Speech delivered by Michael O'Flaherty at the International Conference "Shaping democratic renewal: civic space and the path to a New Democratic Pact for Europe" in Strasbourg.

Secretary General, Ambassador Cujbă, dear friends, thank you very much for the invitation to address this important conference.

I speak to you just a few days after I visited a Nazi concentration camp, the one at Struthof here in Alsace.

It's a horrific place. I started my visit at the gas chamber, I finished it at the crematorium and between each of these two dreadful places, horror after horror was explained to me in terms of the callous disregard for and taking of the lives of innocent men, women and children. But Struthof also in a curious way is a negative reminder of something wonderful, a negative reminder in its horror of all that we have achieved since it was shut down.

Modern Europe can be very proud of the manner by which it has established strong laws, institutions and even cultures in support of democracy, rule of law and human rights. Many actors can be given the credit for establishing the modern-day Europe but among them, at their very core, has to be acknowledged the role of civil society, and of course by civil society I mean the entire non-governmental world in all its breadth and diversity. And given the nature of my work I see its essential role just about everywhere I go.

I see it in the extent for instance to which our countries depend on civil society for the delivery of essential services including to those most on the margins and in need.

I see it in the manner in which civil society organisations feed discussion around policy for our countries and how they play an essential role in the direction of our societies for the good. Coming back here to Strasbourg I see the role of civil society in, for instance, the annual Strasbourg refugee week, a period during which a collaboration of the city and many organisations aim to change perceptions of forced migration by challenging stereotypes and prejudices about refugees and migrants. I see how during that week they encourage social inclusion, how they promote human rights and dignity.

More generally and right across Europe I see today the essential role of civil society in engaging and in taming that most consequential of advances, the digitalisation of our world. Time and time again it's civil society, not industry, not states, that has been the first to identify risks in the digital space and as well as the means by which they can best be engaged. it was civil society that was first to alert us to the risks of algorithmic discrimination.

More recently it is civil society that has pointed to the actual and potential abuse of technology in the area of law enforcement.

One further feature of contemporary civil society that is noteworthy is the extent to which it is populated by and driven by young people. It is organisations of and led by young people that are at the forefront of vital social change for the good.

Just look for example at the roles played by Black Lives Matter or Fridays for Future.

Friends it is one of the ironies of 2026 that we can on the one hand, speak of the essential role of civil society and at the same time have to acknowledge the extent to which it is put under pressure as it seeks to do its work. The 2025 CIVICUS Monitor reported that just 18 out of 46 Council of Europe member states have an open civic space.

CIVICUS further reported that the civic space of 13 member states has been downgraded since 2018.

The pressure on civil society takes multiple forms. A crisis of funding for instance has been in development for a number of years and was brought into sharp relief with the decision of the US administration early in 2025 to suspend international aid.

The situation has worsened since then and is badly impacting humanitarian actors, human rights defenders and others. National governments are reducing their public funding as priorities shift, budgets are cut and austerity measures are implemented, while we see increasing obstacles to philanthropic giving. In my work I see the impact of budget cuts across the continent but this afternoon I think in particular of the plight of Ukrainian civil society.

A second dimension of the contemporary pressure on civil society concerns the extent to which they are limited in their ability to do their jobs by excessive regulatory oversight. I see a type of legislative copycatting where foreign agent laws pioneered by such authoritarian states as Russia are being swiftly replicated not just in policy but in language and form.

These laws form a blueprint for bureaucratic silencing that moves faster than international protections can respond.

One more of the many dimensions of the ways in which the pressure on civil society is manifesting itself has to do with the closing of the possibility of access to policy makers. Consultations, public forums and even crisis coordination are increasingly excluding dissident or minority voices through fast-tracked legislative procedures that allow for procedural loopholes, tokenistic gestures and outright bans.

In such cases and when the most critical actors on sensitive topics are kept out of the room, the result frankly is an engineered and a pre-ordained outcome.

And so then my friends the question arises of what needs to be done. But before getting to action points I believe it's important that we place the pressure on civil society in its proper context.

The first dimension of context is to keep in mind that the pressure on civil society is not primarily about the organisations themselves. It's about all of us. It's about rights holders and above all it's about the rights holders most on the periphery, the margins of our societies.

The limiting of or the making impossible of the capacity of organisations to do their jobs is compromising the lives of millions of people across our continent.

