Four former crew members of the search and rescue ship Iuventa, which saved the lives of thousands of people in distress in the Mediterranean Sea, will this week find out if they are to face criminal charges for their lifesaving work. On 21 May, preliminary hearings are set to begin at the Court of Trapani, where a judge will decide whether the Iuventa crew should be charged with “facilitating illegal entry” of refugees and migrants to Italy. They could face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty at trial.

Letter ahead of the EU General Affairs Council’s meeting on 23 May 2022, on the situation of the rule of law and other Article 2 TEU values in Hungary.

I. Uphold international justice, provide relief and assistance to civiliansII. Address the crackdown on human rights in RussiaIII. Support human rights defenders in Ukraine and Russia andIV. Ensure protection for refugees fleeing Ukraine.

The European Union’s proposed batteries regulation should require importers and manufacturers to source the bauxite, copper, and iron used in batteries responsibly, a coalition of 13 organizations said today. The coalition includes Amnesty International, Earthworks, Finnwatch, Germanwatch, Human Rights Watch, Inclusive Development International, INKOTA, PowerShift, RAID, SOMO, and Transport & Environment, as well as human rights and environmental activists from producer countries.

The political agreement on the Digital Services Act (DSA) that was reached by co-legislators is a landmark moment in the history of Internet regulation, Amnesty International has said today.  

The Polish authorities have arbitrarily detained nearly two thousand asylum-seekers who crossed into the country from Belarus in 2021, and subjected many of them to abuse, including strip searches in unsanitary, overcrowded facilities, and in some cases even to forcible sedation and tasering, Amnesty International said today.

We welcome the EU institutions and Member States’ commitment to receiving and protecting refugees fleeing the crisis in Ukraine. The speed and unanimity with which the Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) was adopted shows that when there is political will, the European Union can come together to uphold its values of respect for human rights and protecting those fleeing persecution, war and violence. Now it is time for the EU institutions and Member States to coordinate and facilitate putting these commitments into practice.

We welcome the EU institutions and Member States’ commitment to receiving and protecting refugees fleeingthe crisis in Ukraine. The speed and unanimity with which the Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) wasadopted shows that when there is political will, the European Union can come together to uphold its values ofrespect for human rights and protecting those fleeing persecution, war and violence. Now it is time for the EUinstitutions and Member States to coordinate and facilitate putting these commitments into practice.

We are deeply concerned that the European Commission and the Council consider unblocking the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility funds to the governments of Poland and Hungary, and that the Commission talks about further delaying the activation of the rule of law conditionality regulation in their regard, due to the current political and humanitarian crisis following Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.

Amnesty International is writing to share our concerns and recommendations ahead of the forthcoming European Union (EU) – China summit. While we understand that the main topic of discussions will be the Ukraine crisis and the Chinese government’s position on it, we urge you to dedicate adequate time to also discuss those authorities’ assaults on human rights both within and increasingly outside China’s borders. In that regard, we would also like to caution you against spending time persuading your Chinese counterparts to holding yet another round of the bilateral human rights dialogue.

We call on the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), the European Commission, and all national data protection authorities (DPAs) to urgently address the structural and procedural enforcement issues that prevent the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) from fully reaching its potential.

Reacting to the Russian government’s decision to withdraw from the Council of Europe, and its declared intention to denounce the European Convention on Human Rights, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said:“Russia’s withdrawal from the Council of Europe comes on the heels of its act of aggression against Ukraine, where its troops have committed possible war crimes and serious human rights violations. Though it came ahead of a vote by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe leading to its departure, Russia’s preemptive decision to leave Europe’s principal guardian of human rights and the rule of law and denounce the European Convention on Human Rights is a tragedy for the victims of the Kremlin’s human rights abuses.