Italy’s Recent Criticism to the Council of Europe: An Isolated Case or a Broader Trend?

The article aims to review Italy’s recent criticism towards the Council of Europe. It starts by providing background information on the Council of Europe and its various monitoring bodies that assess member states’ compliance with human rights conventions. The article then highlights important contributions by Italy to the Council of Europe since its inception in 1949, before analysing reasons behind Italy’s stance, including the government’s political orientation prioritizing national sovereignty and security concerns over human rights. It suggests that the Government’s criticism may have domestic political motivations to appeal to certain constituencies. The paper situates Italy’s criticism within a broader trend of some Council of Europe member states asserting national interests over the human rights agenda. The author argues that the Council’s monitoring role is misunderstood, as its aim is not to publicly condemn states but to provide recommendations through constructive dialogue. In the end, the paper highlights the need for the Council and other international organisations to communicate their added value more effectively to the general public, using simpler language and positive framing. For this reason, the author recommends to explore ways to communicate human rights more effectively.