State of democracy, human rights and the rule of law: a security imperative for Europe

An analysis of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe, based on the findings of the Council of Europe monitoring mechanisms and bodies. This is the third annual report of the Secretary General on the state of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe. The methodology and the structure of this report are similar to last year’s report. It builds on it, improves its methodology, the measurement criteria and the parameters. The findings have also been expanded. Several “thematic boxes” throughout the report highlight the standards of the Council of Europe on important topical areas, related to recent developments. The report assesses the extent to which the Council of Europe’s 47 member states are able to make the five building blocks of democratic security a reality