Human Rights

Academic Welcomes "Flexible" ECtHR Approach in Georgia

January 02, 2018

Professor Philip Leach of Middlesex University welcomes a recent holding of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in which it used a "more flexible, contextual approach" than in past cases to find that the Georgian government had violated a politician's right against "misuse of power" by removing him from his cell and improperly threatening him after his arrest.
CoE Official Calls for Gender Strategy in Liechtenstein

December 21, 2017

In his report on Liechtenstein, the Council of Europe’s (CoE) Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muižnieks called on the country's government to adopt a "national gender equality strategy" to ensure the equal treatment of men and women, including by improving access to abortion and considering quotas for women in politics.
Ukraine Opposes CoE Reconciliation with Russia

December 21, 2017

RFERL reports that Ukraine's representation to the Council of Europe (CoE) is opposing reported attempts by the CoE Secretary-General to convince countries to restore to Russia its voting rights in the CoE's Parliamentary Assembly out of fear that, if it can no longer vote, Russia will withdraw from the international body.
ECtHR: University Lecture Surveillance Violated Privacy Rights

December 21, 2017

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) held in November that video surveillance of public lectures at the University of Montenegro with the knowledge of the lecturers but without their consent unlawfully interfered with the lecturers' right to privacy.
NGOs Call for Expansive Rights Agenda in Southern Europe

December 20, 2017

Representatives from a group of civil society organizations at a recent event hosted by the European Economic and Social Committee called for greater rights protections in Europe’s Mediterranean Basin, including greater support for migrants, increased protections for women, and better "social protection" for residents.
ECtHR: Romania Violated Ill Prisoner's Right to Dignity

December 20, 2017

In a November judgment, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) held that Romanian authorities had failed to take into account proper "humanitarian considerations" by keeping a man with terminal metastatic prostate cancer in prison and had violated European human rights law by preventing the prisoner "from spending his final days in dignity."
UK Officials Seek Compromise on EU Rights Charter

December 19, 2017

The Guardian reports that British government officials are seeking to avoid a rebellion by Members of Parliament from the Conservative Party over legislation implementing Brexit by working with them to ensure the UK retains some provisions of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights after the country leaves the EU.
EU Summit Focuses on Implementing "Social Rights"

December 19, 2017

At a "Social Summit" in Sweden in November, leaders from EU member states and institutions discussed how to implement the bloc's Pillar of Social Rights in an effort to bolster, in large part, labor and employment rights of Europeans, with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar stating that the goal of the Pillar is to move past the recent "excessive focus" on "economic matters."
EC Outlines Proposals for Common Migration Policy

December 14, 2017

The European Commission (EC) has outlined a series of proposals to enhance the EU policy on migration, including by reforming the Common European Asylum System, strengthening the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, and increasing the number of migrants legally accepted.
EU Agency Pushes "Societal" Change on Gender Attitudes

December 08, 2017

A paper from the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights places responsibility on EU member states to "change societal attitudes" to defeat "gender stereotyping" and reduce levels of "misogyny" and "hate speech" that fuel gender inequality.