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: “The situation in Syria is extremely volatile. Five decades of brutality and repression cannot be undone overnight. But European governments have wasted no time halting…
Together with 16 other international human rights organizations, Amnesty International calls on EU leaders attending COP29, the 29th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Baku, to raise directly with the Azerbaijani authorities the cases of those imprisoned on politically motivated grounds and aim to secure their release. In this joint statement, our organizations call…
Dear High Representative Borrell, In light of the European Union’s leadership in ensuring the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Burundi at the current 57th session of the Human Rights Council, Amnesty International is writing to urge you to lead EU and member state efforts to champion civil society…
Letter in support: Vote in favour of the resolution on the human rights of sex workers 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…
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: “It is a huge relief that this attempt to impose draconian fines and even prison sentences on healthcare professionals who provide gender-affirming healthcare to trans and intersex children…
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. Amnesty International has been warning that digital surveillance systems produced by companies based in…
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…
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: “These homophobic and transphobic legal amendments will further stigmatize LGBTI people, exposing them to greater discrimination in…
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: “It’s shameful that despite all the criticism and concerns raised by human rights bodies, the Italian government has decided to…
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…
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: “These proposals set a dangerous precedent for the regulation…
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…