I watched on as EU high representative Federica Mogherini and Vitalina Koval, an LGBTI rights activist from Ukraine, shook hands.

In this submission, Amnesty provides comments on the Introductory Memorandum published by the Committee of Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, in preparation of the forthcoming baseline study on drug policy and human rights in Europe. The current document presents human rights standards relevant to the several issues covered in the Memorandum and recommends additional topics that the organization considers to be crucial to be included in any future draft of the study.

European Union governments should improve on and then sign up to a plan to ensure timely disembarkation and relocation of people rescued in the Mediterranean Sea, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today, on the sixth anniversary of the “Lampedusa shipwreck,” in which at least 368 people died. EU interior ministers gathering in Luxembourg on 8 October, 2019 are expected to discuss a joint declaration agreed upon by Germany, France, Italy, and Malta on 23 September in Valletta.

We the undersigned civil society organisations and trade unions, are calling for effective EU legislation that establishes a mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence framework for business, companies and financial institutions operating, or offering a product or service, within the EU. Such legislation should establish a corporate duty to respect human rights and the environment and require companies and financial institutions to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for abuses and harm in their domestic and global operations, activities, products, services, supply chains and exports. The legislation should hold such companies legally accountable and provide access to justice for victims.

Responding to the tragic fire in which a woman died in Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesvos yesterday, Amnesty International’s Research Director for Europe Massimo Moratti said:

Responding to reports that the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC), the biggest human rights organization in Bulgaria, has been threatened with dissolution after a party in the Bulgarian ruling coalition accused it of “openly anti-Bulgarian activities”, Amnesty International’s Europe Deputy Director Massimo Moratti said:

Choose another language to view report

From 2014 onward, Burundian HRDs, journalists and civil society came under ever-greater pressure in a fast-onset crisis that culminated in an almost total absence of HRDs and civil society space at the time of writing in April 2019. Accelerating harassment and arbitrary detention of HRDs and journalists were the canary in the coal mine for this human rights crisis. At the start of the crisis, the EU was well placed as a donor to Burundi and partner of the government. In response, it initiated intense political dialogue, launched consultations under article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement in October 2015, and finally suspended all aid conducted through the government in March 2016.

Honduras is one of the most dangerous and difficult places for HRDs worldwide, in particular for those working on land and environmental issues. The EU faces many challenges to respond meaningfully here, including:

In recent years, human rights defenders in China have faced increasing intimidation, harassment, arbitrary detention and attacks.

The European Union (EU) and its member states are falling short on their commitment to support and protect human rights defenders (HRDs) who are facing mounting deadly threats and attacks, a new Amnesty International report out today shows.  

Around the world, people are speaking up and working to defend human rights, frequently at risk to their safety, freedom or life. They are harassed and intimidated, unjustly prosecuted and imprisoned. Some are tortured, killed or forcibly disappeared.