Spotlight on EU-Africa and human rights

Next week, for the fourth EU-Africa Summit, leaders from Europe and Africa will meet to discuss a variety of key inter-continental subjects.  To highlight this crucial event, and the human rights issues that must be addressed, we will be producing a series of posts focusing on the partnership between the EU and Africa. To whet your appetite, here’s a little taster of what’s to come:

On Monday, our op-ed “We really need to talk: the EU-Africa summit and human rights” will be published in New Europe.

On the eve of the EU-Africa Summit, Tuesday, we will be releasing a public statement to highlight the key human rights concerns that must be addressed by leaders this week: migration control, conflict and crisis response, universality of rights (including LGBTI and international justice) and business and human rights.

The humanitarian and human rights crisis in Central African Republic (CAR) will be addressed by leaders during the Summit. Look out for our press release on Wednesday, as well as a forthcoming interview with an Amnesty International campaigner who recently returned from mission to CAR.

On Thursday, cooperation between the EU and Africa on migration control will be discussed. The When You Don’t Exist campaign recently launched an online postcard for the public to send to leaders, raising the plight of asylum seekers, refugees and migrants who try to reach Europe. We’ll be promoting this postcard and encourage you to send it to your heads of state and relevant EU/ African representatives.

Friday marks the end of the Summit, so keep an eye out for our reaction to the post-Summit statement. We’ll also be publishing a new blog very soon on businesses’ use of conflict minerals and the human rights violations and conflicts sustained by this.

To join and monitor the online discussion around the Summit, use the hashtag #EUAfricaSummit and follow @amnestyeurope.

See you next week!

Amnesty Europe team