Responding to today’s European Parliament vote to adopt a package of new European Union (EU) laws on migration and asylum, Eve Geddie, Amnesty International’s Head of the European Institutions Office and Director of Advocacy, said:

At the time of the adoption of the so-called European Union (EU) – Turkey deal in 2016, despite the abundant evidence that human rights would be at risk if the deal went ahead, the Dutch authorities endorsed and implemented it. As such, the Netherlands should be held accountable for violating Dutch, international and EU law.

One year on from the start of the conflict in Sudan on 15 April 2023, and ahead of the 22 April Foreign Affairs Council, Amnesty International wrote to High Representative Borrell and to EU Foreign Ministers to urge them to ensure the European Union (EU) and its member states step up action on continuing human rights violations, including war crimes, in the conflict in Sudan.

Ahead of the European Parliament’s final vote on the European Union (EU) Pact on Migration and Asylum on 10 April, Amnesty International warns that these reforms will put people at heightened risk of human rights violations.

Amidst warnings from over 50 Civil Society Organisations, EU lawmakers reached a political agreement on the EU’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum in December. The agreement is a continuation of a decade of policy that has led to the proliferation of rights violations in Europe. Moreover, it will have devastating implications for the right to international protection in the bloc and greenlight abuses across Europe including racial profiling, default de facto detention and pushbacks. Next week, MEPs will be presented with a final chance to reject the files in a Plenary vote, and give a political signal against the adoption of a Pact that would undermine fundamental rights.

For the last three years, we have worked in coalition as a broad range of digital, human rights and social justice groups to demand that artificial intelligence (AI) works for people, prioritising the protection of fundamental human rights. We have put forward our collective vision for an approach where “human-centric” is not just a buzzword, where people on the move are treated with dignity, and where lawmakers are bold enough to draw red lines against unacceptable uses of AI systems.

Every five years, European citizens choose who represents them in the European Parliament, acting for their interests in the European Union (EU). The European Parliament elections play a decisive role in shaping the day-to-day lives and futures of millions of people. From 6 to 9 June 2024, people across Europe will be making their voice heard and decide on the direction the EU will take.

Ahead of the European Union’s (EU) leaders meeting with the Egyptian president in Cairo (17 March 2024), Amnesty International called for all leaders to ensure that respect for human rights is at the centre of all ties between the EU and Egypt.

Reacting to the prosecutor’s recognition that charges against the Iuventa ship’s crew members should be dropped, Elisa De Pieri, Amnesty International’s Regional Researcher, said:

Over 40 human rights organisations have released a joint statement calling on EU lawmakers to shield undocumented migrants from immigration enforcement when they report abuse to the police, as the EU is discussing new rules to protect victims of crime. Signatories include Amnesty International, the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), La Strada International, and Victim Support Europe.

Responding to the Italian Senate’s decision to ratify an agreement on detaining people rescued at sea by Italian ships in two detention centres in Albania, Matteo De Bellis, Amnesty International’s Migration and Asylum Researcher, said:“The Italian Parliament has just given the green light to an arbitrary detention deal that will harm thousands of people who would be taken to Albania and automatically detained following their rescue at sea.“Individuals disembarked in Albania and brought to the centres there, including refugees and asylum seekers, would be automatically detained and unable to leave the centres for up to 18 months. Under international law, automatic detention is inherently arbitrary and therefore unlawful.“Under the agreement, people would be kept on boats for days longer than needed while being transported to Albania. This dangerous distortion of search and rescue rules might put lives at risk, and would affect people already in a vulnerable condition given the circumstances of their journeys, marking a shameful chapter for Italy.“It is high time that European institutions recognize that the Italy-Albania agreement would create an unlawful and harmful system, which must be stopped. Instead of increasing people’s suffering, the authorities should ensure access to an effective asylum procedure, adequate reception, and safe, regular routes.”BackgroundOn 6 November 2023, the Italian government signed an agreement with Albania on the construction of two detention centres in Albania that will be used to arbitrarily detain people rescued or intercepted at sea by Italian state ships.The agreement seeks to legalize the automatic detention of asylum seekers and of people to be forcibly repatriated, with the declared goal of deterring sea crossings.On 24 January, the Italian Chamber of Deputies approved the ratification of the agreement, which then passed to the Senate. On 29 January, the Constitutional Court in Albania gave the green light for the Albanian Parliament to ratify the agreement.

Just a few weeks ago, the Italy-Albania arbitrary detention deal that was proposed in November seemed mired in legal and political obstacles. But in a concerning acceleration of plans, the Italian parliament is now about to complete the ratification of the deal and the Albanian Constitutional Court green-lighted the possibility for the Albanian parliament to do the same, which is expected in days.