Council of Europe

 The Council of Europe is an international organisation whose stated aim is to uphold human rights, democracy, and rule of law in Europe and promote European culture.

 It has 47 member states and is distinct from the European Union (EU).

 No country has ever joined the EU without first belonging to the Council of Europe.

Unlike the EU, the Council of Europe cannot make binding laws, but it does have the power to enforce select international agreements reached by European states on various topics.

 The best known body of the Council of Europe is the European Court of Human Rights, which enforces the European Convention on Human Rights.

 The Council's two statutory bodies are the Committee of Ministers, comprising the foreign ministers of each member state, and the Parliamentary Assembly, composed of members of the national parliaments of each member state.

 The Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent institution within the Council of Europe, mandated to promote awareness of and respect for human rights in the member states.

 The headquarters of the Council of Europe are in Strasbourg, France.

 The Committee of Ministers, the Parliamentary Assembly and the Congress also use German, Italian, Russian, and Turkish for some of their work.

 Turkey is also a member.

 The aim of the Council of Europe is to achieve a greater unity between its members by safeguarding and realising the ideals and principles which are their common heritage and facilitating their economic and social progress.

 Council of Europe conventions/treaties are also open for signature to non-member states, thus facilitating equal co-operation with countries outside Europe.

 Nearly all European states have acceded to the Council of Europe, with the exceptions of Belarus (human rights concerns), Kazakhstan (human rights concerns), and the Vatican City (a theocracy), as well as some of the territories with limited recognition.