The great news : We are a full Europe team again and you will be finding a Newsletter full of Actions and information. As a team we have adopted 2 long term casefiles in addition to Eren Keskin in Turkey : Frederic Vuillaume in France and the El Hiblu 3 in Malta. Groups who are interested in taking on a long term case please contact us. We also have several Urgent Actions : The Action on the withdrawal of Turkey from the Istanbul Convention is particularly urgent: Its for Wednesday the 11th of May.
Another Urgent Action is the call for support for Frederic Vuillaume before his court hearing on 20th of May.
Please also support the Urgent Action on Denmark. Denmark has decided to force asylum-seekers from Syria back to Syria. Syria is not a safe place and all deportees are at risk of imprisonment, torture and “disappearance”. Please write letters of protest (see Urgent Action attached). In addition I am organising a vigil outside the Embassy of Denmark for the 20th of June, International Refugee day 3-4pm. Those who can’t join us please send messages and photos of support to take to the Embassy.
Last not least, please see our Balkan coordinator Rovena’s plea for support for Roma accessing the application for settled status in the UK. I have started running a weekly drop in at my local college to help individuals with their application. I am attaching another guide which I find very useful. It gives a step my step guide on the process and practical advice on all the different scenarios you might encounter as well as links to organisations we can refer to.
Turkey’s withdrawal from Istanbul Convention
CALL FOR ACTION: Let’s make them think again.
In mailings in March I (Chris Ramsey) told you that Turkey had announced that it was pulling out of the Istanbul Convention, the Council of Europe’s convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence that provides an important framework for addressing gender based violence and providing vital safeguards for girls and women. Since then women around Turkey have been bravely taking to the streets to protest against this move and to demand a rethink before the decision becomes effective on 1 July.
On 11 May, the tenth anniversary of the Convention there will be a Global Day of Action in solidarity with groups in Turkey defending women’s rights and gender equality.
Although there will be some actions outside Turkish Embassies, because of the Covid-19 pandemic most of the actions will be online and therefore it will be easy for Amnesty members to participate wherever they are.
ACTION OPTIONS:
- Photographs
Take a photo of yourself or your group, if possible wearing purple clothing or with a purple backdrop or a purple Covid mask with a solidarity message and the hashtag #IstanbulConventionSavesLives
The solidarity message could simply be:
In solidarity with women in Turkey
Post your photograph on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram including the hashtags #IstanbulConventionSavesLives and #Turkey
In your posts please:
- Tag Amnesty Turkey ( For Twitter @aforgutu and Instagram aforgutu)
- Please tag the Turkish Embassy in London: @TurkEmbLondon
- If you are uneasy about using a photograph of yourself please use the image below to create your social media post instead, following all the other instructions shown above.
- If you do not use social media but wish to take part in this action the please e-mail me your photograph and I will post it on social media for you.
Usual e-mail: chris.ramsey@amnesty.org.uk
Please share this information as widely as possible with your local group members and other fellow activists.
Further notes regarding the Istanbul Convention
- The Istanbul Convention is a tool that provides the best way to protect women and girls from violence; it is the ‘gold standard’ internationally for combatting violence against women, including domestic violence.
- It is extremely disappointing that Turkey, the country where the Convention was opened for signatures in May 2011, and that was the first to sign it, is now the first and only country to decide to withdraw from it. Turkey was a leading supporter of the Istanbul Convention and was instrumental in mobilising other Council of Europe member states to sign up to it.
- The Istanbul convention is specifically designed to protect women from all forms of violence, including domestic violence, with internationally- agreed actions that governments who ratify it must take to achieve this. Withdrawing from the convention violates the rights of millions of women and girls in the country, jeopardises their safety and flies in the face of any purported commitment by the government to protect the rights of survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.
- Turkey should reverse the decision to leave the Convention and instead work towards its full implementation to better protect and support women and girls who are experiencing gender-based violence, without discrimination.
- This announcement is especially dangerous at a time when the killing of women is rising and there has been a surge of domestic violence during the COVID pandemic. Only last year, according to the Minister of Interior, 266 women were killed by men in acts of gender-based violence, though the numbers provided by women’s organizations were much higher.
- There is nothing controversial about the Istanbul Convention. The purpose of the treaty is to prevent and combat violence against women and girls.
