Amnesty EU

US sanctions on the International Criminal Court aim to destroy it, grant impunity to perpetrators, & deny justice to victims of genocide, crimes against humanity, & war crimes The EU and its states must actively protect the Court by activating the EU Blocking Statute.

amnesty.orgUSA: Trump's attack on the ICC demands a global response of resistance and protectionWith its sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) as an institution, the US Administration seeks to destroy the Court and extinguish any prospect of justice for perpetrators of grave c...

Next week's Foreign Affairs Council and European Council will be vital for a unified EU response. www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...

📢 Amnesty International Mexico's Norma Gonzalez & Adriana Sánchez Gómez met EU & member state officials in Brussels. On the agenda: Mexico's crisis of disappearances. 133,000+ people are disappeared or missing in Mexico, affecting the disappeared, their families & communities.

Our calls to the EU? 👉Keep disappearances high on the EU & member state agenda with Mexico, from summits to HR dialogues 👉Lend full diplomatic & technical support to women searching for disappeared loved ones & to Mexico's protection mechanism for rights defenders to help them

amnesty.orgMexico: Disappearing again: Violence and impacts experienced by women searchers in Mexico - Amnesty InternationalMexico is undergoing a serious crisis, with more than 128,000 disappeared and missing persons. These disappearances, many of them enforced, not only affect the lives of the disappeared persons, but al...

Families & communities of the disappeared face persistent human rights violations that do not cease until they find the whereabouts of the disappeared person. Crucial reading for EU & member state officials & all who care about human rights in Mexico.

amnesty.orgUSA: Amnesty International Calls for ICE to Be Abolished After Documenting Widespread Human Rights Violations in Anti-Immigrant OperationsAmnesty International has documented serious human rights violations in ICE’s immigration operations and is calling for their immediate abolition.

🚨 @icegov.bsky.social must be abolished immediately. A new investigation by @amnesty-usa.bsky.social @amnesty.org documents a chilling pattern of human rights violations in the Trump administration's immigration operations.

👉Arbitrary & discriminatory detentions 👉Excessive and lethal use of force 👉Unlawful killings 👉Suppression of protests 👉Illegal surveillance 👉Detention conditions that should be investigated as torture, and 👉Possible forced disappearances. These are not isolated incidents.

They are part of a recurring pattern of abuses sowing fear in entire communities. When an institution operates with violence, racism & impunity, reforming it is not enough. We demand accountability for abuses & an immigration system based on rights & dignity. Time to #AbolishICE.

📣 @sihanetwork.bsky.social's @halayalkarib.bsky.social and @amnesty.org's Sudan team met EU and member state officials in Brussels. Their message? The war in Sudan is a war on civilians.

The EU and its member states must 👉Act to protect Sudan's civilians 👉Engage external enablers of the conflict, including UAE 👉Work toward accountability 👉Stay connected with communities & support local responders

22 Sept

As EU, Latin American & Caribbean leaders meet around UNGA81, security is on everyone's mind. @amnesty.org & 13 other organizations share concerns that securitization of politics & policies is being misused to target rights defenders & civil society, and undermine the rule of law.

22 Sept

CELAC and EU leaders must be clear. There can be no sustainable security, responsible value chains & sustainable development goals without human rights. Both sides must ➡️Commit to protect civic space & rule of law ➡️Act for mutual accountability in upholding rights commitments

amnesty.euEU/Americas: Securitization, militarization and its impact on human rights - Joint letter – European Institutions OfficeLeaders of Latin America and the Caribbean and the European Union, As you gather in the forthcoming EU-CELAC ministerial meeting, security will be in everyone’s minds: security of your populations; in...

22 Sept

Read more here👇

amnesty.orgM23 abused DRC's miners and trafficked gold and coltan to RwandaThe plunder by M23 and Rwanda of DRC's minerals may amount to war crime of pillage.

🚨New @amnesty.org briefing🚨 In eastern DRC, Rwanda-backed M23 fighters have been forcing miners to work in coltan mines, often underground for over a week at a time. Minerals linked to M23 abuses are prevalent in electronic devices used worldwide.

