The following letter was sent to President Ursula von der Leyen, Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen, Commissioner Michael McGrath, and Commissioner Hadja Lahbib of the European Commission by 23 LGBTI and human rights organisations. Dear President, dear Executive Vice-President, dear Commissioners, In an attack on the EU fundamental rights of freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom…
Amnesty International urges EU institutions to ensure that the proposed reforms to the Facilitators Package, presented by the European Commission in November 2023 and now under negotiation, align with international human rights and refugee law. The current EU anti-smuggling framework has enabled the criminalization and prosecution of human rights defenders for acts of solidarity that…
In July 2024, Amnesty International published research which highlighted the use of systematic unlawful and arbitrary detention in the Samos Closed Controlled Access Centre (CCAC), as well as human rights concerns emerging from the inadequate living conditions. Today, the situation in the Samos CCAC remains alarming. Amnesty International and organisations active in the field of…
As Poland assumes the Presidency of the Council of the European Union on 1 January 2025, Amnesty International sets out recommendations for its mandate in a letter to Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland. Dear Prime Minister Tusk, Poland assumes the Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) at a critical moment, and…
Ursula von der Leyen knows that the EU’s reputation as a credible actor for human rights and international law is in tatters over the horrors in Gaza. EU leaders and officials have gone from privately condemning the EU’s double standards behind closed doors to publicly lamenting them. Instead of tackling these double standards however, the European Commission President rebranded them…
Along with Civil Society Europe and the European Civic Forum, and an informal coalition of Civil Society Organisations, Amnesty International presents the Mapping paper and the Pathways paper for a Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Civil Society Organisations in Europe. The papers aim to map the existing protection landscape and, based on the…
Amnesty International joins Greenpeace and over 100 non-governmental organizations calling on the European Union to prohibit companies in the EU from exporting products banned in Europe to other parts of the world, to stop further harms to people and the environment. Amnesty International has been warning that digital surveillance systems produced by companies based in…
Responding to the passing of anti-LGBTI legal amendments to the education law that ban providing education and information about “non-traditional sexual orientation” or “gender identity different from the biological sex” in schools, Nayden Rashkov, Amnesty International Bulgaria’s Director, said: “These homophobic and transphobic legal amendments will further stigmatize LGBTI people, exposing them to greater discrimination in…
On 1 August 2024, the long-awaited Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act enters into force, meaning that after years of negotiations, the AI Act is now an official EU law. This is a significant administrative step, one which signals to governments and companies alike that they must prepare themselves to abide by these new rules. If they…
The European Union was founded on the principles of equality and non-discrimination. Yet too many people continue to face discrimination and inequality across the Union, including intersectional and multiple forms of discrimination in all aspects of their lives.[1] In the current climate, it is now imperative that the EU institutions strengthen their resolve to take…
The undersigned organisations call on the European Commission and EU Member States to take immediate action to protect civic space in Hungary and express our unwavering support for and solidarity with Transparency International Hungary and Átlátszó, who have recently been targeted for investigation by Hungary’s Sovereignty Protection Office. Transparency International Hungary is a watchdog committed…
Dear Minister, On 25 June, the EU General Affairs Council is set to examine the situation in Hungary under Article 7.1 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). Ahead of this meeting, our organisations once again call on your leadership to take the Article 7.1 TEU procedure against Hungary forward, by issuing recommendations to the…