Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights visits Principality

Mr Giancarlo Cardinale, Deputy to the Director of the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights; Mr Nils Muižnieks, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights; and Ms Françoise Kempf, Advisor © Government Communication Department / Manuel Vitali

Mr Nils Muižnieks, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, visited Monaco on 18 and 19 January 2017. He was accompanied by Mr Giancarlo Cardinale, Deputy to the Director of the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights, and Ms Françoise Kempf, an advisor in the same Office.

This was the second time a Commissioner for Human Rights has visited the country since Monaco acceded to the Council of Europe. The first visit was by Mr Thomas Hammarberg in October 2008.

These visits or periodic reviews are part of the mandate of the Commissioner for Human Rights, whose role is to monitor and assess the human rights situation in Council of Europe member states. This visit was primarily focused on the legal and institutional framework for human rights in Monaco and the rights of people belonging to vulnerable groups.

A number of Monegasque authorities had an opportunity to discuss these subjects with Mr Muižnieks.

The Commissioner was granted an audience with H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince, at which Mr Gilles Tonelli, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Ms Anne-Marie Boisbouvier, Advisor in the Prince's Cabinet, and H.E. Mr Rémi Mortier, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Monaco to the Council of Europe, were present.

Earlier, during the morning of 19 January, after a meeting with the Minister of State, Mr Muižnieks took part in a working meeting with the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of Health and Social Affairs and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.

The Commissioner also met H.E. Mr Philippe Narmino, Secretary of Justice, and Mr Christophe Steiner, President of the National Council. On 18 January, Mr Muižnieks had a meeting with the High Commissioner for the Protection of Rights, Liberties and for Mediation, and with civil society representatives.

The visit also offered Mr Muižnieks an opportunity to give a presentation to pupils at Lycée Albert I on the mandate and activities of the High Commissioner.