- Turkey’s stated reason for withdrawing – that the Convention is being used to ‘normalise homosexuality’ which is incompatible with Turkey’s family values – is both dangerous and discriminatory. Behind this decision lies a misogynistic and homophobic rationale and a profound disregard for the rights of women and girls and LGBTI people.
- The real threat to family values are the perpetrators of violence against women who frequently benefit from impunity as well as the oftentimes weak response given to victims by officials in the criminal justice system and judiciary. The Istanbul Convention provides specific guidance on how states can and must ensure access to justice for victims and guarantee accountability for perpetrators of violence against women.
- Ironically, Turkey’s announcement has served to highlight just why the Istanbul Convention is so important and has galvanised women’s rights movements to fight for it and prevent violence against women. Amnesty International stands in solidarity with courageous women in Turkey who are defying this attack and demanding their human rights.
Denmark: Hundreds of refugees must not be illegally forced back to Syrian warzone
Hundreds of Syrian refugees whose residency permits have been revoked by the Danish authorities could face torture, enforced disappearance and arbitrary detention if forced back, said Amnesty International.
At least 380 refugees, including children, have been informed by the Danish Immigration Service that they will have to return to Syria after Denmark deemed Damascus and its surrounding area safe for return. Their temporary protection status, and therefore residence permits, have been revoked. Many of them are still waiting for their case to be finally decided in appeal.
“Having escaped a warzone, these are now facing the stark prospect of ‘voluntarily’ returning to Syria or being taken to return centres to await deportation”
Amnesty International’s Europe Director, Nils Muižnieks.
Amnesty International understands that 39 people have received a final decision on their case and are at risk of being deported as soon as Denmark re-establishes diplomatic ties with the Syrian regime.
“Having escaped a warzone, at least 39 refugees who have had their final decision, are now facing the stark prospect of ‘voluntarily’ returning to Syria or being taken to return centres to await deportation. The destiny of hundreds more is still unknown,” said Amnesty International’s Europe Director, Nils Muižnieks.
Forcing these refugees, some of them children, back to Syria, even indirectly, would put them at real risk of torture and other serious abuses
Please take Action !
– https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur18/4010/2021/en/
https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur18/4010/2021/en/
See this Urgent Action. Please also write letters to the Ambassador of Denmark Claus Grube ( your Excellency) Embassy of Denmark 55 Sloane Street London SW1X9SR voicing your concern about returning Syrian refugees to Syria where they will be at risk from torture and enforced disappearance. Nowhere in Syria is safe.
I am organising a vigil outside the Danish Embassy for the 20th June on International Refugee Day. Please take part if you can.
20th June Socially distanced vigil outside the Embassy of Denmark 55 Sloane Street London SW1X9SR 3-4pm
Photo Action : Please take a photo of yourself or your group with messages like “ Syria is not safe ! No return of refugees to Syria ! Asylum is a Human Right ! and email them to me. I will print and collate them and take them to the Embassy.
More bad news :
Denmark: Plans to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda “unconscionable and potentially unlawful”
Responding to the news that Danish authorities have signed an agreement with the Rwandan government to enhance cooperation on migration and asylum, potentially to then send asylum-seekers to Rwanda, Amnesty International’s Europe Director, Nils Muižnieks, said:
“Any attempt to transfer asylum-seekers arriving in Denmark to Rwanda for their asylum claims to be processed would be not only unconscionable, but potentially unlawful. Denmark cannot deny the right of those arriving in Denmark to seek asylum and transfer them to a third country without the required guarantees.
“These proposals take responsibility-shifting of refugee protection by EU governments to a new low, and would set a dangerous precedent in Europe and globally.
“The idea that rich countries can pay their way out of their international obligations, stripping asylum-seekers of their right to even have their claims considered in Denmark, is deeply worrying.”
Urgent Action on Syrians at risk of deportation- https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur18/4010/2021/en/
BACKGROUND
On 29 April the Danish government tabled a Draft Bill to amend the Aliens Act (“Introduction of the possibility to transfer asylum-seekers for adjudication of asylum-claims and accommodation in third countries”). The Bill will be discussed tomorrow at the Danish Parliament.
In 2020 Denmark received 1,515 asylum-applications, the lowest number in 20 years. 601 people got a permit to stay.
“This plan comes against the backdrop of the hardening of asylum policies in the country. Almost 400 Syrian refugees are at risk of return to Syria’s warzone, after Denmark decided to withdraw their protection status.