A second dimension of context is to recall again that concentration camp I referred to and to remember how the evils of Nazism did not happen overnight. They were made possible through a gradual deterioration of society.

And I suggest to you that any attack today on the essential role of civil society looks like one of those steps in the erosion of human rights, democracy and rule of law. All of that with possible future horrific and unimaginable consequences.

I even find myself asking if and when that day were to come what group would be the first to be targeted. I can't help but conclude that it's most likely, if the current patterns of hate and marginalisation continue, it's most likely to be the group of irregular migrants.

But turning now to actions. In the first place it's important to learn from and appreciate the recent important initiatives, including by the European Union where critical steps have been taken to strengthen the role of civil society through the adoption of a strategy on the topic with numerous related initiatives. And in this regard, I welcome the impending establishment of a civil society platform to operate across the EU and the recognition of the need to put aside substantial funds to support the work of civil society within the European Union itself.

Staying at the interstate level and referring not only to the EU but to all Council of Europe member states, I believe that it is high time now to establish some form of civil society protective capacity to operate across the continent. A capacity, a machinery that would serve to monitor the situation of civil society, draw attention to problems and issues of risk and which would respond as appropriate to attacks on the organisations.

Turning then to states more specifically and keeping in mind that it is states that have got us to where we are in terms of creating a problem, it is now essential for them working separately and jointly to fix what they can. Not only through supporting continent-wide initiatives such as the protective capacity that I've mentioned but also by looking at their own national law policy and practise to make sure that it is fit for purpose in terms of allowing civil society to play its role.

And finally dear friends, again if you would allow me to refer to the camp at Struthof.

I recall that it is just a 45 minute drive away from here and the awful incidents that took place there were less than 90 years ago. These facts recall to me how very fragile is all that we have achieved. We could lose it, including through our negligence. A sturdy defence of – an investment in our civil society – is all the more important for that.

Thank you.

Incontro di coordinamento delle Difensore civiche e dei Difensori civici delle Regioni e delle Province autonome. Tra i temi discussi, anche le notifiche amministrative tramite la piattaforma digitale SEND.

La collaborazione su questioni di interesse comune per cittadine e cittadini è stata al centro dell’incontro nazionale di coordinamento delle Difensore civiche e dei Difensori civici delle Regioni e Province autonome italiane svoltosi a fine gennaio a Milano. 
Nella due giorni di confronto, la Difensora civica Veronika Meyer ha presentato alcuni temi attualmente rilevanti per l’Alto Adige, tra cui aspetti critici del sistema digitale di notifica SEND della pubblica amministrazione e le modalità di pagamento tramite PagoPA. “In particolare, questo sistema di notifica di provvedimenti e richieste di pagamento, che in Alto Adige è attualmente utilizzato dal Comune di Bolzano, sta creando difficoltà all'utenza con competenze digitali più limitate, e comporta un maggiore onere economico in termini di spese di elaborazione”, riferisce Meyer: “A seguito del confronto con le colleghe e i colleghi a Palazzo Pirelli a Milano, verrà ora avviato un dialogo istituzionale con il Ministero per approfondire il funzionamento del servizio e valutare possibili proposte di miglioramento. L’obiettivo è contribuire a garantire il giusto equilibrio tra innovazione digitale ed efficace tutela dei diritti di cittadine e cittadini".

Las instituciones homólogas del Defensor del Pueblo en el conjunto del país han trasladado al Defensor del Pueblo Andaluz en funciones, Jesús Maeztu, su solidaridad, apoyo y condolencias a las familias y seres queridos de las víctimas del accidente ferroviario ocurrido en el término municipal de Adamuz (Córdoba), así como su cercanía a todas las personas afectadas.

Los defensores han reconocido la respuesta ejemplar del pueblo de Adamuz, con muestras de generosidad y solidaridad desde el primer instante, y el apoyo de vecinos y vecinas voluntarios que se volcaron para ayudar a paliar las consecuencias de la tragedia.

Del mismo modo, los defensores nos han expresado su satisfacción por la colaboración leal de las administraciones y la coordinación de los dispositivos activados, que han resultado esenciales para atender la emergencia, salvar vidas y asistir a las personas heridas y a sus familias.

