On this dedicated page, the ECHR Blog keeps track of the debates about the future of the Court and the Convention which started with the open letter of nine heads of government focusing on migration but ranging broader on 22 May 2025. It is meant to be a public-service resource for relevant documents and blog comments.
The text of the Declaration
- The text of the Chișinău Declaration, as adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 15 May 2026, can be found here.
Documents
- 29 June 2026, minutes of the negotiation of the Chișinău Declaration
- 25 May 2026, CoE Commissioner for Human Rights ‘After Chișinău: Europe, wake up!‘
- 1 May 2026, UN Committee against Torture takes a stand against Italy’s leadership in the “letter of nine” process in its Concluding Observations on the country’s seventh periodic report
- 28 April 2026, Council of Bars and Law Associations of Europe’s Comments
- 21 April 2026, Statement of PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights
- 16 April 2026, Joint Letter of Amnesty International, FIDH and ICJ
- 30 March 2026, ENNHRI, statement on Council of Europe Political Declaration on Migration
- 20 March 2026, CDDH outcome document containing elements for a political declaration as adopted by the CDDH at its third extraordinary meeting (10-12 March 2026)
- 27 February 2026, Report of the second extraordinary meeting of the CDDH (25-27 February 2026)
- 4 February 2026, European Parliament briefing on Migration and the European Convention on Human Rights: Legal Requirements and Proposals for Reform
- February 2026, The Court’s case-law on immigration matters
- 30 January 2026, CCDH Preliminary Draft Text For The Outcome Document Containing Elements For A Political Declaration
- 6 January 2026, Council of Europe, CDDH Secretariat, Possible Issues for Inclusion in a Political Declaration
- 10 December 2025, Joint Statement of 27 States
- 10 December 2025, Council of Europe, Informal Ministerial Conference: Conclusions
- 10 December 2025, Speech by Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe
- 10 December 2025, Speech by Michael O’Flaherty, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights
- 4 December 2025, ENNHRI, Statement to Inform Council of Europe Ministerial Conference: European Convention on Human Rights and Migration
- 28 November 2025, AGORA Open Letter to the Council of Europe
- 18 June 2025, CoE Commissioner for Human Rights, Attacks on the Human Rights of migrants put all our rights at risk
- 22 May 2025, Letter of Nine States
Blog Commentaries on ECHR Blog
- 15 May 2026, ‘Open-Minded or Open-Ended? The Chișinău Declaration on the ECHR and Migration‘ (editors’ blog)
- 16 April 2026, ‘A Critical Look at the Implicit Messages in the CDDH Outcome Document with Elements for the Chișinău Declaration‘ (guest blog by Wolfgang Benedek)
- 14 April 2026, ‘The Chisinau Process: Dialogue or Duress?‘ (guest blog by Alice Donald and Andrew Forde)
- 10 April 2026, ‘A Statement Built on Shaky Ground: Unveiling the Controversial Assumptions in the 27 Countries’ Statement‘ (guest blog by Sharon Coen and Thalia Magioglou)
- 7 April 2026, ‘An Invitation to Interrogate the Longue Durée of European Human Rights and Its Exclusions‘ (guest blog by Esra Demir-Gürsel)
- 2 April, ‘The CDDH’s Chișinău Report, Article 3 and the ‘extra-territorial’ context‘ (guest blog by Ed Bates)
- 1 April 2026,Introduction: Symposium on the Challenges of Chișinău
- 10 March 2026, ‘The ECHR’s Procrustean bed: A final call for perspective in the Chișinău process‘ (guest blog by Alice Donald and Andrew Forde)
- 5 February 2026, ‘We Make It You Take It’: Fake Dialogue and Genuine Pressure between the States and the European Court of Human Rights‘ (guest post by Kanstantsin Dzehtsiarou)
- 4 February 2026, ‘Article 3 ECHR and Chișinău: what are the stakes?‘ (guest post by Natasa Mavronicola)
- 9 January 2026, ‘CDDH Secretariat Publishes Possible Elements for the Chișinău Declaration on Migration’
- 11 December 2025, An Exceptional Ministerial Conference on the ECHR and ‘Migration Challenges’
- 11 June 2025, ‘A Media Psychological Analysis of the Open Letter of Nine European States on the ECHR’ (guest post by Sharon Coen and Thalia Magioglou)
- 23 May 2025, ‘Nine States Call for ‘Open-Minded Conversation’ on ECHR and Migration’
Symposium on Strasbourg Observers
For the 10-day symposium concerning Article 3 ECHR and the Chișinău process, edited by Natasa Mavronicola and published on Strasbourg Observers blog, see here.