Responding to the decision of several European governments to suspend asylum applications of Syrians following the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad, Director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office, Eve Geddie said: “The situation in Syria is extremely volatile. Five decades of brutality and repression cannot be undone overnight. But European governments have wasted no time halting…
On 11 October, Amnesty International shared a letter with EU leadership, heads of EU governments and EU foreign affairs ministers, as they prepared to discuss the situation in the Middle East at the 14 October Foreign Affairs Council and the 17-18 October European Council. Dear President Michel, Dear President von der Leyen, Dear HR/VP Borrell,…
Ahead of tomorrow’s EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, Amnesty International wrote to High Representative / Vice President Josep Borrell Fontelles and EU Foreign Ministers, calling on them to ensure that the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of 19 July 2024 is translated into effective policies to bring Israel’s violations of…
Ahead of the EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on 29 August 2024, Amnesty International wrote to High Representative / Vice President Josep Borrell Fontelles and EU Foreign Ministers, calling on them to ensure that the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of 19 July 2024 is translated into effective policies to…
We, the undersigned Egyptian, regional and international human rights organisations, urge the European Commission and member states to uphold international and EU law to ensure that macro-financial assistance to Egypt granted under EU regulations secures concrete, measurable, structural and timebound human rights progress and reforms in the country. Since the 2013 military ousting of former…
Donor governments meeting in Brussels, especially European Union (EU) member states, must ensure that any funds pledged to support Syrian refugees in Lebanon do not contribute to human rights abuses, including forcible deportations to Syria, said Amnesty International today, as the eighth EU Ministerial Brussels Conference on “Supporting the future of Syria and the region”…
Lebanese authorities and the European Union must respect their obligations under international law and not forcibly return refugees to Syria as long as the conditions for safe, voluntary and dignified returns are not met, eight civil society organizations, including Amnesty International, said today ahead of European Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen’s visit to Beirut…
Ahead of the 133rd session of the Committee of Ministers, on 16-17 May 2024, Amnesty International wrote to Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Council of Europe member states and to Permanent Representatives to the Council of Europe, urging them to take action to further the recognition and protection of the right to a clean, healthy…
Reacting to the European Council’s decision to call for a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza, Amnesty International’s Head of the European Institutions Office, Eve Geddie said: “Yesterday’s call for a ceasefire is long overdue, but is an insufficient step given the horrors that Palestinian civilians have been enduring over the past six months. More than 32,000…
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. “As EU leaders seek to strengthen their ties with Egypt, they must not…
The European Commission is currently deliberating whether it will release its planned funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), without which UNRWA could run out of funding leading to closing its operation. In a letter addressed to President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard…
Ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council on 19 February, Amnesty International shared a letter with High Representative Josep Borrell and EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs, in relation to the worrying signs of genocide in the occupied Gaza Strip and the impending Israeli ground invasion of Rafah. Dear High Representative, Dear Ministers of Foreign Affairs, We…