Responding to the final recommendations and report published today by the European Parliament’s PEGA committee, which urges the European Union (EU) to more tightly regulate the use, manufacture and trade of spyware, Donncha Ó Cearbhaill, Head of Amnesty International’s Security Lab, said: 

Responding to the Slovak parliament’s failure to adopt an amendment to the School Act which would take steps to address discrimination against Roma children, Rado Sloboda, Director of Amnesty International Slovakia, said:

With increased fighting across Sudan and mounting violence against civilians left without assistance and protection, Amnesty International urges HR/VP Josep Borrell to lead the EU and its member states in a robust response to ongoing human rights and humanitarian law violations in the country.

Ahead of the informal “Gymnich” meeting of EU Foreign Affairs ministers on 12 May, Amnesty International and 7 other NGOs urge the EU and its member states to ensure that their review and recalibration of the EU’s strategy on its relations with China results in concrete, strategic and strengthened actions on human rights.

Amnesty International joins 229 civil society organisations from across Europe to express concern and opposition to a proposed ‘foreign interference’ directive which would create a register of Foreign Funded organisations. This legislation could have unintended negative consequences, hindering civil society organisations’ ability to fulfil their role as defenders of democracy in Europe and beyond. It will also limit the EU’s capacity to support civil society at risk and human rights defenders globally.

Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard has sent an open letter calling on the Rapporteurs and members of leading committees on the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) to prohibit the use of certain artificial intelligence (AI) systems which are incompatible with human rights of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in the AI Act.

As civil society organizations that work to ensure that respect for human rights is central to national and international counterterrorism policies, we are writing to urge the European Union in its role as co-chair, with Egypt, of the Global Counter Terrorism Forum (GCTF) to take steps to recenter human rights within its work on global counter-terrorism policies.

Ahead of the AI Act vote in the European Parliament, civil society calls on Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to ensure the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) prioritises fundamental rights and protects people affected by artificial intelligence (AI) systems.

Amnesty International is presenting this submission to the European Commission ahead of the preparation of its 2023 Enlargement Package, including the Opinion on application for Serbia’s membership in the European Union.

Ahead of a visit of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) to Serbia from 3 to 7 April 2023, Amnesty International made a submission to the Council of Europe’s monitoring body.

The signatory organizations urge the EU and its member states to prioritize human rights in EU-LAC relations in the forthcoming Joint Communication, at the EU-CELAC summit and throughout EU-LAC relations, while also ensuring the genuine consultation of civil society throughout relations between the two regions as they deepen their ties.

Attempting to legalize pushbacks of asylum seekers at Lithuania’s borders would green-light torture, Amnesty International said today ahead of this week’s expected vote in the Lithuanian Parliament on a bill that aims to legalize summary returns under domestic legislation.