Human Rights

Observers Fault CoE Body for Concession to Russia

June 26, 2019

Aaron Rhodes and Willy Fautré write that the decision of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (CoE) to readmit Russia in spite of the failure of the Russian government to withdraw from Ukrainian territory sacrifices human rights “on the altar of a geopolitical agenda.”
ECtHR: Bosnia’s Detention of Syrian Man Violated Rights

June 25, 2019

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that Bosnia and Herzegovina had violated the right to liberty and security of a Syrian national it held in detention and attempted to deport for several years because it must have been clear to authorities that no safe country would admit the man, who was classified as a national security risk.
EU Regulation Imposes Transparency Mandate on Tech Companies

June 19, 2019

The EU institutions have passed a regulation requiring tech companies to provide “transparent terms and conditions” to business customers on online platforms and to offer “effective possibilities of redress,” including an internal mechanism for handling complaints, when these terms are violated.
UK Official Seeks EU-Wide Approach to Post-Brexit Citizens’ Rights

June 19, 2019

The Guardian reports that the UK’s Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay has urged the European Commission’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier to rethink his refusal to “ring-fence” citizens’ rights from the remainder of the UK-EU withdrawal deal to ensure their protection in the event the UK leaves the bloc without an agreement.
EU Bodies Introduce Minimum Workers’ Rights

June 19, 2019

The EU institutions have agreed a set of “minimum rights” for workers across the bloc, imposing new requirements on employers, especially those operating in the budding gig economy, to inform workers of their working conditions and introducing new labor rights such as the right to take a second job.
CoE Official Demands Respect for Migrants’ Rights

June 19, 2019

The Council of Europe (CoE) Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović has published a report containing 35 recommendations on how states must bolster their efforts to rescue migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea and respect the human rights of such migrants once they have reached the shores of Europe.
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.