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Common European Asylum System - Letter to the members of the Luxembourg Parliament - 11 June 2013

Serge Kollwelter, Chair of the AEDH address on 11 June 2013 a letter to the members of the Luxembourg Parliament in order to alert them on the modifications within the framework of the “asylum package” - which will be adopted by the European Parliament the same day. In this letter, the AEDH encourages the members of the Luxembourg Parliament to be very attentive to the transposition of these texts in the national legislation but also to be more ambitious on this transposition by going beyond what is proposed by these texts.

"Establishing a Common European Asylum System: still a long way to go" - Joint press release 10 June 2013

Our organisations acknowledge the improvements in the second phase of legislative harmonisation but remain concerned about a number of key aspects of the asylum package in particular with regard to the detention of asylum seekers, legal assistance to asylum seekers in increasingly complex asylum procedures, the lack of sufficient procedural safeguards with regard to vulnerable asylum seekers and the detrimental impact of the Dublin Regulation on the fundamental rights of asylum seekers. Emphasising the fact that a Common European Asylum System is far from being completed in practice by the vote in the European Parliament we call for strict monitoring of the transposition and implementation of second phase instruments and meaningful dialogue with civil society organisations in this process.

Resolution of the AEDH and its members: "A Europe for all its citizens!" - 7 June 2013

The European Association for the Defence of human Rights (AEDH) and its members, which were gathered in Tallinn for the AEDH General Assembly, adopted the following resolution: "A Europe for all its citizens!"

" Do not criminalize the asylum seekers ! " asks the AEDH to the Members of the European Parliament - 7 June 2013

On 11 June, your Parliament will rule on the latest texts to be adopted for a reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). In the light of the very marginal amendments finally made to the various draft texts, our association can only reaffirm its opposition to this reform. The AEDH send to the Members of the European an open letter, on 7 May, to encourage them to refuse the detention of the asylum seekers and the opening of the files of fingerprints to the national repressive authorities and Europol.

At the heart of the seminar and the General Assembly held by AEDH is Citizenship, May 31st, June 1st and 2nd 2013

The European Association for the Defence of Human Rights (AEDH) and its member organisations were meeting in Tallinn until Sunday around the theme of "Citizenship". The seminar of Friday was focused on "Citizenship, Citizenships", and the one of Saturday was dealing with the following topic: "Citizens for a Europe of human rights".On Sunday was held the annual General Assembly of the AEDH.

AEDH organises its annual seminar and General Assembly in Tallinn, Estonia from 31st May to 2nd June

The European Association for the Defence of Human Rights (AEDH) and its member organisations will come together in Tallinn this weekend for AEDH’s General Assembly 2013. On the eve of the Assembly, the human rights organisations will debate on the theme of citizenship. The event is organised together with AEDH’s Estonian member, the Legal Information Centre for Human Rights (LICHR).

NGOs and UNHCR call for more involvement in the definition of funding priorities under the future EU Asylum and Migration Fund, 28 May 2013

UNHCR, together with a coalition of 10 non-governmental organisations – including the AEDH – has released a statement on the need for Member States to involve Civil Society and International Organisations when defining the future national priorities under the Asylum and Migration Fund (AMF) in order to increase the impact of the activities funded.

87th LDH Congress in Niort, 18 May 2013

On May 18, 2013 in Niort, was held the 87th Congress of the French Ligue des Droits de l’Homme (LDH), on the topic of strategic relations between the social economy and human rights.

On May 20, an address to the President of the Republic and the parliamentary majority was adopted by the Congress of the LDH in Niort, to remind them of their responsibilities to meet the needs of expanding democracy, and to the satisfaction of social needs.

The AEDH participates to the 38th FIDH Congress

From 23th to 27th May 2013, the AEDH will participate to the 38th FIDH Congress in Istanbul, Turkey. The Forum entitled "Political Transitions from a Human Rights Perspective: Experiences and Challenges" takes place within the framework of FIDH’s International Congress, a major event, bringing together human rights defenders from FIDH’s 164 member organisations and other partners from all over the world, every three years.

