Human Rights Watch welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the ongoing preparations for the forthcoming EU-Russia human rights consultations. The consultations come at a difficult point in EU-Russia relations. Thus, it is all the more important for the EU to press forward with important human rights concerns, sending a signal that it will maintain its [...]

Tags: EU, Russia

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EU Ministerial in Vichy Should Reject Discriminatory Rules and Confirm Right to Family Life
The European Union must ensure that measures aimed at integrating migrants also respect their human rights. EU integration ministers will meet in Vichy, France, on November 3 and 4, 2008, to discuss common approaches to integration in Europe.
The integration of migrants has [...]

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EU Wrong to Cite ‘Progress’ in Human Rights
Uzbek authorities should immediately and unconditionally release Akzam Turgunov, a human rights defender and opposition activist who was sentenced on October 23 to 10 years in prison on politically motivated charges, Human Rights Watch said.
A court in Manget, Karakalpakstan (a distant region of Uzbekistan), convicted him of extortion, [...]

Tags: EU, Uzbekistan

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UK Promotion of Assurances Undermines EU Torture Guidelines
The European Union should resist British government efforts to gain acceptance for the use of diplomatic assurances against torture in national security deportations and extraditions, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
The 36-page report, titled “Not the Way Forward: The UK’s Dangerous Reliance on Diplomatic Assurances,” [...]

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International Meeting on Conflict to Start October 15
The European Union should emphasize the right of all people to return to their homes in Georgia at this week’s talks on the recent conflict over South Ossetia, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch also urged the EU to expand the mandate of its observer mission [...]

Tags: EU, Georgia, Russia

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Roma and Sinti populations continue to face discrimination and remain divided from mainstream society across Europe, says an OSCE report launched on the margins of the Organization’s annual human rights conference in Warsaw today.
The report, prepared by the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), says significant gaps remain in areas such as [...]

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More than 1,000 government representatives, experts and human rights defenders are set to meet in Warsaw beginning on Monday to review progress made by the OSCE’s 56 participating States in fulfilling their human rights and democracy commitments.
The OSCE’s 13th Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, held from 29 September to 10 October, is organized by the OSCE [...]

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In Security Vacuum, Frequent Attacks and Pervasive Fear
The European Union observer mission scheduled to move into areas near South Ossetia must be given both a mandate and adequate resources to protect civilians, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch researchers in Georgia in recent days have documented numerous attacks by Ossetians against civilians in [...]

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Yesterday, two leading human rights groups asked the European Commission (EC) to clarify its position on the mass fingerprinting of Roma in Italy.
In a letter to European Commissioner Jacques Barrot, the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) expressed concern that the EC was endorsing Italy’s plan to forcibly fingerprint [...]

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Security of Civilians Should Be Central to Summit Discussions on Russia
The European Union should act to protect Georgian civilians from continued attacks by Ossetian militias and opportunistic violence, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch called on the European Union to use its unprecedented summit on Russia on September 1 to make a plan [...]

Tags: EU, Georgia, Russia

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