“The European Convention on Human Rights embodies the fundamental values of our continent and puts in place a unique system for enforcing our basic rights and freedoms. 70 years after the Convention first came into force, it has never been more important than it is today”. The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, has issued a statement today ahead of the 70th anniversary of the entry into force of the European Convention on Human Rights on 3 September. “Hundreds of millions of people across our 46 member states – she said – have benefited from the Convention’s protection and continue to do so every single day, sometimes even without knowing it. Working together with national authorities, following the devastation of the Second World War, we have used the Convention as a blueprint for building a better Europe, helping to ensure stability and security for seven decades”. Pejčinović Burić went on to note: “The horrendous events of the last 18 months show what can happen when states turn their back on those values and just how quickly the achievements of the last 70 years can be undone. Now, more than at any point in the Convention’s history, the people of Europe need our nations to unite behind the Convention system and its values – as European leaders promised to do at the Reykjavik Summit in May this year – for the benefit of us all, and the generations to come”.