European Union leaders should press their Chinese counterparts on the deteriorating human rights situation in the country during the EU-China Summit in Brussels on April 9, 2019, five human rights groups said today. They should amplify concerns raised during the EU-China human rights dialogue on April 1-2 and call on Chinese authorities to close “political education” camps in Xinjiang and free imprisoned dissidents.

Dear President Tusk,

The northwestern Bosnian towns of Bihać and Velika Kladuša, nestled at the very border with Croatia, have become a temporary refuge for some 5,500 refugees and migrants fleeing conflict, persecution and poverty. They arrived via the so-called “Balkans route”, passing through Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia, and are now on what they hope will be the last leg of their long journey. Very few people will decide to stay in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as the vast majority will try to reach the European Union (EU) by crossing into neighbouring Croatia – braving unfamiliar, and often inhospitable, terrain and unwelcoming police on its borders. While a member of the European Union, Croatia is not a Schengen area country, but is eager to demonstrate its readiness to join the border-free area in 2020 by decisively protecting the EU’s external borders from irregular migration.

Letter to Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, urging the EU to lead efforts to step up action to protect Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) in Mexico, and to promote their important work.

Libyan, European and Panamanian authorities must ensure that at least 79 refugees and migrants who are on board a merchant vessel at the port of Misratah are not forced to disembark to be taken to a Libyan detention centre where they could face torture and other abuse, said Amnesty International today.

01/10/2018 – Letter to EU HR/VP Federica Mogherini to share reports of human rights violations in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) and to call on the European Union (EU) and its member states to urge the Chinese government to take urgent and effective measures to protect Uighurs, Kazakhs and other predominantly Muslim people in the XUAR from being arbitrarily detained in “transformation-through-education” facilities in the name of “de-extremification”.

01/10/2018 – Letter to H.E. Ambassador Zhang Ming to express concern about reports on human rights violations in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) and to call on the Chinese government to take urgent and effective measures to protect Uighurs, Kazakhs and other predominantly Muslim people in the XUAR from being arbitrarily detained in ‘transformation through education’ facilities in the name of ‘de-extremification’.

While the UN Security Council remains bogged down by politics, the Human Rights Council, with the joint leadership of the European Union and Organization of Islamic Cooperation, has stepped up to the challenge with this serious and constructive approach to pave the way for justice

14/09/2018 – Since October 2016, the Myanmar security forces have driven more than 810,000 Rohingya women, men and children into Bangladesh as a result of successive operations in northern Rakhine State marked by crimes under international law. Security forces killed thousands of Rohingya women, men, and children, raped hundreds of Rohingya women and girls and burned several hundred villages to the ground. Human rights violations, including systematic discrimination and segregation, are ongoing against the Rohingya who remain in Rakhine State, and have forced more than 13,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh since the beginning of 2018.

17/07/2018 – We are writing to urge the European Union (EU) and its member states to ensure accountability for crimes against humanity in Myanmar, and in particular to take the lead in the creation of an international accountability mechanism during the upcoming session on Myanmar at the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (HRC) in September.

09/07/2018 – In high-level dialogues around the third anniversary of China’s ‘July 9 Crackdown’, the European Union must press the Chinese government for the release of detained activists, say human rights groups

19/06/2018 – Various organizations including Amnesty International continue to document China’s abusive campaign against human rights. The EU has taken some steps to push back against these developments. Yet the EU’s commitments to promoting human rights has not been matched in China with a willingness to act or a determination to at least achieve releases. Amnesty International and 23 other NGOs urged the EU to publicly and repeatedly call for the release of Liu Xia, Wang Quanzhang, Tashi Wangchuk, Ilham Tohti, Lee Ming-cheh and Gui Minhai.