New Country Coordinator for Western Europe Jovana Bosnjak
I am the new Country Coordinator for Western Europe. I am a qualified lawyer in Serbia and I have been an AI supporter for many years before joining as a member. In the past I have also worked with various organisations dedicated to eradicate all forms of exploitation and trafficking in human beings especially in the South-eastern Europe.
It is a real pleasure to join this hard-working team and be able to work with hundreds of enthusiastic activists on the AI campaigns. I am looking forward to being part of the Europe Team, as the Western Europe Country Coordinator and meeting as many as possible of you working on cases in the Western Europe region.
Jovana Bosnjak,
FRANCE
#EyesOnFrance
We are continuing to campaign for the right to protest in France!
Our report Arrested for protest was launched in September 2020, and is available for reading at: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur21/1791/2020/en/.
The launch of the report also marked the launch of the international campaign #EyesOnFrance that targets President Macron on the criminalisation of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and silencing of dissent (action is available at: https://www.amnesty.org/en/get-involved/take-action/france-right-to-protest-freedom-of-expression/).
The report and the campaign have received a lot of visibility. We need to help them out and we need to mobilise and galvanise international attention to increase the number of signatures collected internationally. We have extended the timeline for the campaign – now until September 2021 – and we hope you will all join and help us raise attention towards France and the treatment of peaceful protesters. We are aiming for 200000 signatures world-wide. Please, help us to achieve this goal!
Sign your name www.amnesty.org/en:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/get-involved/take-action/france-right-to-protest-freedom-of-expression/
Frederic Vuillaume: Facing trial for protesting peacefully in France
#EyesOnFrance
Solidarity Action: You are not alone!
Frederic Vuillaume is a long standing trade unionist who has been part of the Yellow Vests movement since its outset in November 2018. Frederic’s peaceful participation in the Yellow Vests movement has been marked by multiple pre-charge detentions, arrests and prosecutions. He is among other thousands of protesters who have been detained, arrested and prosecuted due to their peaceful participation in the protests.
Frederic’s case is part of the #EyesOnFrance international campaign. His case is illustrative of the harassment that thousands of peaceful protesters face and continue to experience systematically due to provisions in the French law that criminalize conduct protected under the international human rights law and standards. These include provisions related to organising a protest without notifying the authorities, contempt of public official as criminal offence, etc.
Frederic featured in the report ‘Arrested for protest’ launched in September 2020 and available at:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/get-involved/take-action/france-right-to-protest-freedom-of-expression/
Campaigning on his case aims to support him ahead and during the new trial he is facing but also to denounce the harassment and crackdown that many other peaceful protesters have experienced in France simply for standing up for their rights and raising their voices and concerns.
Frederic is facing the start of his trial on 20 May 2021.
He is charged for his peaceful activism and risks up to 1 year in prison and/or 15,000 Euros fine. Just because of his peaceful activism. Like him, thousands other peaceful protesters have faced in France harassment, fines and even criminal charges. Frederic is fighting for what he believes in and his values and he must not feel alone.
The world is watching, #EyesOnFrance!
Frederic Vuillaume: Facing trial for protesting peacefully in France
#EyesOnFrance
Solidarity Action: You are not alone!
Frederic’s peaceful participation in the Yellow Vests movement has been marked by multiple pre-charge detentions, arrests and prosecutions. He is among thousands of protesters who have been detained, arrested and prosecuted due to their peaceful participation in the protests.
After participating in a protest against the Global Security bill in Dijon in December 2020, Frederic was arrested and taken to pre-charge detention where he spent 44 hours. He is now prosecuted for participation to an ‘attroupement’ (‘participation in an assembly that is likely to disrupt public order) and his trial will begin on the 20 May 2021.
Action:
You can send messages of solidarity to Frederic and/or post messages of solidarity tagging AI France with #EyesOnFrance so we can pass them on to Frederic.
Amnesty International France (hard copy letters)
Le Chaumontois, 72-76 Boulevard de la Villette, 75019 Paris, France
Suggested message:
Dear Frederic,
We stand by you in your fight to defend your right to peacefully protest for what you
believe in. You should not be sitting trial for such actions, but yet you are. However,
please know and remember, you shall not be alone in that court. We are all with you and the world will be watching with #EyesOnFrance.
Much strength and solidarity
Prosecutor of Dijon, Eric Mathais, is in charge of the case. He has the power and can decide to instruct the withdrawal of the indictment!
