Dear President von der Leyen,

In an open letter, Amnesty International urges High Representative Josep Borrell and EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs to take robust and unified action for human rights in Venezuela, ahead of this week’s Informal Meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers on 29 August.  Following the presidential election of 28 July 2024 and the announcement of the contested and unpublished results, the Venezuelan state authorities have increased their policy of repression at a widespread scale, including mass politically motivated arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances and reports of torture. The present increase in the scale and gravity of international crimes and human rights violations being committed against Venezuelans demands immediate action by the European Union (EU) and its member states.

Ahead of the 133rd session of the Committee of Ministers, on 16-17 May 2024, Amnesty International wrote to Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Council of Europe member states and to Permanent Representatives to the Council of Europe, urging them to take action to further the recognition and protection of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment within the Council of Europe.

I am writing these words in exile. I left Cuba almost exactly a year ago, after months of being threatened by State Security to stop my work defending human rights inside Cuba. My story is the story of dozens of activists, journalists, political dissidents and non-conformist artists who in the last few years have been forced to board a plane. And in many cases, to also follow the migrant routes that cross half of the American continent to reach a safe place to start over.

Member states of the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) must urgently address the serious human rights issues facing their continents, Amnesty International said today in an open letter to the leaders due to attend the summit between both regional bodies in Brussels on 17 and 18 July.

Los Estados miembros de la Unión Europea (UE) y de la Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños (CELAC) deben abordar con urgencia los graves problemas de derechos humanos que afrontan sus respectivos continentes, ha declarado hoy Amnistía Internacional en una carta abierta a los líderes y lideresas que asistirán a la cumbre de ambos organismos regionales que se celebrará en Bruselas los días 17 y 18 de julio.

At the forthcoming summit between the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) on 17-18 July in Brussels, Amnesty International urges both sides to prioritize human rights across all areas of their relations at a critical time for the two regions. After an eight-year hiatus since the last CELAC-EU summit in 2015, many human rights concerns persist as new challenges emerge – decision-makers must now urgently act to promote and protect human rights in both regions and worldwide.

Ahead of the forthcoming EU-Cuba Joint Council on 26 May, Amnesty International and 7 NGOs urged High Representative Borrell to ensure that human rights remain at the very centre of the EU’s relations with Cuba, at a crucial moment for the country’s human rights defenders.

The signatory organizations urge the EU and its member states to prioritize human rights in EU-LAC relations in the forthcoming Joint Communication, at the EU-CELAC summit and throughout EU-LAC relations, while also ensuring the genuine consultation of civil society throughout relations between the two regions as they deepen their ties.

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:

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.