In the aftermath of the appalling attacks in Paris it is vital that France now takes a measured response and does not chip away at hard-fought human rights.

23/01/2015 – On 21 January 2015, the French Prime Minister Manuel Valls publicly announced the adoption of new measures to combat terrorism. These include the introduction of the crimes of “defamation” and “insult” into the Criminal Code, the establishment of a database of individuals convicted for terrorist-related acts and the adoption of a decree implementing measures adopted in 2014 allowing internet websites considered to incite or “defend” terrorism to be blocked.

22/01/2015 – 07/11/2014 – Amnesty International does not consider that the recent legislative and regulatory changes introduced by the Irish authorities satisfy the European Court of Human Rights’ Grand Chamber judgment in this case, as they do not effectively guarantee women and girls access to those abortion services which are in fact legal. It thus urges the Committee of Ministers to continue monitoring the implementation of A. B. and C. v. Ireland until the judgment is fully implemented.

Vulnerable people forced to flee their own country have been left mourning their loved ones with little hope for justice and reparation.

19/01/2015 – European governments that cooperated with the CIA’s secret detention, interrogation, and torture operations as part of the USA’s global “war on terror” must act urgently to bring those responsible to justice following a US Senate report containing new details.

In a week in which world leaders and millions around the world have spoken out in defence of freedom of expression, the French authorities must be careful not to violate this right themselves.

12/01/2015 – January 12, 2015 marks the fifth anniversary of the 2010 earthquake which killed over 200,000 people and made more than two million people homeless in Haiti. Today, the housing situation remains an outstanding challenge for the Haitian government and the international community, according to Amnesty International’s recent report. We call upon the European Union (EU) and its member states to assist the Haitian authorities to ensure that post-earthquake reconstruction respects and fulfils the human rights of the Haitian population, including the right to adequate housing.

This is a dark day for freedom of expression and a vibrant press culture. But above all, it is an appalling human tragedy.

18/12/2014 – Today’s Opinion by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Luxembourg on the European Union’s (EU) accession to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is a regrettable setback for human rights in Europe, said Amnesty International, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), and the AIRE Centre.

18/12/2014 – Amnesty International calls on the Czech authorities to promptly and thoroughly investigate the circumstances of the dispersal of an assembly and allegations of unnecessary and excessive use of force by the riot police during a demonstration in Prague on 13 December.

18/12/2014 – Amnesty International is concerned about reports on the arrest and detention of nine Bulgarian nationals, a Slovak and a Finnish national by the Serbian authorities, in what appears to be attempts to prevent the holding of peaceful demonstrations.

This was not the wide investigation into the hundreds of claims of human rights violations, including torture, against the British armed forces in Iraq that victims and NGOs have called for.