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CoE Body Seeks Improved Complaints Systems for "Torture"
June 01, 2018
In its recently released annual report, the Council of Europe's (CoE) Committee for the Prevention of Torture criticized CoE member states for failing to provide "effective" complaints mechanisms offering redress, including compensation, for prisoners and others in state custody alleging that they have been subjected to torture or other "inhuman" or "degrading" treatment.
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Article: Macron Struggles to Find Broad Audience for EU Vision
June 01, 2018
The Economist has published an article asserting that intra-EU mistrust and caution have meant that the broad, reformist EU vision of French President Emmanuel Macron has largely fallen on deaf ears, other than his desires for short-term protectionism of European industry and its labor force.
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Investigators Identify "Strong Suspicion" of PACE Corruption
June 01, 2018
AFP reports that external investigators of alleged corruption at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) have established a "strong suspicion" that certain governments, including that of Azerbaijan, doled out lavish gifts, including caviar and luxury hotel stays, to prevent the adoption of a critical report on the status of political prisoners.
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EC Proposes Rules to Aid Corporate Whistleblowers
May 31, 2018
The Guardian reports on a European Commission (EC) proposal to harmonize corporate whistleblower standards across the EU in legislation that would create a special legal status for such whistleblowers and grant them access to legal aid and financial support to encourage them to expose unlawful business conduct.
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UK Peers Seek to Retain EU Rights Charter After Brexit
May 31, 2018
The BBC reports that the UK House of Lords recently voted to amend the government's EU withdrawal bill to require the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which only applies when a country is implementing EU law, to remain in force in Britain after the country leaves the EU.