For the last three years, we have worked in coalition as a broad range of digital, human rights and social justice groups to demand that artificial intelligence (AI) works for people, prioritising the protection of fundamental human rights. We have put forward our collective vision for an approach where “human-centric” is not just a buzzword, where people on the move are treated with dignity, and where lawmakers are bold enough to draw red lines against unacceptable uses of AI systems.

Amnesty International shared a submission to contribute to discussions ahead of the High-Level Conference on the European Social Charter to be held on 3-4 July 2024 in Vilnius, Lithuania.

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.

Reacting to the European Council’s decision to call for a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza, Amnesty International’s Head of the European Institutions Office, Eve Geddie said: 

Every five years, European citizens choose who represents them in the European Parliament, acting for their interests in the European Union (EU). The European Parliament elections play a decisive role in shaping the day-to-day lives and futures of millions of people. From 6 to 9 June 2024, people across Europe will be making their voice heard and decide on the direction the EU will take.

Amnesty International and 216 civil society organisations, social movements and Indigenous Peoples Organizations co-signed a letter calling for the swift recognition of the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment through an additional Protocol to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

Ahead of the European Union’s (EU) leaders meeting with the Egyptian president in Cairo (17 March 2024), Amnesty International called for all leaders to ensure that respect for human rights is at the centre of all ties between the EU and Egypt.

Responding to the European Parliament’s adoption of the European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) today, Mher Hakobyan, Amnesty International’s Advocacy Advisor on Artificial Intelligence, said: 

On 28 February, the EU Council failed to endorse the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) which marks a deplorable setback for corporate accountability and the protection of Human Rights and the environment worldwide.

Reacting to the prosecutor’s recognition that charges against the Iuventa ship’s crew members should be dropped, Elisa De Pieri, Amnesty International’s Regional Researcher, said:

The European Commission is currently deliberating whether it will release its planned funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), without which UNRWA could run out of funding leading to closing its operation. In a letter addressed to President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard urges the European Commission to ensure these funds are allocated to UNRWA without delay, to avoid exacerbating the suffering of over two million Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip, who are currently facing a serious risk of genocide.

In a press release endorsed by Amnesty International, the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE) welcomes the adoption of the Anti-SLAPP Directive in the European Parliament in today’s plenary vote. This directive sets the minimum standards for protecting public watchdogs against abusive litigation in the form of SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation).