Conference on Right-wing Extremism and Hate Crime: Minorities under Pressure in Europe and Beyond was held on May 14-15 2013 under the auspices of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Against a background of rising concern about xenophobic trends, exclusivist ideologies, and crimes committed against minorities, the Conference brought together experts and stakeholders of various backgrounds in order to discuss and formulate recommendations on counter-strategies.

This paper explores the role of the Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education as a tool for the promotion and protection of the minority rights in Europe and as a mechanism for fostering the implementation of the provisions of the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.

Discrimination and intolerance persist in the European Union (EU) despite the best efforts of Member States to root them out, FRA research shows. Verbal abuse, physical attacks and murders motivated by prejudice target EU society in all its diversity, from visible minorities to those with disabilities. This FRA report is designed to help the EU and its Member States to tackle these fundamental rights violations both by making them more visible and bringing perpetrators to account.

The Council of Europe has adopted a new strategy to protect and promote children’s rights. The strategy is a response to the needs expressed by governments, professionals working with children, civil society and children themselves who ask for more efforts to be made in implementing existing standards. In order to achieve this, the Council of Europe will provide guidance and support to its 47 member states on how best to bridge gaps between the rights and the reality of children in Europe.

This report presents the first overview of the human rights situation of Roma and Travellers, covering all 47 member states of the Council of Europe. Its purpose is to encourage a constructive discussion about policies towards Roma and Travellers in Europe today, focusing on what must be done in order to put an end to the discrimination and marginalization they suffer.