Joint Public Statement: The EU should prioritize human rights in deepening relations with LAC

April 17, 2023 Originally published on the EULAT Network website. Joint Public Statement is available to download in English and Spanish. “Human rights should lie at the centre of the forthcoming Joint Communication and of EU-LAC relations, mainstreamed across all issues and countries, not only as one of the multiple priorities.” Ahead of the Joint […]
Open letter on the Escazu Agreement to the Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs

To: Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira Cc: Office of the President’s Chief of Staff, Rui Costa; Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva; Minister of Human Rights and Citizenship, Silvio Almeida; Minister of Indigenous Peoples, Sônia Guajajara; Minister of Justice, Flávio Dino; Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Fávaro; Minister of Agrarian Development, Paulo Teixeira; Minister of […]
Rwanda: Questionable Trial After Journalist’s Death

15 March, 2023 86 organizations reiterate the call for an independent investigation Rwandan authorities must allow an independent, impartial, and effective investigation into the death of the Rwandan journalist John Williams Ntwali, 86 civil society organizations and media associations said today, reiterating a 31 January appeal. A credible process should be carried out given the […]
Politique étrangère de la France en Afrique: les droits humains et la démocratie aux abonnés absents

[English version at the end] 28 février 2023. Dans le cadre de visites diplomatiques sur le continent africain, le Président Emmanuel Macron se rendra en République démocratique du Congo (RDC) le 5 mars, après avoir visité le Gabon, l’Angola et le Congo-Brazzaville. 31 organisations de la société civile encouragent la France à placer la défense […]
“Renewed EU Great Lakes Strategy”: A Missed Opportunity for Good Governance and Human Rights

The European Network for Central Africa (EurAc) welcomes the adoption of a new European Strategy for the Great Lakes, which sends a strong signal in favor of peace and sustainable development in the region.However, EurAc is deeply concerned about the narrow economic-oriented approach chosen by the European Union (EU) as a global response to conflicts […]
Civil society letter to the OECD on human rights defenders and the update of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises

10 February 2023 Ms. Christine Kaufman Chair of the Working Party on Responsible Business Conduct Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Mr. Allan Jorgensen Head of the Responsible Business Conduct Unit OECD Dear Ms. Kaufman and Mr. Jorgensen: We send you this letter on behalf of 31 civil society organizations and human rights experts […]
NGOs Call on the EP to Reconsider Decision on 500-Word Limit for Urgency Resolution

Brussels, January 30, 2023 Dear President Metsola, Dear Presidents of the political groups of the European Parliament, We are writing to follow up on our December 20 letter, where we raised concerns about proposals to freeze all activities of the European Parliament’s DROI Subcommittee and to stop all urgency resolutions on human rights abuses in […]
Joint NGO Letter to the European Parliament on Proposals to Halt Human Rights Activities

Brussels, December 20, 2022, Dear President Metsola, Dear Presidents of the political groups of the European Parliament, We are writing to express our greatest concerns over recent debates and proposals to freeze all activities of the European Parliament’s Human Rights Subcommittee (DROI) and to stop all urgency resolutions, in reaction to allegations of corruption known […]
Laos: After 10 years, civil society worldwide is still asking: “Where is Sombath?”

Sombath Somphone during a press conference in Manila, Philippines on August 2005. Photo: EPA/ROLEX DELA PENA 13 December 2022 Ahead of the 10-year anniversary of the enforced disappearance of Lao civil society leader Sombath Somphone, we, the undersigned civil society organizations and individuals, renew calls on the Lao government to determine his fate and whereabouts […]
Concern about the harassment, surveillance and likely attempted murder of the lawyer and defender of the Peoples’ Front in Defense of Land and Water

Joint Declaration by: Peace Brigades International – PBI Mexico; World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) and International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), in the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders; Protection International Mesoamerica; Taula per Mèxic (Barcelona); Front line Defenders; Swedish Movement for Reconciliation – SweFOR; Amnesty International. Concern about the […]