The EU and its member states must press M23 to stop all abuses in mining sites it controls, including the Rubaya and Lomera mines. And press Rwanda to ensure Rwandans have no role in abusive mining operations – if they do, they should be investigated and held to account.

EU member states & companies domiciled in their territory, must cease the purchase of coltan and gold from Rwanda – or processors & refineries from third countries that buy coltan & gold from suppliers in Rwanda – until the Rwandan gov't takes concrete action to end abuses.

amnesty.orgM23 abused DRC's miners and trafficked gold and coltan to RwandaThe plunder by M23 and Rwanda of DRC's minerals may amount to war crime of pillage.

Our research details M23 abuses committed against miners in DRC including: 👉summary killings 👉torture & ill-treatment 👉arbitrary detention 👉forced labour & forced recruitment

x.comAmnesty Eastern Africa (@AmnestyEARO) on XWhat do you know about the minerals that are used to make your phone? In North and South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo, M23 control who enters, who leaves, and who profits. For many artisan...

The plunder by M23 & Rwanda of DRC’s gold and coltan may amount to the war crime of pillage.

What does Europe stand for?🤨 Empty speech from @ec.europa.eu: Euro-centric & lacking ambition. This year's #SOTEU is more memorable for what @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu didn't say than for what she did. Amnesty's reaction on Palestine, foreign policy, intl' justice, migration & rule of law👇

It is positive to hear the commitment to protecting equality. However, the Anti-Racism Strategy will only help eradicate racism if protection against discrimination is taken seriously across all fields of policymaking, including migration and (digital) security.

Finally, human rights are under pressure externally AND internally. Authoritarianism is on the rise globally. The EU must stand up to rule of law violations, no matter which state commits them. And EU law itself must be human rights compliant and then duly enforced.

Powerful actors are seeking to hollow out protections built to safeguard humanity against the worst atrocities. Instead of appeasing or accommodating these attacks, the EU must take robust action to defend human rights & international justice.

Scant detail, but appears to be a cynical attempt from @ec.europa.eu to exploit events like what happened in Ceuta to strip away at the right to seek asylum. We will follow and closely look at the compliance of any measures with international law.

On foreign policy, there were notable absences. Conflicts and human rights crises like Sudan, DRC, Venezuela are off the SOTEU radar. Hardly a worthy external action for a “global Europe”.

On the rules-based system she misses the point. The international legal order doesn't fail to protect us on its own. It fails when states choose to look the other way.

She should've proposed a ban on trade with Israel’s illegal settlements, like France, UK, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, and Ireland. She didn't.

It is also deeply cynical and disingenuous to focus on EU's humanitarian aid to Palestine while doing nothing to address the reasons why such aid is so desperately needed.

amnesty.orgVon der Leyen’s failures on Israel must end, starting with a settlement trade banThis State of the European Union address must be an opportunity to make good on past promises and finally present a ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements.

On EU’s inaction on Israel, von der Leyen blames member states. This rings hollow. When Germany & Italy block proposals like suspending the EU-Israel trade agreement, von der Leyen must engage to secure majorities – as she has done with Hungary's repeated vetoes.

Ahead of @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu's #SOTEU speech, @amnesty.org & @hrw.org call for urgent EU action on Israel. She must make good on past promises to suspend the EU Israel Association Agreement & finally present a ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements 👇 www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ne...

At this #SOTEU, @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu must finally propose an EU ban of trade with Israel's illegal settlements. She cannot simply blame member states. She must actively engage with them - especially 🇮🇹 & 🇩🇪 - to pass her proposals, to comply with the EU's international obligations.

For the EU, another year of failures, inaction and half-hearted proposals is a blow to its credibility. For Palestinians and so many others in the region, it's a matter of life and death.

amnesty.orgBy cancelling passports, Zambian authorities are using administrative powers to silence criticsOn 11 September, the Zambian authorities issued a notice cancelling passports belonging to several government critics “in the interest of national security”

Since last year's #SOTEU, Israel has continued its genocide, killing 10,000 more Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Emboldened by impunity, Israeli authorities are accelerating the annexation of the West Bank through an ethnic cleansing campaign.

