As we mark four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and 12 years since its initial military intervention, Amnesty International issued the following letter to High Representative Kallas and EU Foreign Ministers, outlining our key calls to the European Union and its member states.
EU foreign ministers must use their meeting on 23 February with Nikolai Mladenov, Director-General of the Board of Peace and High Representative for Gaza, to demand that the board focuses on Palestinians’ rights, Amnesty International said.
On 30 January, six Italian coastguard and custom officials will go on trial for failing to launch rescue operations which could have prevented a shipwreck that killed more than 90 people near the town of Cutro in southern Italy in February 2023.
Responding to EU home affairs ministers’ position on the EU Return Regulation agreed in Brussels today, Olivia Sundberg Diez, EU Advocate on Migration and Asylum at Amnesty International, said:
Dear African and European leaders,
Ahead of the “first ever” EU-Egypt summit between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa and Egypt’s President Abdelfattah Al-Sisi on 22 October, Eve Geddie, Director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office said:
As Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza escalates, enabled by US military and political support, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on prominent Palestinian human rights organizations, Al-Haq, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. This represents a grave assault on human rights standards, the global pursuit of justice and respect for international law.
Amnesty International and 8 international human rights organisations express profound concerns regarding the Georgian government’s all-out assault on human rights and civil society organisations in the country and call on the authorities to immediately and unconditionally end all persecution of civil society and media groups for their peaceful and legitimate work. The European Union, its member states and the broader international community should take urgent and coordinated measures to respond to and end this crackdown.
Reacting to today’s ruling by the European Union (EU) Court of Justice (ECJ) that Italy’s rules on designating certain countries of origin as ‘safe’ for people seeking asylum was incompatible with EU law, Adriana Tidona, Migration Researcher at Amnesty International, said:
Reacting to the EU’s decision not to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement, Agnès Callamard Amnesty International’s Secretary General said:
On 15 July, EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs will meet at the Foreign Affairs Council to decide whether to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement, or take any other measures to bring an end to Israel’s violations of international law against Palestinians and ensure that the EU and its member states do not contribute to these grave violations. Ahead of the meeting, Amnesty International sent the following public letter to High Representative Kaja Kallas and EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs.
Ahead of the meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers in Brussels on 15 July that will decide whether to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement, Eve Geddie, the Director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office, said: