The European Union (EU) and its member states are falling short on their commitment to support and protect human rights defenders (HRDs) who are facing mounting deadly threats and attacks, a new Amnesty International report out today shows.
Around the world, people are speaking up and working to defend human rights, frequently at risk to their safety, freedom or life. They are harassed and intimidated, unjustly prosecuted and imprisoned. Some are tortured, killed or forcibly disappeared.
On 17 July 2019,also the World Day for International Justice, the Burundian Court of Appeal of Ntahangwa confirmed the sentence of human rights defender Germain Rukuki. The decision was issued in a public hearing without Germain and his defence being notified. On 22 July, six days after the decision was issued, they were finally informed.
The extraction, transport, and trade of minerals have been linked to conflict, corruption, and human rights abuses for decades. The minerals trade has financed armed groups, bankrolled oppressive security forces, facilitated money laundering and corruption, and allowed companies to benefit from serious human rights abuses, like child labour, land-grabbing, and forced evictions. As the world faces climate change, increasing populations and diminishing resources, global supply chains are under increased scrutiny. Whether examining their carbon footprint or links to corruption or other issues, it is clear that many of our supply chains are broken and systemic changes are needed to reform them. This is a global problem that affects us all, and more so communities in producing and trading nations like Peru, Colombia, Mexico, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Ghana, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Responding to a news report that more than 700 refugees and migrants in Libya were trapped in a detention centre in Qasr bin Ghasher in close proximity to intense armed clashes in Tripoli, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Magdalena Mughrabi, said:
30/05/2018 – With the attached letter, we are writing to share with you Amnesty International’s recently issued report Families Torn Apart: Forced Eviction Of Indigenous People In Embobut Forest, Kenya that sheds light on the forced eviction of the Sengwer Indigenous community from their ancestral homes and land in the Embobut Forest, Kenya. The government has stated that the forest must be cleared in order to implement a project funded by the European Union (EU).
By funding, equipping and instructing Libyan authorities responsible for serious human rights violations against refugees and migrants, EU countries, and Italy in particular, have become complicit in their abuse.
21/11/2017 – As European Union (EU) and African Union (AU) leaders meet for the 5th EU-AU Summit on 29-30 November 2017 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, Amnesty International calls on AU and EU leaders to place human rights at the centre of their discussions. The Summit is proclaimed to be a critical opportunity for leaders of the two continents to respond to the “evolving context and reshape and deepen the Africa-EU partnership.” Several key issues are expected to be on the agenda including security, conflict and peace-building, governance and democracy as well as migration and youth.
Further to President Trump’s proposal to row back on reforms designed to curb irresponsible US business practices, Europe’s role in cleaning up the trade of conflict minerals is now more important than ever,
14/11/2016 – I write in advance of the 17 November donors’ Conference on the Central African Republic (CAR) in Brussels, to urge you to lead efforts of the European Union (EU) and its member states to put accountability, the consolidation of the rule of law and the reconstruction of the penal chain at the centre of discussions at the conference.
27/06/2016 – On 7 June 2016, the European Commission published a Communication, calling for the establishment of migration “compacts” between the EU and a range of countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The document is a striking example of precisely what has precipitated the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War.
An Amnesty International researcher visited a mine in the Carnot region in May 2015. Children as young as 11 were engaged in mining work instead of attending school. © Amnesty International