The European Ombudsman’s Office has today announced that it will open an inquiry into the possible failure of the European Commission to ensure that Croatian authorities respected fundamental rights while conducting EU-funded border operations against migrants and refugees. Commenting on the decision, the director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office Eve Geddie said:

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The Polish Constitutional Tribunal’s ruling to invalidate the constitutionality of access to abortion on the ground of “severe and irreversible fetal defect or incurable illness that threatens the fetus’ life” (1) will further harm women and girls and violates their human rights, Amnesty International, the Center for Reproductive Rights and Human Rights Watch said today.

Earlier this week, more than 278 lawmakers from across Europe and the United States sent public letters to Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi with a strong message denouncing the situation of prisoners of conscience in the country. In a show of mounting concern, 84 members of the European Parliament, 138 members of national parliaments across Europe, and 56 members of both chambers of the US Congress urged President al-Sisi to halt the unjust imprisonment of human rights defenders, journalists, lawyers and political activists in Egypt, who have been imprisoned solely for exercising their human rights.

Amnesty International, the Center for Reproductive Rights and Human Rights Watch will be sending independent expert monitors to the forthcoming hearing of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal as the court prepares to issue a decision regarding the constitutionality of access to abortion on the ground of “severe and irreversible foetal defect or incurable illness that threatens the foetus’ life” on 22 October 2020.

Responding to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) verdict which found that the Romanian government acted unlawfully when they deported two Pakistani nationals residing legally in Romania, based on secret evidence seen only by the government and the courts, Simon Crowther, Legal Advisor at Amnesty International said:

Following the acceptance of a new indictment by the Istanbul Heavy Penal Court No.36 against civil society leader Osman Kavala, Amnesty International’s Europe Director Nils Muiznieks said:

The commitment to a more human approach to protection and the emphasis on the fact that migration is needed and positive for Europe with which the European Commission launched the Pact on Migration and Asylum is welcome. However, this rhetoric is reflected only sparsely in the related proposals. Instead of breaking with the fallacies of the EU’s previous approach and offering a fresh start, the Pact risks exacerbating the focus on externalisation, deterrence, containment and return.

If human rights are not respected, there is no rule of law. Where there is no rule of law, human rights are not respected. The rule of law means no one is above the law, everyone is treated equally, everyone is held accountable to the same laws, there are clear and fair processes for enforcement, there is an independent judiciary, and human rights are guaranteed for all.

Tens of thousands of refugees and migrants in Libya are trapped in a vicious cycle of cruelty with little to no hope of finding safe and legal pathways out, Amnesty International said in a new report published today. After enduring unconscionable suffering in Libya, refugees and migrants risk their lives at sea seeking safety in Europe, only to be intercepted, transferred back to Libya and delivered to the same abuses they sought to escape. This comes a day after the European Commission announced its new ‘Migration Pact’, a major pillar of which is even stronger cooperation with countries outside the EU to control migration flows.

Tens of thousands of women, men and children are suffering horrific violations and abuses in Libya, only because they are refugees and migrants. They are trapped in a conflict-ravaged country, where lawlessness and impunity allow criminal gangs to thrive. Many, fearing for their lives and lacking a safe and legal way out of the country, have attempted to reach Europe on flimsy boats. More and more have been stopped and taken back to Libya, following European governments’ measures to shut down the sea route and contain people in the country.