03/11/2014 – Amnesty International calls on the European Union (EU) and its member states to place human rights at the centre of exchanges during the forthcoming visit of Colombia’s President, Juan Manuel Santos.

30/10/2014 – Amnesty International welcomed the decision today from the Court of Appeal in London in the case of Abdul-Hakim Belhaj and Fatima Boudchar v Straw and Ors in which the Court permitted the Belhaj lawsuit to proceed. Amnesty International had intervened in the case, jointly with the International Commission of Jurists, JUSTICE, and REDRESS.

The EU must step up and strengthen its standards on hate crime. This is key to ensuring that any discriminatory motive is duly taken into account across the whole of the EU.

22/10/2014 – Amnesty International stated in May 2013 that forced returns to Somalia amount to a violation of international law.1 In October 2014, Amnesty International is gravely concerned about continued attempts by the Dutch government to effect such forced returns. Other states such as Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom (UK) have also attempted forced returns. Of particular concern is the Dutch government’s position that, under certain circumstances, Somalis can be returned to areas under the control of al-Shabaab,2 an Islamist armed group with links to Al-Qaeda.3 Amnesty International considers it dangerous, irresponsible and in violation of international law for the Minister of Migration in the Netherlands to attempt to return, or compel Somalis to return, to areas under al-Shabaab control in Somalia.

18/09/2014 – Torture and other ill-treatment by police and military are pervasive, routine and common throughout Nigeria. Released today, Amnesty International’s report “Welcome to hell fire: Torture and other ill-treatment in Nigeria” documents how hundreds of women, men and children in police and military custody across the country are being subjected to a range of physical and psychological torture and other ill-treatment.

17/07/2014 – The United States (US) government’s callous and dehumanising practice of holding prisoners in prolonged solitary confinement in the country’s only federal super-maximum security (supermax) prison amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and is in violation of international law.

14/07/2014 – Ending impunity for war crimes, crimes against humanity and other serious human rights violations and abuses constitutes one of the main challenges facing the Transitional Authorities of the Central African Republic (CAR) as well as members of the international community as a whole.

14/04/2014 – Ahead of the 14-15 April Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), Amnesty International calls on the European Union (EU) and its member states to act urgently to bring stability to the Central African Republic (CAR). The newly launched EUFOR RCA military operation must be robust and well-resourced in order to immediately assist the existing peacekeeping troops on the ground. EU and international efforts are also necessary to ensure much-needed financial and logistical support reaches the African-led International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA). This will be essential for MISCA to live up to its mandate to protect civilians in all parts of the country until the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission deploys following the recent adoption of UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution 2194 (2014).