Dear High Representative Borrell,

We, the undersigned organisations, welcome the draft resolution entitled “Protecting the human rights and improving the lives of sex workers and victims of sexual exploitation” (Doc. 16044), adopted by the Equality and Non Discrimination Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 12 September 2024. On 3 October, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will discuss and vote on the report and resolution. We encourage the members of PACE to vote in favour of this resolution, with no amendments to the text.

Reacting to a parliamentary vote rejecting amendments to Bulgarian law which would have criminalized the provision of gender-affirming healthcare for minors, Nayden Rashkov, Amnesty International Bulgaria’s Director, said: 

Amnesty International joins Greenpeace and over 100 non-governmental organizations calling on the European Union to prohibit companies in the EU from exporting products banned in Europe to other parts of the world, to stop further harms to people and the environment.  

In an open letter, Amnesty International urges High Representative Josep Borrell and EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs to take robust and unified action for human rights in Venezuela, ahead of this week’s Informal Meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers on 29 August.  Following the presidential election of 28 July 2024 and the announcement of the contested and unpublished results, the Venezuelan state authorities have increased their policy of repression at a widespread scale, including mass politically motivated arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances and reports of torture. The present increase in the scale and gravity of international crimes and human rights violations being committed against Venezuelans demands immediate action by the European Union (EU) and its member states.

Responding to the passing of anti-LGBTI legal amendments to the education law that ban providing education and information about “non-traditional sexual orientation” or “gender identity different from the biological sex” in schools, Nayden Rashkov, Amnesty International Bulgaria’s Director, said: 

Ahead of the planned opening of two detention centres in Albania in August, intended to detain people rescued or intercepted at sea by Italian ships, Director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office Eve Geddie said:

Greece must urgently repeal the legal rules that are causing people seeking asylum in the EU-funded “Closed Controlled Access Centre” on the island of Samos to be systematically and unlawfully deprived of their liberty, said Amnesty International in a report issued today. The organization also called on the EU to hold Greece accountable for human rights violations in the centre and ensure that model is not a blueprint for the recently adopted Migration and Asylum Pact.   

Ahead of the second reading of the new proposed firearm regulations that would decriminalize the use of firearms by soldiers, border guards and police officers in a wide range of circumstances in Poland on 11 July, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Europe, Dinushika Dissanayake said:

This submission, prepared for the first thematic evaluation round of the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (GREVIO), provides an overview of Amnesty International’s main concerns about the Dutch government’s compliance with its obligations under the Istanbul Convention. Those concerns include the protection of women against psychological violence and the rights of refugees and migrants. This submission is based on topics that Amnesty International has been researching and monitoring. It is not exhaustive and does not cover all topics in the questionnaire for GREVIO’s first thematic evaluation round.

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.

Dear Minister,