International trade and globalisation have great potential to create jobs in the EU and beyond. Yet, growing global competition can endanger human rights by for example leading to worker exploitation. As human rights are a priority of its foreign policy, the EU uses its trade policy to promote and protect human rights in non-EU countries […]
Safe drinking water and sanitation: Council approves EU guidelines
On 17 June 2019 the Council adopted conclusions approving EU human rights guidelines on safe drinking water and sanitation. 2.1 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water services and 4.5 billion people lack safely managed sanitation services in the world. Climate change will increasingly affect water availability and access. Across the globe, tensions […]
Joint Statement on the occasion of the World Day against Child Labour
Today, an estimated 152 million children are victims of child labour worldwide. These 152 million children are being denied their right to have access to education and to a safe living environment. On the occasion of the World Day against Child Labour on 12 June, the European Union, alongside its international partners, reiterates its strong […]
European Commission reports on the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, 10 years on
The Commission has published its annual report on how the EU institutions and Member States have been applying the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Charter. On this occasion, the Commission is also releasing a Eurobarometer survey on citizens’ awareness of the Charter. Thanks to the Charter, a culture of fundamental rights […]
Summer School ”The Protection of Fundamental Rights in Europe”
C.I.R.D.E., in cooperation with the Law School of the Strasbourg University, the Centre for European Law of King’s College London and the Centro Residenziale Universitario di Bertinoro (Ce.U.B.), and with the financial support of the Fondazione Cassa dei Risparmi di Forlì, organises every year a Summer School on “The Protection of Fundamental Rights in Europe”. The XIXth edition of the Summer School […]
Roundtable discussion: fighting antisemitism in Austria
The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights will host a roundtable discussion on fighting antisemitism in Austria on 30 April. It aims to foster cooperation between national authorities, Jewish community organisations, civil society organisations and other stakeholders in Austria. The meeting will draw on FRA’s second antisemitism survey, which reached out to almost 16,500 self-identified […]
Human rights breaches in Brunei, China and Cameroon
MEPs deplore human rights violations and all forms of political repression in Brunei, China and Cameroon. The European Parliament has adopted three resolutions taking stock of human rights situation in Brunei, China and Cameroon. Brunei must stop criminalising consensual same-sex acts MEPs strongly condemn the entry into force of the Sharia Penal Code in Brunei […]
MEPs call for EU Magnitsky Act to impose sanctions on human rights abusers
Last week, MEPs backed a resolution calling for new EU human rights sanctions to punish state and non-state actors responsible for gross violations of human rights. In a resolution adopted on Thursday, the European Parliament calls for a new sanctions regime to be established at EU level to impose asset freezes and visa bans on […]
External action: more funds for human rights, development and climate change
EU external action funding should support development, climate and environmental goals, and promote democracy, rule of law and human rights, say MEPs. Last week, the Foreign Affairs and Development committees adopted their joint position on the proposed Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI). The new financial instrument would, once agreed by both Parliament and EU […]