Monsieur le, Procureur, Drop the charges against Frederic!
Email: eric.mathais@justice.fr ; Twitter: @ProcureurDijon
Welcome Rovena Tanazi Balkan Coordinator
Hello, my name is Rovena Tanazi. I am the new Balkan Country Coordinator for Amnesty. I am a second year law student interested in Constitutional & Administrative law, Public International law and Human Rights. I decided to take on this particular position because I am concerned about the hidden human rights violations occurring in the Balkan States and I am keen to publicize and disclose these issues. I am very eager to get started on the projects that I am assigned to and hope that I can be very informative about the ongoing human rights abuses and persistently raise these issues in the European and International community.
According to Amnesty International’s research carried out between June 2018 and January 2019, migrants and refugees have been subject to systemic and deliberate pushbacks and collective expulsions by the Croatian border police. These pushbacks and expulsions have often been accompanied by threats, violence and intimidation at the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Many have also been held in police stations in the Croatian territory, issued fines and have been denied their rights to due process and access to asylum procedures. Many describe having their documents torn, phones destroyed and being stripped, beaten with batons and sprayed with pepper spray. Others detail horrific acts of Croatian police confiscating their shoes, clothes and sleeping bags and forcing these people to trek through freezing rivers and streams barefoot for kilometres towards Bosnia.
Rashid from Morocco details his experience of degrading and violent treatment by the Croatian police. – “We were told to take our clothes off. One man in our group was ordered to remove all his clothes and stand naked like that. That was wrong; we were standing on the street! When I told the policeman that he could search me, but I would not take my clothes off, he started hitting me.”
Fatima from Afghanistan informed Amnesty of her experiences being expelled and denied the right to claim asylum. – “We managed to cross into Croatia twice, but were detained both times. Although we told police that we would like to apply for asylum, we were told that there was no more space in Croatia. They kept us in a police station for hours and then drove us in a van back to Bosnian border. They didn’t give us any papers. They dropped us, together with a group of people, close to Bihac and told us to walk towards the border.”
These pushbacks and forcible returns which often occur at night have led to refugees and migrants seeking dangerous travels routes through mountains and forests where wild animals and dangerous terrain can be a risk to these people.
Khoulsum, a young lady from Afghanistan talked about her experience travelling outside well-established routes. – “We’ve had to walk through a neck-deep river and we’ve seen bears, wild boars and other animals in the forest. There were mines too.” She also informed Amnesty of another woman and spoke about how she had lost her baby taking this route. “Twenty days ago, we saw a bear in a forest in Croatia. She got scared so much that she delivered a stillborn baby. She was six months pregnant.”
These experiences gathered by Amnesty are deeply shocking. These refugees and migrants are entitled to apply for asylum before the border police and have their application accessed and processed, according to Croatian law. The police must also establish the applicants identity, take their photograph, finger prints and assess the applicants personal circumstances in order to determine the special reception and procedural safeguards they should receive. The applicants should then be issued a certificate of registration and have up to 15 days to submit their application for asylum. But this is unfortunately not happening and those seeking asylum are subject to abuse, violence, pushbacks and expulsion which not only breaches Croatian law on International and Temporary Protection, but EU and international law which provide laws and policies that should safeguard and protect the rights of migrants and refugees.
But what is more shocking, is that the Croatian government claims to have held thorough investigations of police violence and have asserted that they could not find a single case of violence caused by Croatian border police. They accuse migrants and refugees of narrating a false story just to gather sympathy and an easy pass into the EU. But despite this, allegations of violent pushbacks and expulsions still persisted.
The Croatian authorities has also denied the Croatian Ombudsperson access to migrant-related information and NGOs have also been the target of authorities. For example, the Ministry of Interior, who is responsible for migrant and refugee domestic policy, has attempted to discredit, defame and delegitimise NGOs by accusing them of “facilitating illegal migration”. This has led to volunteers and activists being harassed by members of the public and police. They have been threatened with criminal proceedings and held hours on end by the police without formal charges just for calling out the injustices caused by Croatian police towards migrants and refugees. The government is also responsible for creating a dangerous narrative about refugees and migrants which has led to a drastic change in public opinion and perspective. Members of the public are now more likely to turn away migrants who seek food and shelter and will report them to the police, who will consequently expel them from Croatia.
