This year the European Social Charter celebrates its 60th anniversary. It was opened for signature in Turin on 18 October 1961. Even if the 13 signatory states were only able to agree on the lowest common denominator with regard to the content of the Social Charter, it was a milestone for the protection of social rights at that time, which among other things also set the trend for the social policy of the European Union. 2021 also marks the 25th anniversary of the opening for signature of the revised European Social Charter.

In celebration fo the European Social Charta the council of Europe holds a high-level panel discussion in Strasbourg in the morning of Mon, 18 October 2021. As part of the event, Karin Lukas, President of the European Committee of Social Rights and Senior Researcher at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights (LBI-GMR), will discuss with various institutions of the Council of Europe about the effectiveness of the Charter and the strengthening of its mechanism to improve the implementation of social rights in Europe.

Further information on the panel discussion can be found in the preliminary program in the download area below.

You can follow the event live on the website of the Council of Europe: Join the celebration of the European Social Charter’s 60th anniversary – News (coe.int)

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the European Social Charter, Karin Lukas took stock of the European Social Charter and a closer look at the ESC in terms of equality. The full version of the statement is available in the download section below.