About: human rights
French equality body sounds alarm over extension of COVID-19 pass
France's equality agency, Défenseur des droits, has published a 10-point opinion paper raising concerns about the controversial extension of COVID-19 pass, which is now pending approval by the Constitutional Council on 5 August following approval by the French parliament.
Kazakh human rights reforms signal modernisation but EU lawmakers doubtful
Current human rights-related reforms in Kazakhstan are a step in the right direction, stakeholders from the country told a recent EURACTIV event but European Parliament lawmakers across the political spectrum were not entirely convinced.
Human Rights in Kazakhstan – The road ahead
In June 2021, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a decree “On further measures of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of human rights”, which he said represents an important step in the political modernisation of the Central Asian country....
Lithuanian parliament votes to allow mass detention of asylum seekers
Lithuania’s parliament on Tuesday (13 July) approved the mass detention of migrants and curbed their right of appeal, a move meant to deter high numbers crossing the border with Belarus but which stirred an outcry among humanitarian groups. Eighty-four lawmakers...
US set to add more Chinese companies to blacklist over Xinjiang
The Biden administration is set as early as Friday (9 July) to add more than 10 Chinese companies to its economic blacklist over alleged human rights abuses and high-tech surveillance in Xinjiang, two sources told Reuters.
Italy prosecutors to probe Libya coastguards firing at migrants
Italian prosecutors said on Wednesday (7 July) they are seeking permission from the foreign ministry to launch a probe into footage purportedly showing the Libyan coastguard firing at a migrant boat in the Mediterranean. If approved, the criminal investigation would...
Police reform in Kazakhstan: Effective law-enforcement close to the population
The reform of the law enforcement system has started in Kazakhstan recently as part of the overall modernisation of the country and the first evaluation of the results achieved look very optimistic, writes Yerlan Turgumbayev.
EU chief diplomat Borrel calls Tigray situation ‘appalling’
The EU's chief diplomat decried Wednesday (23 June) the situation in Ethiopia's Tigray region as "appalling" and pleaded with the world to "wake up and take action".
Women migrants reduced to sex slaves in Libya ‘hell’
For Aisha, sexual slavery was something you only heard about happening to others in television reports, until she found herself locked in a living "hell" in Libya.
Kazakh independent expert: Human rights NGOs enjoy more influence
A lot has change over the last years in Kazakhstan in terms of human rights, but more work is outstanding, independent expert Nazgul Yergalieva told EURACTIV in an interview, describing how the authorities in the central Asian country are now cooperating with NGOs in improving human rights protection.
EU slaps fresh sanctions on Myanmar junta
The European Union on Monday (21 June) imposed a third round of sanctions on Myanmar officials and state companies over the military coup on Feb. 1 that overthrew elected leader Aung Suu Kyi and sent the country tumbling into chaos.
EU and UK say Hong Kong newspaper raid shows China cracking down on dissent
The European Union and Britain said a police raid on Hong Kong's pro-democracy Apple Daily showed that China was using a new national security law to crack down on dissent and silence the media rather than deal with public security.
Biden, Putin hail positive talks, but bad blood stays on
Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin sought to cool tensions in the dangerously spiraling US-Russian relationship at their first summit in Geneva on Wednesday (16 June), with the US president saying his Kremlin counterpart doesn't want a new Cold War.
Bundestag adopts supply chain law tackling human rights abuses
The German Bundestag has adopted the Due Diligence in Supply Chains Law that will force companies to respect human rights in their supply chains, despite opposition from some political parties and industry
Kazakhstan announces new efforts to improve human rights record
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed a decree “On further measures of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of human rights”, which he said represents an important step in the political modernisation of the Central Asian country.
In migration lull, Greece bolsters border arsenal
As the sun dips into the wetlands of northeastern Evros, Greece's river border with Turkey, two Greek guards climb into a boat to begin their daily lookout for irregular migrants.
Greek police plan high-decibel message to deter migrants
Greek police on Thursday (3 June) said they plan to send out a high decibel message designed to deter would-be migrants after setting up two controversial "sound cannons" at the Evros border post with Turkey.
Denmark passes law to process asylum seekers outside Europe
Denmark on Thursday (3 June) passed a law enabling it to process asylum seekers outside Europe, drawing anger from human rights advocates, the United Nations and the European Commission.
MEPs sound the alarm over Chinese mass surveillance project in Belgrade
The European Parliament is taking a close look at China's high-tech present to Serbia, a mass surveillance system that involves the installation of thousands of smart surveillance cameras equipped with facial recognition features, MEP Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield (Greens/EFA, France) told EURACTIV in an interview.
Navalny sues prison for censoring his newspapers
Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, speaking in a court appearance via videolink, on Wednesday (26 May) accused the prison where is being held of censoring his newspapers by cutting out articles.
NGOs sue EU’s Frontex for violating migrants’ human rights
Three non-governmental organisations said Tuesday (25 May) they are suing the EU's border protection agency Frontex for violating the human rights of an unaccompanied minor from Burundi and a Congolese woman seeking asylum on the Greek island of Lesbos.
Lithuania quits ‘divisive’ China 17+1 group
Lithuania said on Saturday (22 May) it was quitting China's 17+1 cooperation forum with central and eastern European states that includes other EU members, calling it "divisive".
Kazakhstan’s Ombudsman: Parliamentary lobbying must be healthy and legal
Before the European Parliament adopted a resolution on Kazakhstan in February, there was no comprehensive dialogue at the decision-making level and no complete analysis of the EU lawmakers' sources of information, Elvira Azimova, Kazakhstan's commissioner for human rights, told EURACTIV in an interview.