27/05/2015 – At the forthcoming summit between the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean states (CELAC) on 10-11 June 2015 in Brussels, Amnesty International calls on leaders from both continents to re-affirm their shared commitment to universal human rights and to put them into practice at home and in all future collaborations.

26/05/2015 – On the occasion of the forthcoming International Conference on Central African Republic (CAR) on 26 May 2015 in Brussels, Amnesty International calls on you and all participants to ensure that the European Union (EU) and its member states give full political and material support to human rights and efforts toward justice, through the EU Trust Fund Bêkou and their wider engagement there.

26/05/2015 – Amnesty International welcomes the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECtHR) judgment in the case of Identoba and Others v. Georgia (no. 73235/12) handed down on 12 May 2015. The Court held that the police’s failure to protect those participating in the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT) march in Tbilisi, Georgia in 2012 violated the European Convention on Human Rights.

24/05/2015 – Amnesty International is writing to urge you to raise key human rights concerns during the European Union (EU) – Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) ministerial meeting on 24 May. Following President Obama’s meeting with GCC leaders last week, this week’s ministerial meeting offers you a unique opportunity to advocate for an end to repression and human rights violations within each GCC country.

Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience Awards – Berlin, 21 May 2015

If European governments follow suit, this law would represent a sea change in what is expected of companies when the minerals in their products come from countries riven by conflict.

Partnerships and same-sex couples from certain countries face discrimination by the state, which portrays same-sex couples as outsiders or simply ignores these individuals.

A Congolese artisan mine worker shows a small peice of gold found after water processing, in Chudja, Democratric Republic of the Congo (DRC). The UN reveals that a lot of gold is still financing armed groups in DRC. Credit: EPA

Dr Pietro Bartolo (2nd from right) meets with an Amnesty International delegation at Lampedusa hospital, 24 April 2015. © Amnesty International

18/05/2015 – The European Union is the world’s largest economy, the world’s largest trading block, and home to 500 million consumers. Every year, millions of euro worth of minerals flow into the EU from some of the poorest places on earth. No questions are asked about how they are extracted, or whether their trade fuels conflict in local communities. The EU has no legislation in place to ensure companies source their minerals responsibly. Now is the time for change.

Today we have seen the European Commission take a first step in shifting its Fortress Europe attitude towards the refugee crisis, but it will need to be implemented expansively and with the full backing of all EU member states.