A low-key diamond anniversary

Council in the spotlight

õ The Council of Europe has 47 members with Belarus as an applicant country since its ‘special guest status' was suspended because of its human rights record.
õ There are five observer states: the Vatican, the United States, Canada, Japan and Mexico.
õ The CoE's institutions include the parliamentary assembly, the committee of ministers, the secretariat and secretary-general, the congress, the commissioner for human rights and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
õ Its budget for 2009 is €205 million.
õ The flag the EU uses today was first adopted by the Council of Europe in 1955 and designed by Arsène Heitz. Both bodies also share an anthem, the ‘Ode to Joy', and Europe Day, which falls on 9 May.
õ In 2006 Dick Marty, a member of the council's parliamentary assembly, published a report detailing secret detention centres and renditions flights as part of CIA activity in Europe. The report led to other investigations into the activity including one by the European Parliament.
õ The ECHR, which this year celebrates 50 years in existence, has only operated on a full-time basis since 1998.
õ More than half the judgments delivered by the ECHR between 1998 and 2008 concerned four of the council members: Turkey (1,857), Italy (1,789), France (613) and Poland (601).