Amnesty EU reposted

Katharine Derderian

@kderderian1.bsky.social

14 Sept

🚨Important update ahead of the #Eplenary urgent debate on Zambia Wednesday 16/09 The Zambian authorities' decision to cancel the passports of critical voices effectively strips these individuals of their legal & social identity & traps them in a state of de facto statelessness.

As @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu prepares to deliver her State of the Union speech to set the EU’s priorities for the year ahead, @amnesty.org, together with 31 other organizations, is calling on the @ec.europa.eu to put anti-racism back on the EU agenda www.diasporavote.eu#/blog/6a9eb7...

enar-eu.orgEurope’s Largest Pan-European Anti-Racism Network (ENAR) Loses European Commission Funding - European Network Against RacismOn 18 March 2026, we launched our “Defend Anti-Racism” appeal because the European Network Against Racism (ENAR) found itself in an increasingly difficult situation. At the time, we deliberately share...

Racialized communities and NGOs working on anti-racism, youth & migration face severe defunding, smear campaigns & administrative hurdles. Just recently, @ec.europa.eu cut funding to @enareurope.bsky.social, Europe’s largest pan-European anti-racism network. www.enar-eu.org/europes-larg...

An EU "strategy" against racism by itself is not enough. For non-discrimination and anti-racism to become a reality, ambition and resources are urgently required. We call on the @ec.europa.eu to publicly renew its commitment and take action to combat and end racism.

Racism is a scourge on our societies. The rise and mainstreaming of authoritarian ideas are in no small part due to the EU’s punitive and exclusionary migration policies.

7 Sept

Full solidarity with @enareurope.bsky.social. It's extremely worrying that their @ec.europa.eu funding was cut at a time when racism, hate speech & attacks against racialised communities are increasing across Europe. Their work is as vital as ever. Support here 👇 www.enar-eu.org/europes-larg...

enar-eu.orgenar-eu.org

New chance? No hope! EU govts' attempt to reframe deportations to 'return hubs' as a 'new chance' is deeply cynical. There is no window-dressing rights violations and deportations to places to which people have no connection. These plans should be rejected outright.

Amnesty EU@amnestyeu.bsky.social

Today, ministers from Austria, Denmark, Germany, Greece and the Netherlands are meeting to discuss progress on plans to deport people to so-called ‘return hubs’ in countries outside Europe. In practice, these places risk becoming ‘cruel black holes’ for human rights 🧵

‘Out of sight, out of mind’: ‘return hubs’ would make it exceedingly difficult to uphold rights and guarantee legal remedies, effective monitoring and adequate conditions in practice, likely leaving people in prolonged uncertainty and destitution.

amnesty.orgEU: ‘Return hub’ plans in Rwanda and Uganda risk becoming ‘cruel black holes’ for human rightsOn 4 September Austria, Denmark, Germany, Greece and the Netherlands meet to discuss progress on plans to deport people to so-called “return hubs”.

Any responsible government should reject these plans outright. @amnesty.org will continue to expose the harms and illegalities of these policies – and to resist them. Read our statement 👇https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/09/migrant-return-hubs-risk-becoming-human-rights-black-hole/

By their very design, ‘return hubs’ carry a risk of grave human rights violations including torture and ill-treatment, and onward returns to countries of origin that put people in danger, and possible arbitrary detention.

These negotiations and the EU’s broader so-called ‘migration diplomacy’ approach are another unabashed attempt by the EU to shirk & shift its migration responsibilities to countries in the Global South that already receive far more refugees and with fewer resources.

amnesty.orgHuman rights in RwandaStay up to date on the state of human rights in Rwanda with the latest research, campaigns and education material from Amnesty International.

Discussions appear to be zeroing in on two countries with appalling human rights records: Uganda and Rwanda – despite ongoing conflict and political instability in the Great Lakes Region. www.amnesty.org/en/location/...