Dear Prime Minister De Croo,

As interinstitutional negotiations on the European Commission’s proposal for a Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence reach a crucial phase, Amnesty International and 11 other civil society organisations call on the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU to find meaningful compromises, to ensure that the Directive truly serves the needs of all survivors/victims of violence against women and girls and domestic violence, advances the achievement of gender equality and the effective protection of victims’ rights in the European Union, and recognizes the essential role of civil society organisations in ensuring prevention, protection, and direct support services for victims.

In an open letter, the organisations united under the European Coalition on Sex Workers’ Rights and Inclusion, of which Amnesty International is a member, call on all Members of the European Parliament to reject and to vote against the report Regulation of prostitution in the EU: its cross-border implications and impact on gender equality and women’s rights, 2022/2139(INI).

Los Estados miembros de la Unión Europea (UE) y de la Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños (CELAC) deben abordar con urgencia los graves problemas de derechos humanos que afrontan sus respectivos continentes, ha declarado hoy Amnistía Internacional en una carta abierta a los líderes y lideresas que asistirán a la cumbre de ambos organismos regionales que se celebrará en Bruselas los días 17 y 18 de julio.

Member states of the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) must urgently address the serious human rights issues facing their continents, Amnesty International said today in an open letter to the leaders due to attend the summit between both regional bodies in Brussels on 17 and 18 July.

At the forthcoming summit between the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) on 17-18 July in Brussels, Amnesty International urges both sides to prioritize human rights across all areas of their relations at a critical time for the two regions. After an eight-year hiatus since the last CELAC-EU summit in 2015, many human rights concerns persist as new challenges emerge – decision-makers must now urgently act to promote and protect human rights in both regions and worldwide.

As Spain assumes the Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), Amnesty International calls on the Spanish government to ensure that human rights are at the forefront of the mandate. The Spanish presidency comes at a time of increased challenges in Europe: ongoing Russia’s war against Ukraine, mounting geopolitical tensions, new conflicts and instability across the world, worsening impacts of the climate crisis, increasing challenges to the international human rights system and those seeking to defend human rights. We continue to observe the backsliding on the rule of law and the growing anti-gender movement within the EU, while there is a significant uptake in sea crossings in the Mediterranean, with many cases of shipwrecks and drownings due to a failure to prioritise prompt rescue, new policies to obstruct operations by NGO rescue vessels, and continued reliance on interceptions by third countries to prevent arrivals to the EU.

Amnesty International welcomes the European Commission’s proposal for a Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence (COM (2022) 105 final, 8 March 2022) (hereinafter “draft Directive”). As this draft Directive is negotiated, we urge the Parliament, Council, and the Commission to consider our recommendations that would strengthen the protection of the rights of survivors of gender-based violence and domestic violence.

15 organisations united under the European Coalition on Sex Workers’ Rights and Inclusion and the 170 organisations signatories call on all Members of the European Parliament to support sex workers’ rights and their inclusion and to reject any attempts to criminalise sex work as a part of the Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence Report 2022/0066(COD) that is currently being negotiated in the European Parliament.

An activist who faces a potential fine after speaking about abortion rights and women’s rights at a United Nations forum, should have the defamation charge against her dropped, Amnesty International said ahead of the organization’s participation in an event on sexual and reproductive rights in Andorra.

The Polish Constitutional Tribunal’s ruling to invalidate the constitutionality of access to abortion on the ground of “severe and irreversible fetal defect or incurable illness that threatens the fetus’ life” (1) will further harm women and girls and violates their human rights, Amnesty International, the Center for Reproductive Rights and Human Rights Watch said today.

Amnesty International, the Center for Reproductive Rights and Human Rights Watch will be sending independent expert monitors to the forthcoming hearing of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal as the court prepares to issue a decision regarding the constitutionality of access to abortion on the ground of “severe and irreversible foetal defect or incurable illness that threatens the foetus’ life” on 22 October 2020.