The AEDH asks members of the European Parliament not to approve the readmission agreement with Pakistan - Press release, 12 July 2010

The AEDH is deeply concerned about the content and practical enforcement of the readmission agreement signed between the European Union and Pakistan and calls on MEPs to reject it. It raises significant concerns about the respect of human rights and in particular those of refugees.

The Agreement between the European Community and Pakistan on readmission raises significant questions concerning the respect of human rights - Press release, 26 April 2010

The AEDH challenges the manner in which a readmission agreement between the European Union and Pakistan would be implemented. The Agreement concerns Pakistani nationals and individuals who have transited through Pakistan, particularly Afghan nationals, who would be irregular on the territory of the European Union.

Personal data: a comic book to raise awareness among European young adults - Press release, 7 April 2010

Information and communication technologies (telephone, Internet, emails, blogs and social networks) make daily life and relationships with our relatives, friends or even strangers easier.

Questions to the European authorities concerning the agreement between the EU and the United States on the processing of financial messaging data from the EU to the USA - 15 February 2010

AEDH protests against the enforcement of the temporary agreement between the EU and the USA on the processing of Financial Messaging Data from the European Union to the United States. In the present document, the AEDH asks about the content and the implications of this agreement. Detailed answers would allow us to be really informed and to determine whether a new agreement is possible from our standpoint.

The agreement between the EU and the United-States on the processing of financial messaging data must not be implemented - Press release, 11 February 2010

AEDH protests against the enforcement of the temporary agreement between the EU and the USA on the processing of Financial Messaging Data from the European Union to the United States for the purpose of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program. This agreement was approved by the Council on 30 November 2009, to avoid the co-decision procedure of the Lisbon Treaty (enforceable since 1 December 2009) and the observations made by the European Parliament. But it requires the latter’s assent. The parliamentary Committee on “Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs” had the courage to vote against this agreement. We ask the European Parliament to stand against it.

CALL ON MEPs: Guarantee of social rights must be a precondition for economic and financial measures taken by the Heads of State and Government - Press release, 8 February 2010

AEDH calls on MEPs to make a decisive influence on the European Commission and Heads of State and Government, so that measures to face the economic crisis and to settle the budgetary situation of many Member States will not be taken at the expense of the most fragile, the poorest and the social rights.

Kurdish refugees in Corsica: asylum or charter flights? - LDH-AEDH-FIDH-REMDH joint press release, 23 January 2010

On Friday, January 22nd, a ship dropped off 140 people on the south coast of Corsica. These people were exhausted and starved. They are women and children desperately trying to escape from what the Universal Declaration of Human Rights calls “terror and misery”. These people are Kurds from Syria, fleeing one of the worst possible existences under one of the worst possible regimes. They are seeking asylum.

Rosarno, Reggio di Calabria: Call for appeasement measures respectful of Human rights - Press release, 8 January 2010

The European association for the defense of Human rights, AEDH, joins forces with the Liga Italiana dei Diritti dell’Uomo, LIDU, to ask that Italian authorities take the vital appeasement steps necessary to re-establish a constructive dialogue between the authorities in charge of public safety, the local population and immigrants living in the town of Rosarno (Reggio de Calabre).

A motion for rejection of the European Parliament to denounce the denial of democracy in the setting up of the new European Police Office Europol - Press release, 2 December 2009

On the eve of the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the Council of the European Union adopted on November 30, 2009, four draft decisions on the setting up of the European Police Office Europol on January 1, 2010 . This haste has led the European Parliament to vote a motion for rejection of those draft decisions in order to denounce the denial of democracy. The ordinary legislative co decision procedure established by the Lisbon Treaty should have been the obvious solution since the new Treaty was about to enter into force, but Member States disregarded it and imposed their choice against the MEPs’ opinion.

Access to information and communication networks is a fundamental right - Press release, 27 November 2009

AEDH wishes to point out that access to information and communication, and therefore the Internet, is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Consequently, any move to restrict access to the Internet should be exceptional and must only be decided upon by judicial authorities within a framework that recognises the right of defense. AEDH is therefore deeply concerned about the withdrawal of “amendment 138” from the Telecoms Package.

The AEDH says "No!" to joint return flights - Press release, November, 9th 2009

The EU heads of state and government that met within the European Council on 29-30 October 2009 came to an agreement regarding the "examination of the possibility of regular chartering financed by FRONTEX [the European agency in charge of managing the EU’s external borders] of joint return flights." Accordingly, they have invited the Commission to present proposals to this end in early 2010.

The AEDH has always expressed its opposition to organising "charter flights" to return migrants to their country of origin or even a country of transit.

Human Rights must be the cornerstone, not just a reference, of the Stockholm Programme - Press release, October, 7th 2009

The European Association for the Defense of Human Rights (AEDH) welcomes the adoption for the upcoming 5 years of a Programme on the “freedom, security and justice area” which will succeed the Hague Programme. AEDH wishes for a more global and balanced Programme, in the vein of the 1999 Tampere Programme. The Hague Programme took a security-based and sectoral approach that tended to confuse security, criminality and migration. This led to discriminative legislative content that often infringed on Fundamental Rights. AEDH took a position many times on the topic through its reports and press releases.

