Human Rights

ECtHR: Italy’s Life Imprisonment Regime Violated Man’s Rights

June 19, 2019

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that Italy violated a man’s right against inhuman or degrading treatment by sentencing him to life imprisonment with the possibility of early release contingent on his cooperation with judicial authorities against the organized crime syndicate with which he was involved.
ECtHR: Greece Failed to Fulfill Duties Toward Migrating Minors

June 13, 2019

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that Greek authorities violated the rights of migrant minors from Afghanistan by detaining them in police stations, as such detention might have aroused “feelings of isolation from the outside world,” and by failing to alleviate the poor conditions of a migrant camp in which some of them lived.
EU Agency Demands Improved Data Quality for AI

June 12, 2019

The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights has published a “focus paper” calling on businesses to improve data quality in artificial intelligence technologies to protect a range of fundamental rights, including to privacy, non-discrimination, and gender equality.
CoE Body Warns of Rise in “Xenophobic Populism” in Politics

June 12, 2019

In its annual report, the Council of Europe’s (CoE) Commission against Racism and Intolerance spotlighted “xenophobic populism and racist hate speech” as growing dangers to the European political climate and praised countries for creating police units to enforce international anti-hate speech standards.
EU Agency Warns of Increase in “Harassment” and “Inequalities”

June 06, 2019

In its 2019 Fundamental Rights Report, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights warns of growing “inequalities, harassment, and prejudices” across the bloc and calls for “robust responses,” including national action plans, to discrimination, harassment, and hate speech.
EU Council Agrees to Ban Some Plastics

June 03, 2019

The Council of the EU recently agreed to new rules banning, within two years, certain “single-use” plastic products for which alternatives are available and discouraging the use of other plastics through “national reduction” measures and labeling requirements.
Investor Group Launches Initiative on Easing Green Finance

May 31, 2019

A group of European financial institutions is leading a new initiative of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change aiming to lay the groundwork for investors to align their portfolios with the goals of the UN’s Paris climate deal by divesting from fossil fuel projects.
EC Requests Study on Corporate Due Diligence Proposals

May 30, 2019

The European Commission (EC) recently requested a study from the British Institute of International and Comparative Law paving the way toward an EU-wide proposal on requiring businesses to perform due diligence on human rights and “sustainability” impacts in their supply chains.
CoE Refugee Action Plan Seeks Support for Non-Minors

May 30, 2019

As part of its Action Plan on Protecting Refugee and Migrant Children in Europe, the Council of Europe (CoE) Committee of Ministers called on CoE member states to continue providing “temporary support” to refugees who are over 18 years old.
CoE Official Opposes Hungarian Migrant, Family Policies

May 22, 2019

The Council of Europe’s (CoE) Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović has published a report accusing the Hungarian government of violating human rights standards through its treatment of migrants, politicians’ promotion of “xenophobic attitudes,” and reinforcement of gender stereotypes by encouraging large families.