Joint NGO statement to the European Parliament and EU Member States

Responding to yesterday’s tragic shipwreck off the coast of Steccato di Cutro, in which at least 62 migrants, including children, lost their lives, Eve Geddie, Amnesty International’s Europe Director of Advocacy, said:

Ahead of the 4th Council of Europe Summit to be held in Reykjavik on 16-17 May 2023, Amnesty International provided recommendations for the future of the Council of Europe, in response to a call for consultations launched by the Icelandic Presidency of the Committee of Ministers.

Amnesty International’s letter in view of the Special European Council meeting taking place on 9 and 10 February 2023, where EU leaders will discuss, amongst other issues, ways in which the EU can intensify its joint actions in the field of migration policy.

Solitary confinement is being used in ways that violate the rights of those awaiting trial, including being applied to people with intellectual disabilities and mental illnesses

Do you have excellent knowledge of EU asylum and migration law and policy? Do you have a passion for human rights and a proven track record in engaging decision makers for positive human rights change? Are you a strategic thinker and effective communicator, with excellent drafting skills in English?  Do you know how to navigate the EU policy environment, work alongside diverse stakeholders and engage them in joint action to influence change? Can you work flexibly under pressure with a strong ability and judgement in priority setting and meeting deadlines?

Ahead of the trial on 10 January of rescue workers Seán Binder and Sarah Mardini, Amnesty International is renewing its calls to the Greek authorities to drop all charges against them. Seán, a trained rescue diver, and Sarah, a Syrian refugee and activist whose story inspired the Netflix film The Swimmers, stand trial together with 22 others from the search and rescue NGO that they volunteered for. They are facing unfair, baseless charges simply for helping refugees and migrants at risk of drowning at sea.

The abject failure of Spanish and Moroccan authorities to provide truth and ensure justice for at least 37 sub-Saharan African people killed and 77 others still missing following the deadly events that took place on the border of Spain’s Melilla enclave, smacks of a cover-up, said Amnesty International in a report published ahead of the six-month anniversary of the tragedy.

Amnesty International has today welcomed calls to the UK government from the Council of Europe Commissioner on Human Rights, Dunja Mijatovic to withdraw its widely opposed Northern Ireland Troubles Bill and ensure victims’ rights and needs are at centre of the legacy process.

Following an announcement by the Latvian Internal Security Bureau (IDB) that their latest investigation found no evidence of human rights abuses by Latvian border guards against migrants and refugees at the Belarus border, Amnesty International’s Europe Researcher, Adriana Tidona, said:

Today, the European Parliament holds a debate on a report showing that human rights have deteriorated in Hungary since the EU Parliament triggered Article 7 procedures against the country for serious breaches of EU values. Responding to the debate, Eve Geddie, Director of Amnesty International’s EU office, said:

On 12 July 2022, Amnesty International, along with eight other international human rights NGOs sent a letter to the High Representative of the European Union and the 27 EU Foreign Ministers, calling on the European Union to initiate, table and foster broad support for a resolution to create a mandate of UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Russia at the next session of the UN Human Rights Council.