Zonta Essentials: The Council of Europe's Global Cooperation

Through Zonta's Council of Europe (CoE) Committee, Zonta holds participatory status at the Council of Europe, Europe's leading human rights organization. The committee will provide regular updates to enhance members' understanding of Zonta's role with the CoE.

Click here to read Part 7: The "Standard Setting" one of the Council of Europe's key strengths.

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Part 8. The Council of Europe’s Global Cooperation

The Council of Europe (CoE) does not work and operate only within its own “bubble”, but far beyond it. Europe’s leading human rights organization has increasingly developed its scope for action and outreach beyond its member states. The outreach concerns non-European states and international organizations/institutions. At the 4th Summit held in Reykjavik in May 2023, Heads of State and Government of the CoE committed to strengthening the role of the CoE in the European multilateral architecture and in global governance by enhancing its external dimension.

The main vectors of this global outreach are foremost CoE instruments and bodies open to non-European states and international organizations via accession and other forms of participation.

At present, more than 100 non-European states are Parties to CoE treaties (conventions) or participate in other CoE instruments. A great example of this is the CoE Istanbul Convention (The Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence). In addition to the 45 CoE member states who have signed the Istanbul Convention, Kazakhstan, Tunisia and Israel have applied to accede to the Convention. Another example for the collaboration with non-European countries are among others the Cyber Crime Convention and the Anti-Trafficking Convention (Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings) both of which have global relevance, promoting cross-border cooperation with nations worldwide.

In addition, the CoE has relations with around 100 international organizations/international bodies, mostly based on framework co-operation agreements. Amongst all these international organizations, the EU, the UN and the OSCE remain the CoE’s key partners.

Observer status is the only available status open at Committee of Minister’s level for non-European states. Relations with observer states represent a precious outreach opportunity for the Council of Europe and contribute to broadening the impact of its values, standards and activities. The contacts with the observer states Canada, Holy See, Israel, Japan, Mexico and USA cover almost the whole spectrum of the Council of Europe’s activities, contribute to the mutual beneficial exchange of experiences and form a strong bond based on shared values and principles.

Next episode: The Council of Europe’s cooperation with the EU and the UN – valuable partnerships.

26 SEPTEMBER 2025