Dear High Representative / Vice-President Borrell,

In an open letter, Amnesty International urges High Representative Josep Borrell to lead European Union (EU) and member state efforts to respond to the Chinese government’s use of transnational repression to silence dissent from Chinese students abroad.

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.

Amnesty International issued a letter to President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Commissioner McGuinness, calling for EU action in light of India’s weaponization of laws against civil society.

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.

Ahead of the European Council of 29-30 June 2023, Amnesty International and 11 other NGOs urge President of the European Council Charles Michel and EU Heads of State to ensure that human rights remain at the core of a robust and ambitious European Union (EU) approach to relations with the government of China.

Ahead of the forthcoming EU-Cuba Joint Council on 26 May, Amnesty International and 7 NGOs urged High Representative Borrell to ensure that human rights remain at the very centre of the EU’s relations with Cuba, at a crucial moment for the country’s human rights defenders.

Ahead of the informal “Gymnich” meeting of EU Foreign Affairs ministers on 12 May, Amnesty International and 7 other NGOs urge the EU and its member states to ensure that their review and recalibration of the EU’s strategy on its relations with China results in concrete, strategic and strengthened actions on human rights.

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.