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).

Over 40 human rights organisations have released a joint statement calling on EU lawmakers to shield undocumented migrants from immigration enforcement when they report abuse to the police, as the EU is discussing new rules to protect victims of crime. Signatories include Amnesty International, the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), La Strada International, and Victim Support Europe.

Responding to the European Commission’s decision to investigate TikTok over concerns that  the online social media platform may be failing to comply with the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA) by not doing enough to protect young users, Damini Satija, Programme Director at Amnesty Tech, said:

Ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council on 19 February, Amnesty International shared a letter with High Representative Josep Borrell and EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs, in relation to the worrying signs of genocide in the occupied Gaza Strip and the impending Israeli ground invasion of Rafah.

Responding to the Italian Senate’s decision to ratify an agreement on detaining people rescued at sea by Italian ships in two detention centres in Albania, Matteo De Bellis, Amnesty International’s Migration and Asylum Researcher, said:“The Italian Parliament has just given the green light to an arbitrary detention deal that will harm thousands of people who would be taken to Albania and automatically detained following their rescue at sea.“Individuals disembarked in Albania and brought to the centres there, including refugees and asylum seekers, would be automatically detained and unable to leave the centres for up to 18 months. Under international law, automatic detention is inherently arbitrary and therefore unlawful.“Under the agreement, people would be kept on boats for days longer than needed while being transported to Albania. This dangerous distortion of search and rescue rules might put lives at risk, and would affect people already in a vulnerable condition given the circumstances of their journeys, marking a shameful chapter for Italy.“It is high time that European institutions recognize that the Italy-Albania agreement would create an unlawful and harmful system, which must be stopped. Instead of increasing people’s suffering, the authorities should ensure access to an effective asylum procedure, adequate reception, and safe, regular routes.”BackgroundOn 6 November 2023, the Italian government signed an agreement with Albania on the construction of two detention centres in Albania that will be used to arbitrarily detain people rescued or intercepted at sea by Italian state ships.The agreement seeks to legalize the automatic detention of asylum seekers and of people to be forcibly repatriated, with the declared goal of deterring sea crossings.On 24 January, the Italian Chamber of Deputies approved the ratification of the agreement, which then passed to the Senate. On 29 January, the Constitutional Court in Albania gave the green light for the Albanian Parliament to ratify the agreement.

Just a few weeks ago, the Italy-Albania arbitrary detention deal that was proposed in November seemed mired in legal and political obstacles. But in a concerning acceleration of plans, the Italian parliament is now about to complete the ratification of the deal and the Albanian Constitutional Court green-lighted the possibility for the Albanian parliament to do the same, which is expected in days.

Ahead of the European Parliament hearing on the aftermath of the Pylos shipwreck and reports of continued violence at the Greek Sea borders, Adriana Tidona, Amnesty International’s Migration Researcher, said:

Reacting to announcement of the political agreement reached between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU on the Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence, Director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office, Eve Geddie said:   

Following certain governments’ alarming decisions to suspend funding to the United Nations Work and Relief Agency (UNRWA), Amnesty International wrote to leaders of EU member states, to High Representative Borrell and to European Commissioner for Crisis Management Lenarčič, urging them to ensure that the EU and your governments do not suspend funding to UNRWA and continue publicly supporting UNRWA and its essential mission in view of the risk of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.