- Joint statement of 37 civil society organizations ahead of the forthcoming Joint Communication on relations between the European Union (EU) and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
The signatory organizations urge the EU and its member states to prioritize human rights in EU-LAC relations in the forthcoming Joint Communication, at the EU-CELAC summit and throughout EU-LAC relations, while also ensuring the genuine consultation of civil society throughout relations between the two regions as they deepen their ties.
In the forthcoming Joint Communication, as well as in the lead-up to and during the EU-CELAC Summit, the EU and its member states should send a clear political signal of their commitment to human rights and adopt a comprehensive, robust and strategic approach to some of the most pressing human rights situations in the region:
- Ensure a human rights-based approach across all policymaking and cooperation
- Protect human rights defenders and civil society
- Explicitly stand for the right to peaceful protest in the LAC region
- Mainstream human rights into all discussions on the EU-LAC Digital Alliance
- Re-affirm the universality and indivisibility of human rights in EU-LAC relations and in engagement of the EU and LAC member states at multilateral level
- Support and provide full political backing up to the highest levels for work to address gender equality in the LAC region
- Include concrete commitments on the fight against discrimination and intolerance in the new agenda for EU-LAC relations