The exclusion of banks and financial institutions, as well as waivers for companies that sell high-risk security equipment and surveillance technologies, undermine a proposed new European Union law governing human rights and businesses, Amnesty International said.
Amnesty International letter in view of the extraordinary Justice and Home Affairs Council to take place on 25 November 2022, which has been called following the recent standoff between member states on the disembarkation of refugees and migrants rescued by NGO vessels in the Central Mediterranean Sea. We wish to outline our key concerns regarding the current situation, identify shortcomings with the Commission’s proposed Action Plan, and highlight our proposals for EU institutions and Member States to address immediate challenges in an effective, principled and sustainable manner.
The undersigned organisations call for the immediate and unconditional release of Kashmiri human rights defender Khurram Parvez, who was arrested one year ago on November 22, 2021 on politically motivated terrorism and other charges.
Joint NGO letter to the GAC ministers ahead of their hearing of the Hungarian government under the Article 7(1) TEU procedure. The signing civil society organisations welcome the Czech government’s commitment to taking the Article 7 procedure forward by holding this hearing under its EU Presidency. Amid all the immense challenges confronting the European continent, upholding respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law within the EU remains a priority.
Following an announcement by the Latvian Internal Security Bureau (IDB) that their latest investigation found no evidence of human rights abuses by Latvian border guards against migrants and refugees at the Belarus border, Amnesty International’s Europe Researcher, Adriana Tidona, said:
Following the brutal killing of two people outside an LGBTI bar in Bratislava on 12 October, numerous organizations are organizing a demonstration tomorrow to express solidarity with Slovakia’s LGBTI community. Amnesty International will be participating in the solidarity march, and is also calling on the Slovakian authorities to take urgent measures to ensure justice for the victims and their loved ones, and to protect the rights of LGBTI people in the country.
In many countries around the world, governments and violent groups are attacking, harassing and using restrictive legislation to intimidate human right activists, the media and civil society, and reduce their ability to defend human rights. At the same time, influential states are withdrawing from and even actively undermining the international human rights framework. In this increasingly challenging environment, we believe the European institutions can and must show leadership in their defense of human rights worldwide.
Ahead of a court hearing on Monday in Istočno Sarajevo, Amnesty International urges BUK, a hydropower company owned by Belgian-based Green Invest to drop their defamation suits against two local activists who publicly expressed concerns about the potential environmental impact of the company’s small hydropower plants on the Kasindolska river.