Commissioner for Human Rights

The Commissioner for Human Rights

Formation	May 7, 1999
Purpose	Human Rights protection
Headquarters	Strasbourg
Leader	Michael O'Flaherty
Parent organization	Council of Europe
Website	Homepage

The Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent and impartial non-judicial institution established in 1999 by the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe, to promote awareness of and respect for human rights in the council's 46 member states. The activities of Commissioner focus on three major, closely related areas:

• country visits and dialogue with national authorities and civil society;
• thematic studies and advice on systematic human rights work;
• awareness-raising activities.

The current Commissioner is Michael O'Flaherty, who began his six-year term on April 1, 2024. Prior Commissioners were Álvaro Gil-Robles, Thomas Hammarberg, Nils Muižnieks and Dunja Mijatović.^[1]

Elected by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Commissioner seeks to engage in permanent dialogue with member states, continually raising awareness about human rights issues, and promoting the development of national human rights structures. The Commissioner conducts visits to each member state for an evaluation of the human rights situation, and issues reports, opinions and recommendations to governments.

The Commissioner also co-operates with a broad range of partners, including the European Union, the United Nations and its specialized offices, as well as leading human rights NGOs, universities and think tanks.