Alarming rise of the extreme right in the European Parliament - Press release, June, 15th 2009

After the results of the European elections, the AEDH expresses its deep concern regarding the rise of the extreme right in several EU Member States.

The asylum and the rise of racist violence in Greece - Press release, June 3rd 2009

The Hellenic League for Human Rights (HLHR) and the European League for Human Rights (AEDH) express their deep concern about the emergency of the asylum system and the rise of xenophobia and racist violence in Greece. HLHR and AEDH propose policy solutions and immediate remedy action in order to avoid escalation of phenomena of violation of human rights with a highly negative impact on victims and society.

The European Union must change its asylum and immigration policy - Press release, April, 2nd 2009

The new tragedy that just happened off the coast of Libya shows to the extent that European policies took to prevent immigration which is said to be illegal, are not only inefficient, but daily putting human lives in danger.

No to the presence of those who make racist, anti-Semitic and xenophobic comments at the head of public media - Press release, April, 1st 2009

The AEDH joins with Otwarta Rzeczpospolita - Open Republic to its protest against the appointment of a neo-fascist to the position of President of the Polish public television, TVP and calls for vigilance regarding the persistence and the increase of anti-Semitism and xenophobia in Poland

Solving the current crisis with economic and social rights - Press release, March, 13th 2009

The economic and financial crisis is worsening and leaves its impact on all people and economic sectors of the different member states of the European Union. Due to the growing unemployment and the threats on the social protection systems, this could lead to a major social crisis. Moreover, the ecological crisis demands urgent measures that could however facilitate a solution to the economic crisis.

Emergency in Lampedusa - Press release, February 3rd, 2009

February, 3rd, 2009. In view of the deterioration in the situation on the island of Lampedusa, the Italian authorities, supported by the European authorities, must make every effort to stop an intolerable situation for migrants, who are affected in their rights and their dignity, and for the island’s inhabitants who showed their solidarity.

The European association for the defense of Human rights condamns the Return directive - Press release, December 8th, 2008

Leaving one’s country is a right. Nevertheless, leaving one’s country can imply 18 months of detention, if the Council passes the directive on return of illegal immigrants.

Sanction those who exploit, not those who are exploited - Press release, October 27th, 2008

Sanctioning employers who exploit illegally-staying third-country nationals must not result in sanction of those who are exploited; yet, this is the outcome under the proposal for a directive currently being discussed by Parliament and the Council.

The European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS) creates new risks for the protection of personal data - Press release, October 7th, 2008

On June 2007, the Council reached a political agreement on a project for a directive on the organization and the content of exchanges between member states of information extracted from criminal records. On May the 27th, 2008, the Commission presented a proposal for a Council decision on the establishment of the European criminal records information system (ECRIS).

The European pact on migration and asylum - Press release, July 9th, 2008

The "European pact on migration and asylum" confirms the securitarian political orientation of the European Union regarding migration and asylum.

Return Directive: Press release - June, 19th 2008

A majority of MEPs took on heavy responsibilities by passing the directive on the return of third-country nationals.

The Council’s proposed amendment of the Framework Directive on combating terrorism: a new threat for civil liberties - Press release, April 14th, 2008

The AEDH considers this new initiative as an additional dangerous development in the fight against terrorism, which, in no way complying with the principle of proportionality, increasingly tends to hold citizens in its invasive grip and to infringe individual and collective liberties.

AEDH calls on members of European parliaments to vote "no" to the draft directive on the returning of illegaly staying third-country nationals - Press release, January 14th, 2008

AEDH is asking European members of Parliament not to approve the draft directive “on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals”, that will be proposed to their vote.

No to the generalised use of air passenger databases, Europe should not be transformed from an area of freedom to a surveillance zone - Press release, November 16th, 2007

AEDH has been watching, with great concern, the transformation of Europe from a haven of civil liberties to a surveillance zone. The number of initiatives drawn up to combat a vague, ill-defined terrorist threat has been multiplying in the European area. Such moves attempt to subject European and foreign citizens living or travelling in Europe to restrictions that go against the fundamental principles of the human rights protection. These include, among others, the use of biometric passports, the possibility of trading information between judicial and police authorities through the Treaty of Prüm system, and access to the Schengen Information System by other police organisations such as EUROPOL and EURODAC.

Deportation measures clearly aimed at Romanian migrants are shameful and unacceptable - Press release, November 15th, 2007

The Lega Italiana dei Diritti dell’ Uomo, LIDU, and the European Association for Human Rights, EAHR, of which the LIDU is a member, wish to make their position known concerning the “dispute” on migrants, particularly those who are EU citizens residing in Italy.