Italian Navy vessel Virginio Fasan, performing search and rescue activities in the Central Mediterranean as part of the Mare Nostrum operation, August 2014 © Amnesty International

Photo by Giuseppe Matese. Property of End FGM European Network.

Today’s historic rulings finally unlock the truth about a dark period of Poland’s recent history and mark a milestone against impunity. Poland knowingly became part of the USA’s illegal network of black sites that was used to secretly detain and torture individuals rounded up in counter-terrorism operations

This makes a mockery of the law. How are courts ever to investigate allegations of rendition if governments are simply going to play the ‘act of state’ card

European member states are building their walls higher and higher. This is at the expense of the rights and lives of refugees and migrants.

For the first time, UK intelligence agencies will have to answer for their activities and defend their indefensible policy for mass surveillance

Amnesty International  

EU countries are basically paying neighbouring countries to police their borders for them.  The problem is that many of these countries are frequently incapable of guaranteeing the rights of refugees and migrants that are trapped there. Many end up destitute, exploited, harassed and unable to access asylum 

04/07/2014 – Last week, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan attended the third part of the 2014 Ordinary Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg. This was the first visit of the Azerbaijani President to the Council of Europe (CoE) since the country took over the Chairmanship of the organisation’s decision-making body – the Committee of Ministers on 14 May 2014.

03/07/2014 – Amnesty International expressed its deep concern about the adoption on 24 June 2014 by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) of a resolution and recommendation which risk violating the rights and lives of refugees, migrants and asylum-seekers.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

EU member states must not lose sight of their human rights commitments. The Strategic Guidelines offer the Union a chance to show a bolder vision of what can and must be achieved in terms of protecting human rights at home and abroad.