In a joint letter to the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council, the incoming Belgian Presidency of the EU Council, Vice President Vera Jourová and Commissioner Didier Reynders, Amnesty International, CIVICUS World Alliance for Citizen Participation, Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties), Equinox: Initiative for Racial Justice, EuroMed Rights, European Civic Forum (ECF), and European Network Against Racism express concerns over restrictions on peaceful assembly and expression, in particular against people and organisations expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Reacting to the EU reaching an agreement today on new business human rights legislation called the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), Amnesty International’s Policy Advisor on Business and Human Rights, Hannah Storey said:

Authorities Need to Learn Lessons to Avert Future Deaths at Sea

Ahead of negotiations on a European corporate accountability law 15 organizations, including Amnesty International, issued an urgent appeal to EU Commissioner Reynders to fulfil his promise for an ambitious CSDDD including strong climate ambition, inclusion of the financial sector, strong measures on access to justice and full value chain coverage.

Ahead of the European Council meeting on 14-15 December, at which EU Heads of State are due to discuss the situation in Gaza and Israel, Amnesty International wrote a letter to President of the European Council Charles Michel, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, and EU Heads of State, urging them to urgently call for a ceasefire by all parties in Gaza and Israel.

Responding to the outcome of bloc’s landmark Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act after a tense debate between European Union member states, the European Commission and the European Parliament, Mher Hakobyan, Advocacy Advisor on Artificial Intelligence said: 

On 8 December 2023, 70 civil society groups and 34 expert individuals sent an urgent letter to the Council of EU Member States, the European Commission and the European Parliament to urge them “Do not trade away our rights!” in the final trilogue (negotiation) on the landmark Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act.

Eighteen human rights organisations across Europe, alongside aid workers and survivors of human rights abuses, say that a crunch summit in Brussels on December 7th risks “opening the door to abuses across Europe” including racial profiling and pushbacks, in a “potentially irreversible attack” on the international system of refugee protection and the rule of law. 

Responding to EU lawmakers’ reluctance to ban the export of harmful and rights-violating Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies from the EU in the AI Act, Mher Hakobyan, Amnesty International’s Advocacy Advisor on Artificial Intelligence, said: 

In a joint civil society organisations letter ahead of the E.U. Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) trilogue negotiation on 6 December, Amnesty International urges the Representatives of the Council of the European Union to effectively regulate the use of AI systems by law enforcement, migration control and national security authorities throughout Europe.

Announcements by a number of European countries and the European Commission to restrict funding to Palestinian human rights organizations would further damage the European Union’s credibility as a self-proclaimed champion of human rights. Amnesty International and 95 other organizations have published a letter to the EU and member states expressing concern about the impact of such discriminatory measures on human rights.

In an open letter, Amnesty International and 103 other civil society organisations express serious concern at the EU and several European states’ decision to suspend or review their funding to Palestinian and Israeli civil society organisations.