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.

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.

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:

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.

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.

Muslim communities in Europe are estimated to account for approximately 25.8 million people or roughly 4.9% of the region’s total population. Amnesty International has long been concerned about racial and religious discrimination and its specific impact on Muslim people’s human rights across Europe.

Ahead of tomorrow’s planned Euro Pride walk in Belgrade which has been banned by Serbian authorities, Eve Geddie, Amnesty International’s Director at the European Institutions Office said:

Letter ahead of the EU General Affairs Council’s meeting on 23 May 2022, on the situation of the rule of law and other Article 2 TEU values in Hungary.

Russia: European Court of Human Rights rules ban on sex-same unions violates human rights 

Police enforcing COVID-19 lockdowns across Europe have disproportionately targeted ethnic minority and marginalized groups with violence, discriminatory identity checks, forced quarantines and fines, Amnesty International said in a new report.

Amnesty International letter sharing concerns about the treatment of Roma communities in Bulgaria and Slovakia during the COVID-19 pandemic and requesting the Council of Europe and European Commission’s support in taking these issues up with the national authorities.

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.