Dear High Representative Borrell,

In an open letter, Amnesty International urges High Representative Josep Borrell and EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs to take robust and unified action for human rights in Venezuela, ahead of this week’s Informal Meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers on 29 August.  Following the presidential election of 28 July 2024 and the announcement of the contested and unpublished results, the Venezuelan state authorities have increased their policy of repression at a widespread scale, including mass politically motivated arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances and reports of torture. The present increase in the scale and gravity of international crimes and human rights violations being committed against Venezuelans demands immediate action by the European Union (EU) and its member states.

Ahead of the EU-Egypt Investment Conference in Cairo (29-30 June) where the EU is expected to sign off on €1 billion in financial assistance to Egypt, Amnesty International is urging leaders to abide by their own rules and insist on reforms on human rights, democracy and rule of law in Egypt.

One year on from the start of the conflict in Sudan on 15 April 2023, and as the Foreign Affairs Council meets on Sudan on 22 April 2024, Amnesty International and 10 other NGOs call on the European Union (EU) and its member states to take urgent, strategic and concrete steps to respond to the massive cost on civilians of the dramatic human rights and humanitarian crisis in the country and prevent further violations.

One year on from the start of the conflict in Sudan on 15 April 2023, and ahead of the 22 April Foreign Affairs Council, Amnesty International wrote to High Representative Borrell and to EU Foreign Ministers to urge them to ensure the European Union (EU) and its member states step up action on continuing human rights violations, including war crimes, in the conflict in Sudan.

Ahead of the 133rd session of the Committee of Ministers, on 16-17 May 2024, Amnesty International wrote to Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Council of Europe member states and to Permanent Representatives to the Council of Europe, urging them to take action to further the recognition and protection of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment within the Council of Europe.

I am writing these words in exile. I left Cuba almost exactly a year ago, after months of being threatened by State Security to stop my work defending human rights inside Cuba. My story is the story of dozens of activists, journalists, political dissidents and non-conformist artists who in the last few years have been forced to board a plane. And in many cases, to also follow the migrant routes that cross half of the American continent to reach a safe place to start over.

On 26 September 2023, Amnesty International called on High Representative Josep Borrell to lead on an ambitious European Union (EU) response to human rights violations in the conflict in Sudan.

Extensive war crimes are being committed in Sudan as the conflict between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) ravages the country, Amnesty International said in a new report. 

Member states of the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) must urgently address the serious human rights issues facing their continents, Amnesty International said today in an open letter to the leaders due to attend the summit between both regional bodies in Brussels on 17 and 18 July.

Los Estados miembros de la Unión Europea (UE) y de la Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños (CELAC) deben abordar con urgencia los graves problemas de derechos humanos que afrontan sus respectivos continentes, ha declarado hoy Amnistía Internacional en una carta abierta a los líderes y lideresas que asistirán a la cumbre de ambos organismos regionales que se celebrará en Bruselas los días 17 y 18 de julio.

At the forthcoming summit between the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) on 17-18 July in Brussels, Amnesty International urges both sides to prioritize human rights across all areas of their relations at a critical time for the two regions. After an eight-year hiatus since the last CELAC-EU summit in 2015, many human rights concerns persist as new challenges emerge – decision-makers must now urgently act to promote and protect human rights in both regions and worldwide.