Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg is interviewed in this 8 minute report looking at the legacy of the Russian human rights campaigner Andrei Sakharov, who died in 1989. Also featured are Jerzy Buzek, the President of the European Parliament, and representatives from leading human rights groups in Russia. There is also a Russian language version of this film.

The European Convention of Human Rights is the first Council of Europe’s convention aiming at protecting human rights. Its ratification is a prerequisite for joining the Council of Europe. It was adopted in 1950 and entered into force in 1953.

A film to mark the 60th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights, which was opened for signature by member states on 4 November 1950 in Rome. The Convention today upholds the human rights of 800 million Europeans in 47 states.