El Defensor del Pueblo Andaluz agradece especialmente ese abrazo compartido, dirigido a las familias de las víctimas y a todas las personas afectadas, pero también al personal que, desde la Defensoría y desde los servicios públicos, continúa trabajando para acompañar y respaldar a las víctimas de esta tragedia. Para Jesús Maeztu, este gesto reconforta y nos recuerda que, incluso en los momentos más difíciles, las instituciones pueden hablar con humanidad y ponerse al lado de quienes sufren. 

El Defensor ha subrayado que, detrás de cada mensaje recibido, hay algo más que una fórmula institucional: hay compañerismo, cercanía y una comprensión profunda de lo que significa acompañar a la ciudadanía cuando el dolor irrumpe de forma inesperada.

On January 30, 2026, Deputy Public Defender Irine Chikhladze, together with the employees of the Public Defender's Office, monitored housing services for persons with Disabilities in the Senaki and Zugdidi municipalities.

Within the framework of the visits, the Deputy Public Defender inspected the external and internal infrastructure of the institutions, the living and dining spaces of the beneficiaries; met with representatives of the service administration, staff and beneficiaries, and received information about their challenges and needs.

The Public Defender, as a monitoring mechanism for the promotion, protection and implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, constantly supervises the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities.

The new Human Rights Ombudswoman Dr. Simona Drenik Bavdek, is convinced that the Ombudsman is an institution whose task is to remind the state authorities that humanity is the measure of justice. Human rights are one of the most important achievements of civilization and a shared value of society as a whole. They are universal, inalienable, and indivisible, belonging to everyone regardless of their personal circumstances. That is why they must be actively protected, strengthened, developed, and awareness of them must be spread.

At today's session on February 3 2026, the members of the National Assembly elected Dr. Simona Drenik Bavdek as the new Human Rights Ombudswoman with 62 votes in favor. Upon her election, she expressed her gratitude for the trust and support shown by the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr. Nataša Pirc Musar, by those who nominated her candidacy, and by the Members of Parliament who supported the proposal. “I understand this trust as a responsibility to the institution, and above all to the people and the constitutional values on which our democratic community is founded,” she said.

Dr. Drenik Bavdek emphasized that, within the system of checks and balances, the Ombudsman provides individuals with informal protection of human rights, which is free of charge, anonymous, and confidential. She reminded us that human rights cannot be taken for granted. "The Ombudsman is not an authoritative body; its power lies in the power of argument. Almost a year without leadership of the institution with a full mandate has clearly shown how important it is for the Ombudsman institution to have a stable and independent mandate. The time we live in requires a strong, independent, and proactive human rights institution that responds effectively and swiftly to contemporary challenges: from the impact of the climate crisis, artificial intelligence and digital technologies, to disinformation and growing polarization, to structural inequalities, the need for better accessibility of public services and long-term care. The Ombudsman must be an institution that responds to these challenges professionally, promptly, decisively and with an eye to the future," she said upon her election, stressing that it is the Ombudsman’s task to persist in upholding human rights as the standard for every public decision, even in the most complex social circumstances.

"The Ombudsman is the voice of the people, of all those whose human rights and fundamental freedoms have been or are being violated, that is civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights, as well as so-called third- and fourth-generation human rights. In dialogue with the state, the Ombudsman makes proposals, gives opinions and offers criticism. It also makes recommendations for redressing injustices and to implement international and constitutional human rights standards. Violations of rights cause suffering, increase administrative and institutional burdens, deepen social tensions and also have tangible financial consequences. Therefore, I will devote all my energy and knowledge to ensuring that, under my leadership, the Ombudsman's institution performs its tasks actively, professionally and with a clear commitment to its independent function,” emphasized the new Human Rights Ombudswoman.

Dr. Drenik Bavdek also stresses that she will pay special attention to the implementation of international human rights standards into the Slovenian legal order, in particular the conventions of the Council of Europe and all eight core international instruments adopted within the framework of the United Nations, to which Slovenia is a party.

She will also advocate for the establishment of a children's rights ombudsman in Slovenia, who would be able to operate autonomously within the Ombudsman's institution. She aims to strengthen the Ombudsman's activities in the areas of awareness-raising, education, and training on human rights, more systematic monitoring of the rule of law, assessment of the human rights impacts of legislative proposals and the submission of requests for constitutional and legality review to the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia if the competent authorities do not give due consideration to the Ombudsman’s recommendations and warnings.