Dear High Representative Borrell, In light of the European Union’s leadership in ensuring the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Burundi at the current 57th session of the Human Rights Council, Amnesty International is writing to urge you to lead EU and member state efforts to champion civil society…
One year on from the start of the conflict in Sudan on 15 April 2023, and as the Foreign Affairs Council meets on Sudan on 22 April 2024, Amnesty International and 10 other NGOs call on the European Union (EU) and its member states to take urgent, strategic and concrete steps to respond to the…
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…
On 26 September 2023, Amnesty International called on High Representative Josep Borrell to lead on an ambitious European Union (EU) response to human rights violations in the conflict in Sudan. Recently, the leaders of over fifty international human rights and humanitarian organizations jointly called for the international community to address mounting atrocities in Sudan by…
Extensive war crimes are being committed in Sudan as the conflict between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) ravages the country, Amnesty International said in a new report. The report, ‘Death Came To Our Home’: War Crimes and Civilian Suffering In Sudan, documents mass civilian casualties in both deliberate and indiscriminate…
With increased fighting across Sudan and mounting violence against civilians left without assistance and protection, Amnesty International urges HR/VP Josep Borrell to lead the EU and its member states in a robust response to ongoing human rights and humanitarian law violations in the country. The EU and its member states must urgently act to redouble…
Families of missing people add voices to a new international campaign for justice The abject failure of Spanish and Moroccan authorities to provide truth and ensure justice for at least 37 sub-Saharan African people killed and 77 others still missing following the deadly events that took place on the border of Spain’s Melilla enclave, smacks…
Ahead of the European Union (EU)-African Union (AU) summit on 17-18 February 2022, Amnesty International calls on African and European leaders to deliver on their human rights commitments in policy and practice, as they confront multiple challenges together. At the EU-AU Foreign Affairs Ministerial Meeting in October 2021, both sides re-affirmed their commitment to political…
From 2014 onward, Burundian HRDs, journalists and civil society came under ever-greater pressure in a fast-onset crisis that culminated in an almost total absence of HRDs and civil society space at the time of writing in April 2019. Accelerating harassment and arbitrary detention of HRDs and journalists were the canary in the coal mine for…
The European Union (EU) and its member states are falling short on their commitment to support and protect human rights defenders (HRDs) who are facing mounting deadly threats and attacks, a new Amnesty International report out today shows. The report ‘Defending Defenders? An Assessment of EU Action on HRDs’ reveals that EU support can and does offer vital protection to HRDs worldwide, but it is…
Around the world, people are speaking up and working to defend human rights, frequently at risk to their safety, freedom or life. They are harassed and intimidated, unjustly prosecuted and imprisoned. Some are tortured, killed or forcibly disappeared. Many states have introduced restrictive laws to silence and repress HRDs and attack the civic space in…
On 17 July 2019,also the World Day for International Justice, the Burundian Court of Appeal of Ntahangwa confirmed the sentence of human rights defender Germain Rukuki. The decision was issued in a public hearing without Germain and his defence being notified. On 22 July, six days after the decision was issued, they were finally informed.…