Reacting to the news that an Ankara administrative appeals court has today lifted the blanket ban on all Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex events in place in the capital since November 2017, Fotis Filippou, Campaigns Director for Europe at Amnesty International said:

Responding to a news report that more than 700 refugees and migrants in Libya were trapped in a detention centre in Qasr bin Ghasher in close proximity to intense armed clashes in Tripoli, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Magdalena Mughrabi, said:

Dear High Representative Mogherini,

European Union leaders should press their Chinese counterparts on the deteriorating human rights situation in the country during the EU-China Summit in Brussels on April 9, 2019, five human rights groups said today. They should amplify concerns raised during the EU-China human rights dialogue on April 1-2 and call on Chinese authorities to close “political education” camps in Xinjiang and free imprisoned dissidents.

Dear Minister,On 9 April, the General Affairs Council will hold another exchange of views on the state of play of the Article 7(1) TEU procedure concerning Hungary. It will be the fifth time the Council addresses the situation in Hungary in this format since the adoption of the European Parliament’s reasoned proposal on 12 September 2018. However, no discussion has been held to date on the substantial matters raised therein.

Responding to a decision by the European Commission to launch an infringement procedure to protect judges in Poland from political control, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Europe, Massimo Moratti said:

Reacting to reports that EU governments have agreed to significantly downscale the EunavforMed Operation ‘Sophia’, withdrawing ships from the central Mediterranean and only continuing the mission with air surveillance, Matteo de Bellis, Amnesty International’s Migration Researcher, said:

History is unlikely to remember the details of whatever position the European Union takes on trade, security or climate change during its summit with China next month.

Today the cross-party European Parliament Working Group on Responsible Business Conduct (RBC Group) announced a bold Shadow EU Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct outlining the necessary steps to ensuring a globally responsible and accountable European business sector.

Dear President Tusk,

ACTION 1: Establish a temporary mechanism for predictable disembarkation and relocation Against the backdrop of stalemate in the reform of the Dublin system, and drawing on recommendations put forward previously by the European Council for Refuges and Exiles (ECRE), Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch call on European governments to establish temporary arrangements for disembarking and relocating in Europe people rescued at sea, and make the following recommendations in this regard:

Dear Minister Dan,I am writing to you to share the proposals put forward by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to address the policy crisis in the Mediterranean, following the closure of Italian ports to rescue vessels. The document Plan of Action: Twenty steps for a fair and predictable rescue system in the Mediterranean Sea proposes collective and workable solutions to save human lives and set up a fair system to share responsibility for examining and processing claims of people seeking protection disembarked in European ports.