The LGBTI+ community in Türkiye is increasingly the target of discrimination, intimidation and violence, said the European Commission in its 2023 Enlargement Package published last week. It also points out that the activities of LGBTI+ organisations continue to be unduly restricted, LGBTI+ people and human rights defenders continue to be targeted with legal sanctions for participating in Pride events, and LGBTI+ people continue to face hate speech, stigmatisation, and smear campaigns.

The prosecution of human rights defender Osman Kavala and four co-defendants in connection with mass protests a decade ago has been unfair and essentially a political show trial from the beginning, a group of nine non-governmental organisations including Amnesty International, said today ahead of an urgent debate at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, calling for Kavala’s release.

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. 

With increased fighting across Sudan and mounting violence against civilians left without assistance and protection, Amnesty International urges HR/VP Josep Borrell to lead the EU and its member states in a robust response to ongoing human rights and humanitarian law violations in the country.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 unleashed numerous war crimes, generated a global energy and food crisis and further disrupted a weak multilateral system. It also laid bare the hypocrisy of European countries, which reacted forcefully to the Kremlin’s aggression but condoned or were complicit in grave violations committed elsewhere. Commendably, they immediately put in place legal protections for Ukrainian refugees fleeing war, whilst simultaneously blocking others fleeing conflict and repression in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa, Amnesty International said as it launched Amnesty International Report 2022/23: The State of the World’s Human Rights.

This briefing outlines Amnesty International’s main concerns and recommendations to EU leaders, ahead of the20 March Foreign Affairs Council and 23-24 March European Council discussion on Russia’s aggression inUkraine.

On 20 March, the European Commission and the Swedish EU presidency will host a high-level conference in Brussels aimed at coordinating the response of international donors and raising funds for early recovery and relief efforts in both Türkiye and Syria. The conference will be attended by EU member states, candidate countries and potential candidates, neighbouring and partner countries, G20 members, Member States of the Gulf Cooperation, as well as the UN, international organisations, humanitarian actors, and international and European financial institutions. This paper outlines Amnesty International’s key recommendations to the EU, EU member states and other countries participating in the “Donors’ Conference for the people of Türkiye and Syria affected by the earthquake”.

The abject failure of Spanish and Moroccan authorities to provide truth and ensure justice for at least 37 sub-Saharan African people killed and 77 others still missing following the deadly events that took place on the border of Spain’s Melilla enclave, smacks of a cover-up, said Amnesty International in a report published ahead of the six-month anniversary of the tragedy.

On 12 July 2022, Amnesty International, along with eight other international human rights NGOs sent a letter to the High Representative of the European Union and the 27 EU Foreign Ministers, calling on the European Union to initiate, table and foster broad support for a resolution to create a mandate of UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Russia at the next session of the UN Human Rights Council.

As the Czech Republic government prepares to assume the Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), Amnesty International calls to ensure that human rights are at the forefront of the Czech presidency’s mandate. This presidency comes at a time of increased challenges in Europe, including the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and its implications for the international human rights system, backsliding on the rule of law, the growing anti-gender movement and the discriminatory treatment of asylum seekers.

Ahead of the European Union (EU)-African Union (AU) summit on 17-18 February 2022, Amnesty International calls on African and European leaders to deliver on their human rights commitments in policy and practice, as they confront multiple challenges together. At the EU-AU Foreign Affairs Ministerial Meeting in October 2021, both sides re-affirmed their commitment to political dialogue aimed at enhancing human rights and informing the overall AU-EU cooperation.