Europe

From the UN OHCHR Regional website:

The Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)

The Council of Europe is Europe’s oldest intergovernmental organisation, dedicated to advancing human rights, rule of law and democracy in the region. Currently, 46 States across the continent are parties to the Council of Europe, including all the 27 member States of the European Union. All Council of Europe member States have signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights, a regional human rights treaty whose implementation by the member States is overseen by the European Court of Human Rights, sitting in Strasbourg. Individuals can directly seek recourse through the European Court of Human Rights if they believe their rights have been violated once all possibilities of appeal have been exhausted in the member State concerned.

The European Union

The European Union (EU) is both an association of countries cooperating in fields of mutual interest and a community of values. Respect for human rights is one of the EU’s founding values, guiding its internal and external action.

In order to strengthen the protection of human rights by making those rights more visible and more explicit for people in the 27 EU member States, the EU has adopted a Charter of Fundamental Rights, which complements, and applies in conjunction with, national and international human rights protection systems. Legally binding since 2009, the Charter is addressed to the institutions and bodies of the EU in all their actions, as well as national authorities of the EU member States when they are implementing EU law. The Charter encapsulates a comprehensive range of rights and principles, as they result from the constitutional traditions and international obligations common to the Member States. The Charter is, in particular, meant to be interpreted and applied consistently with the European Convention on Human Rights, which the European Union itself is preparing to sign.