The Croatian government’s actions are causing huge problems for NGOs and other human rights organisations and activists by diverting their time and money from protecting the human rights of refugees and migrants to tackling criminal proceedings and false allegations made by Croatian authorities. Instead of helping these groups by holding independent investigations into crimes of violence, ensuring accountability and upholding international and EU law by providing proper and fair asylum procedures, the authorities are keen to neglect human rights and uphold their own self-interests in seeking membership in the Schengen Area. They believe that by upholding European Migration policies to ensure strict protection of the external borders of the EU, will they then be accepted into the Schengen Area. Though nations have a fair duty to protect their borders, this goes against the numerous, well-documented reports highlighting widespread and systematic violations of EU and international law as Croatia fails to adequately address the issues of human rights violations and injustices of preventing asylum claims to be made and processed.
Despite concerns about Croatia’s draconian response to reduce the number of migrants and refugees entering the country being voiced in the EU, the EU has failed to hold Croatia to account. Their response to Croatia’s handling of border policy has not been consistent as some MEP’s posit that Croatia is simply following orders to protect the EU external border and other European Politicians have sent mixed messages to Croatia about their handling of the border. In a meeting with the Croatian PM, German Chancellor Angela Merkel had complimented Croatian police for making “great progress in protecting the external EU borders”. The EU has also continued to allocate significant funds to aid Croatia in improving its border security. In December 2018, the Commission announced an additional assistance of EUR 6.8 million reserved for the “strengthening of [Croatia’s] border management at the EU’s external border”, bringing the overall emergency funding to strengthen border surveillance and management allocated to Croatia to over EUR 23 million. Though the Commission claim they are committed to enforcing a monitoring mechanism to “ensure that all measures applied at the EU external borders are proportionate and are in full compliance with fundamental rights and EU asylum laws”, it is not clear how much control they will exercise over these funds.
It is important that the EU use their influence to hold Croatia to account because the human rights of migrants and refugees are at risk under EU and international law. They need to adopt a stringent approach to not just Croatia, but Slovenia and Italy, if they continue to breach EU asylum and human rights laws. Border police violence and barred asylum procedures should not be the new normal for countries seeking to uphold the EU migration policy. Protecting and monitoring borders does not need to lead to breaches of fundamental rights and asylum laws.
Additionally, the EU must provide better support to Bosnia, who is struggling to provide basic care and shelter for refugees and migrants. According to the European Commission, Bosnia and Herzegovina has had 24,000 arrivals in 2018, compared to the previous year when there was fewer than 800 people recorded in the country. Bosnia is thus becoming a harbour for stranded refugees and migrants who seek to travel to an EU member state. But whilst they wait in Bosnia, many have been left in cramped and inadequate conditions, heated tents, where hot water, toilets and meals are not always available. Additionally, specialist care is difficult to access due to lack of medical escorts or because of reluctance of local doctors to treat refugees. Conditions have worsened with Covid-19, as getting sanitary products, maintaining good hygiene practice and preventing the spread of the virus is extremely difficult. Bosnia has been ill prepared to deal with the large number of people arriving on their territory and whilst they do need to take steps to actively engage with local authorities and organisations who can provide support, they require assistance from the EU to help them deal with a growing humanitarian crisis.
If anyone has been deeply shocked by the human rights abuses and police violence against refugees and migrants, I urge you to help us publicise this issue on social media. You can target the Croatian authorities, as well as the Slovenian and Italian authorities. You can also call on the EU to monitor the Croatian authorities, to ensure that they provide asylum seekers a fair asylum procedure and risk assessment, as well as provide Bosnia the assistance it needs to help migrants and refugees.
THE RACE TO GET THE UK ROMA COMMUNITY ON THE EU SETTLEMENT SCHEME (EUSS)
The official application deadline for the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) is 30 June 2021 for all EU citizens living in the UK since the 31 December 2020, including children, to register their rights in the UK post-Brexit. The problem we are concerned with however is trying to ensure that EU Citizens from the Roma Community sign up before the deadline, otherwise they risk becoming undocumented and can lose their basic rights to education, health care and benefits.
Many people in the Roma community are either unaware that they should apply to the EUSS to secure their rights and status in the UK or believe it does not apply to them. Many do not even have the language or IT skills, the technology or the confidence to submit the EUSS application. Additionally, according to research conducted by the Roma Support Group (RSG), up to 25% of Roma children are not applying for settled status because they are either unaware or believe that the child being born in the UK means the child is British.
