The Council of Europe is an international organization of 47 member states in the European region (with Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey, Georgia and Cyprus also extending into Western Asia and Russia into North Asia). With the exception of Belarus and Kazakhstan all European states have acceded to the Council of Europe. Canada, Japan, Mexico, the USA and the Holy See have Observer Status with the Council of Europe and the parliaments of Canada, Israel and Mexico have observer status with its Parliamentary Assembly. NGOs can participate in the INGO Conference of the Council of Europe. Several conventions of the Council of Europe have also been signed by non-European states, for example the Convention on Cybercrime, the Anti-Doping Convention and the Bern Convention for the Protection of Natural Habitats.
Its most enduring legacy is the European Convention on Human Rights, adopted in 1950, which serves as the basis for the European Court of Human Rights. English and French are its two official languages, but its Committee of Ministers and its Parliamentary Assembly also work in German, Italian and Russian.
The seat of the Council of Europe is in Strasbourg on the Franco-German border. Originally meeting in Strasbourg's University Palace, it is now domiciled in the Palace of Europe about two kilometres from city centre. Membership is open to all European democracies which accept the principle of the rule of law and are able and willing to guarantee fundamental human rights and freedoms.
The Council of Europe should not be confused with the Council of the European Union or the European Council, as it is a separate organization and not part of the European Union which, however, adopted the same European flag and anthem.