Human Rights

Body Investigates PACE Corruption Claims

July 14, 2017

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) recently established an "independent external investigation body" to determine the veracity of corruption allegations against members and former members of the organization.
NGOs Urge EU Action Against Poland in Asylum Rejections

July 14, 2017

Three prominent human rights groups have argued that the EU should "hold Poland accountable" for the decision of Polish border guards to turn away asylum seekers in apparent violation of a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights.
EU Creates Committee to Encourage "Green" Securities

July 14, 2017

The EU has established a Green Securities Steering Committee to promote the nascent market for “green debt” in Europe by establishing standards, setting favorable regulations, and encouraging supply and demand for environmentally friendly investments to help reach "EU climate objectives and green infrastructure goals."
CoE Official Pushes Economic, Social Rights in Slovenia

July 12, 2017

In a "country visit report" calling on Slovenia to reject legislation that would reduce the acceptance of asylum applications, avoid "austerity measures," and increase the minimum wage, the Council of Europe's (CoE) Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muižnieks illustrates the expanding focus of the CoE on fulfilling the global agenda for "economic, social, and cultural human rights."
ECtHR: Russian "Gay Propaganda" Laws Violate Rights

June 21, 2017

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that Russian laws banning the public promotion of "nontraditional sexual relations" violate European human rights provisions guaranteeing the freedom of expression and rights against discrimination.
CoE Monitoring Deals Blow to Turkish EU Bid

June 15, 2017

EurActiv reports that a recent vote by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (CoE) to reinstate the monitoring of democracy and fundamental rights in Turkey following the country's crackdown on a wide range of actors in response to a failed coup attempt last year has jeopardized Turkey's bid to become a member of the EU.
Academic: Founders Intended ECHR as "Living Instrument"

May 26, 2017

In a recent review of a book on the founding of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), Associate Professor Ed Bates of the University of Leicester indicates that countries that have signed up to the ECHR have agreed to be bound by a "living instrument" in which supranational human rights judges might discover new meanings over time.
ECtHR: Russia Violated Rights in 2004 School Siege

May 26, 2017

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that the government of Russia violated the human rights of the hundreds of hostages killed in its siege of a school in Beslan in 2004 and ordered Russia to pay three million euros to the families of the victims.
NGO: UK Parties Must Commit to ECtHR

May 25, 2017

Human Rights Watch recently published an article calling on all UK political parties to pledge in their manifestos to keeping the country within the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
ECtHR: Transgender Sterilization Law Violated Rights

May 24, 2017

The New York Times reports that the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held a French law requiring people who wish to change the sex listed on their government documents to be sterilized violated the human right to "respect for private and family life."