The international Felis conference 2024 brought together more than 130 participants for presentations and discussions that focused on the prevention of bullying at schools, countering hate speech against LGBTI teenagers, as well as on developing strategies to build a more supportive and tolerant environment for LGBTI children in schools by advancing reforms locally. This event was organised by the NGO Genderdoc with the support of the Partnership for Good Governance project on combating discrimination implemented in the Republic of Moldova.

ARMENIA
An important initiative was launched by the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia to combat hate speech in educational institutions. A series of future activities is expected to provide necessary tools and knowledge to educators and students to empower them in the fight against hate speech in the country.

Twelve representatives from the Ministry of Justice, the Human Rights Defender’s Office and law enforcement agencies from Armenia successfully completed an online course on hate speech created under the Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) platform of the Council of Europe.

GEORGIA
Young European Ambassadors and Equality Ambassadors met with representatives of the Council of Europe Office in Georgia and the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia. The focus was on deepening their engagement and exploring ways to amplify their efforts in promoting equality and fighting discrimination.

REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA
A round-table brought together political figures, media representatives and civil society to address hate speech, sexism, and gender-based intolerance during elections. Building on lessons learned in the context of the local general elections in autumn 2023, the event jointly addressed measures needed to tackle hate speech, gender-based intolerance and sexism during the election period.

A platform for exchanges was created between the police and civil society organisation in the country, to promote the rights of the LGBTI community, strengthen communication and build trust between the involved parties and facilitate future exchanges on hate speech and hate crimes, while providing solutions.

Representatives from the Equality Council and the Advocate Office of the Republic of Moldova participated in a peer-to-peer exchange with Maltese counterparts aiming to strengthen their readiness in countering hatred and protecting the rights of vulnerable persons through good practices. This is a continuation of the support provided to the institutions of the Republic of Moldova to further develop capacities on combating discrimination.

UKRAINE
Young European Ambassadors met online with representatives of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine to explore further co-operation opportunities in combating discrimination and hate speech in Ukraine.

Prosecutors from Armenia and several European countries were brought together to discuss the fight of transnational organised crime during a two-day high-level conference. This event was organised in co-operation with the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Armenia and focused on improving co-operation between prosecutors, sharing good practices, and tackling challenges such as seizing illegally obtained assets.

Strengthening the co-operation between the Constitutional Courts of Ukraine and Latvia, was the conclusion to the round-table organised in May. The aim is to contribute further to efficient court procedures and the alignment to European standards of the Ukrainian Constitutional Court.

The first meeting aiming to establish a regional network with judicial training institutions from Eastern Partnership countries took place in Brussels. This regional network will enable exchange of good practices, cross-fertilisation, and particularly advancing work on women’s access to justice and gender mainstreaming across initial and continuous training of future judges and prosecutors in the region.

At its 139th plenary session (held on 21-22 June 2024), the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe adopted, among others:

Armenia - Joint Opinion of the Venice Commission and the Directorate General of Democracy and Human Dignity on the draft law on national minorities.

Republic of Moldova - Opinion on the Law on the partial implementation of the postal vote).