AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC STATEMENT

12/05/2014 – Amnesty International fears that the Serbian authorities will ban the 2014 Pride. The 2011, 2012 and 2013 Pride marches were cancelled, after the Serbian authorities had claimed that the police did not have the capacity to ensure adequate security conditions in the face of “serious security threats”.

09/05/2014 – Ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) on Monday 12 May, Amnesty International calls on you to ensure that, in line with previous FAC decisions, all transfers of equipment that can be used for “internal repression” will remain suspended to Egypt and Ukraine until the relevant authorities have taken appropriate measures to address the concerns which have led to the suspensions.

06/05/2014 – Amnesty International’s report “Behind bars: Silencing dissent in Azerbaijan” records human rights violations in Azerbaijan and particularly an increased clampdown on freedom of expression, assembly, and association following the 9 October 2013 elections. The important role that Azerbaijan is about to assume comes with significant responsibilities to lead the Council of Europe’s work for the defence and promotion of human rights across the continent. It is a role which must, inevitably, expose its bearer to greater scrutiny of its human rights record. The organisation therefore urges the Committee of Ministers to give this matter its critical attention and urge the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all 19 prisoners of conscience in Azerbaijan, and fully respect and protect the right to freedom of expression, association and assembly.

06/05/2014 – On 14 May 2014, Azerbaijan will take on the Chairmanship of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers. Thirteen years of Council of Europe membership have done little to improve the respect for civil and political rights in the country. Its progress towards becoming a pluralist democracy and consolidating the rule of law has not just stalled – it has gone into reverse in recent years.

30/04/2014 – Amnesty International published several reports, in which the organisation raises serious concerns about the persistent practice of push-backs in Greece, and police abuse in Spain and Greece. Amnesty International urges Council of Europe Secretary General Jagland to ensure that the Council of Europe raises allegations of push-backs and ill-treatment at Greece’s border with Turkey with the Greek authorities, and to effectively address the issue of police violence and abuse in his dialogue with the Greek and Spanish authorities.

There are cases where they have been stripped naked, had their possessions stolen, and even held at gunpoint before being pushed back across the border to Turkey

29/04/2014 – The responsibility for monitoring and curbing the abuses of Greek policemen and coast guards is not limited to Greek authorities, however. Greek migration and asylum policies are intimately tied to processes and policies decided in Brussels.

International standards on the use of force and firearms are clear – law enforcement officials should resort to the use of firearms only in defence against an imminent threat of death or serious injury. They should apply other non-violent means before resorting to the use of force, and the use of firearms must always be the last resort. When the use of force and firearms is unavoidable they must exercise restraint and take steps to minimize damage and injury and preserve life.

A major shift in approach to migration issues is long-overdue. The presidency has a responsibility to set an example to member states, not only in language, but also in action, to ensure that the EU’s human rights obligations toward migrants, refugees and asylum seekers are fully respected.

17/04/2014 – Amnesty International is calling on the Montenegrin authorities to provide adequate alternative accommodation for six families and two individuals living in the Zverinjak settlement in Nikšiæ, who are due to be evicted from their homes, on15 May.

17/04/2014 – Amnesty International’s submission to ECRI on France mainly focusses on the discrimination experienced by Roma with respect to their right to adequate housing. In particular, we raise concern about the Albanian authorities’ failure to protect Roma from forced evictions from informal settlements in Tirana and to provide them with adequate alternative housing.