After being put on hold for the past 10 years, the EU-Israel Association Council is set to take place against the backdrop of systematic human rights violations and the Israeli authorities’ persistent and increasingly brazen disregard for EU human rights concerns.

People’s rights are being violated by governments in Europe and Central Asia, who are cracking down on protests and seeking to erode the independence of the judiciary to avoid accountability, Amnesty International said today as it published its annual review of human rights in the region.

From 2014 onward, Burundian HRDs, journalists and civil society came under ever-greater pressure in a fast-onset crisis that culminated in an almost total absence of HRDs and civil society space at the time of writing in April 2019. Accelerating harassment and arbitrary detention of HRDs and journalists were the canary in the coal mine for this human rights crisis. At the start of the crisis, the EU was well placed as a donor to Burundi and partner of the government. In response, it initiated intense political dialogue, launched consultations under article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement in October 2015, and finally suspended all aid conducted through the government in March 2016.

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.

The severe crackdown on civil society in Saudi Arabia, especially since 2011 and more acutely since May 2018, has not been matched by a clear or resolute EU strategy to ensure the support and protection of HRDs. The policies of the EU and its member states have instead been characterized by restraint and a lack of creativity to overcome the obstacles associated with supporting HRDs in an already severely restricted environment. While some positive practices have been adopted in the past four years, these have often failed to improve the situation of individual HRDs due to a lack of ownership and follow up on the part of the EU and its member states.

On 17 July 2019,also the World Day for International Justice, the Burundian Court of Appeal of Ntahangwa confirmed the sentence of human rights defender Germain Rukuki. The decision was issued in a public hearing without Germain and his defence being notified. On 22 July, six days after the decision was issued, they were finally informed.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS STATEMENT

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE

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