Ursula von der Leyen knows that the EU’s reputation as a credible actor for human rights and international law is in tatters over the horrors in Gaza.

Responding to the decision of several European governments to suspend asylum applications of Syrians following the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad, Director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office, Eve Geddie said:

Dear High Representative Borrell,

On 11 October, Amnesty International shared a letter with EU leadership, heads of EU governments and EU foreign affairs ministers, as they prepared to discuss the situation in the Middle East at the 14 October Foreign Affairs Council and the 17-18 October European Council.

Ahead of tomorrow’s EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, Amnesty International wrote to High Representative / Vice President Josep Borrell Fontelles and EU Foreign Ministers, calling on them to ensure that the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of 19 July 2024 is translated into effective policies to bring Israel’s violations of international law to an end.

Ahead of the EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on 29 August 2024, Amnesty International wrote to High Representative / Vice President Josep Borrell Fontelles and EU Foreign Ministers, calling on them to ensure that the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of 19 July 2024 is translated into effective policies to bring Israel’s violations of international law to an end.

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.

We, the undersigned Egyptian, regional and international human rights organisations, urge the European Commission and member states to uphold international and EU law to ensure that macro-financial assistance to Egypt granted under EU regulations secures concrete, measurable, structural and timebound human rights progress and reforms in the country.

Donor governments meeting in Brussels, especially European Union (EU) member states, must ensure that any funds pledged to support Syrian refugees in Lebanon do not contribute to human rights abuses, including forcible deportations to Syria, said Amnesty International today, as the eighth EU Ministerial Brussels Conference on “Supporting the future of Syria and the region” commences today.

Lebanese authorities and the European Union must respect their obligations under international law and not forcibly return refugees to Syria as long as the conditions for safe, voluntary and dignified returns are not met, eight civil society organizations, including Amnesty International, said today ahead of European Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen’s visit to Beirut

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.