This is thus an urgent matter which can affect the rights of the Roma people if we do not act fast to alert and provide as much support as we can to the Roma community. Covid-19 has already provided a major barrier to the RSG and other organisations that can help provide support, by preventing direct and in person access to these groups and to Roma people. Now that lockdown restrictions are lifting ever so slightly, we are now at a race against time to ensure we can communicate and support the Roma people who are EU citizens in making their EUSS application and protecting their rights. Particular groups of concern and at risk of being neglected include; Roma Children; Children in care and care leavers; Rough sleepers; and pre-settled status holders.
The RSG report linked below assert that effective support to the community can be provided through local authorities, who can work with local churches and schools to spread awareness about the EUSS and provide support in making applications. Additionally, community organisations can support Roma people with poor digital skills, signpost to reliable advice on complex cases and support complex pre-settled and settled status applications.
As the government have not provided materials or directed the importance of the EUSS to the Roma Community, we urge you to check that your local authority and local organisations in your community that provide general advice or specific support to EU citizens or the Roma Community, are putting all their efforts to ensuring the Roma Community are supported and not neglected in their approach to warn all EU citizens to make their application.
Hungary
Many of you will remember our campaign against the LEXNGO legislation implemented in 2017 and 2018, designed to restrict the activities of NGO’s and charities. The LEXNGO 2017 legislation forced NGO’s to publicly declare any funding from outside Hungary. Together with government propaganda against “outside interference “ NGO’s were stigmatised and accused of working for outside interests. Particularly the Open Society funded by the Hungarian/ Jewish/American Billionaire and philanthropist George Soros was viciously attacked by Victor Orban’s state orchestrated campaign of hate. The open society funds charitable work with refugees and marginalised groups, including Roma access to higher education etc. In 2018 more legislation went further : LEXNGO2018 criminalised Individuals and organisations who offered any help to refugees, including legal assistance, shelter, a glass of water. Amnesty International was also attacked , accused of facilitating terrorism. The good news is, that after prolonged pressure by the European Commission, Hungary has withdrawn LEX2017 , (but not the more dangerous LEX2018). I haven’t got the details of the replacement legislation yet. Please find attached a detailed report about the chilling effect of LEXNGO in Hungary today. (see Hungary the effects of LEXNGO Living under the Damocles sword)
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ADVISORY
Hungary: LexNGO repealed but replacement very concerning
The Hungarian government has announced that it will repeal ‘LexNGO’, a dangerous law which stigmatizes and places restrictions on the independent work of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In February the European Commission launched an infringement procedure against Hungary, after finding that the Act breached EU law. Responding to the announcement, the Director of Amnesty International Hungary, Dávid Vig, said:
“The LexNGO law was a dangerous tool of Orban’s government, designed to silence independent NGOs which do vital work to hold the authorities to account and support vulnerable groups. It restricted their work on baseless grounds which were undoubtedly politically motivated.”
“While we welcome its withdrawal, we can’t drop our guard yet. The Hungarian government has already submitted a proposal to replace LexNGO with another bill which also threatens the independence and work of civil society. The new bill, which was submitted without any prior consultation, requires the State Audit Office to annually report on the financial status of NGOs which ’influence the public’ and potentially empowers the authorities to selectively audit them. This would impose an additional, unnecessary administrative burden on NGOs, and is clearly another attempt by the Hungarian government to make their work as difficult as possible.”
“The bill also discriminates against specific NGOs, as religious, sport and national minority organisations would be exempt. NGOs in Hungary are already required to operate transparently – this bill is just a new repressive tool for the government to further stigmatize and crush critical organisations.
“Amnesty International calls on the Hungarian authorities to ensure a meaningful consultation with NGOs before moving forward with new legislation, and ensure their feedback is taken into account. The authorities must end their crackdown on civil society, We call on the government to refrain from restricting and stigmatizing NGOs, and to guarantee an environment where they can freely and independently carry out their essential work without any fear of reprisals.”
Czech Republic
Forced Evictions and discrimination in access to social housing forcing hard -working Roma families into destitution
Because of racism and stigmatization, Roma families are struggling to find decent housing in Czechia. After Christmas last year, many have been evicted — despite the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.
Please read the full article :
Best regards Ulrike, Jovana, Rovena and Chris
