The Chișinău Declaration: A Watershed Moment for the European Human Rights System?

On 15 May 2026, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted a ‘political declaration’ about migration and the European Convention on Human Rights in Chișinău. Rather than focusing on how to improve the Convention’s effectiveness, a number of states are instead pushing to narrow certain rights protections, particularly for migrants. It may prove to be a watershed moment – and not a positive one.