EU Seasonal Migrant Workers’ Directive: Ensure effective Equal Treatment - Joint press release 8th May 2013

In view of the on-going trialogue on the proposed EU directive on seasonal workers, the European Network Against Racism (ENAR), Caritas Europe, le Ciré (coordination and initiatives for refugees), the Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe (CCME), The European Federation of National Organizations Working with the Homeless (Feantsa), the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) and the European Association for the Defense of Human Rights (AEDH), recall the need to guarantee a uniform and extensive sets of labour rights for third-country workers across the EU.

AEDH and the European Year of Citizens Alliance

Launched in December 2012, the Alliance held its first meeting in Brussels in January 2013. To date, the Alliance brings together more than sixty organizations and networks of the European civil society and national alliances from the 27 countries of the European Union and Croatia. The European Association for the Defence of Human Rights (AEDH) is a member of the steering committee and is represented by its Honorary Chairman Pierre Barge – who also co-chairs, with Carlotta Besozzi from the European Disability Forum, the Working Group on inclusive citizenship.

AEDH in the quaterly magazine Government Gazette

Serge Kollwelter, Chair of the AEDH contributed to the March 2013 Government Gazette editon on EU Border Security with the article Legitimate Border Controls and Amalgams.

Joint press release from the AEDH and the LDH - Census of forced evictions, from settlements of migrant Roma in France

Philippe Goossens, a member of the AEDH board, compiled the figures of Roma expulsions in France during the first quarter of 2013. Across all regions, more than 4.000 prople have been evicted from their settlements without any alternative housing. The AEDH and the LDH denounce this situation and call on the French government to change its policy towards Roma.

Report available on the latest census of forced evictions from settlements of migrant Roma in France, for 2013 first quarter

Philippe Goossens, a member of the AEDH board, very active on the Roma issue, combined the numbers of the eviction of Roma in France for the first quarter of this year 2013.

AEDH reaffirms that personal data protection is a fundamental right that must be strengthened

The European Parliament’s presentation of its 16 January 2013 draft report regarding the processing and free movement of personal data (General Data Protection Regulation) does take positive steps forward but there is still progress to be made. The upcoming adoption of the final amendments to this regulation provides an opportunity to do so.

Pinar Selek interviewed by AEDH on EU-Turkey Readmission Agreement

Pinar Selek is Turkish writer and sociologist in exile in France. She has recently been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Istambul Criminal Court for an attack... that did not occur. At the Bar de l’Europe on February 16, she shares her fighting for freedom and democracy.

AEDH comments on the Data Protection Day

The Data Protection Day is an opportunity for AEDH to underline the need not to derogate from the rule of the protection of private life and individual liberties constituted by the use of personal data for a specific purpose and for a limited storage period.

First thematic conference on the European Year of Citizens

AEDH participated on the 22nd and 23rd of January in Brussels at the first thematic conference on the European Year of Citizens.

Read more about the Alliancen for European Year of Citizens 2013 (EYC 2013 Alliance).

AEDH addresses an Open Letter to the Members of the European Parliament

On the 10th of December, the AEDH addresses an Open Letter to the MEPs, urging them not to sell asylum seekers’ rights cheaply in their project of reforming the Common European Asylum System.

Read here the Open Letter to the MEPs.

AEDH meets its Southern leagues in Barcelona

AEDH met on the 13th and 14th of December with its Soutern leagues in Barcelona, Spain, to discuss the human rights situation in times of crisis with a special focus on economic and social rights in Spain, Greece and Portugal.

Please click here to know more.

AEDH organises a conference at the European Parliament to talk about "Roma people in Europe in the 21st century: violence, exclusion, insecurity"

On the 4th December 2012, the AEDH organised a conference at the European Parliament in Brussels together with Mrs. Marie-Christine Vergiat, Member of the European Parliament (group GUE-NGL) and the informal group of European deputies ‘Friends of AEDH’.

Find here the program of the conference, the videos of the speakers and the AEDH report violence towards Roma people.

European Year of Citizens 2013: AEDH is taking action for citizenship!

EU has decided to put citizens at the core of the European Year 2013, to mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the European Union citizenship under the Maastricht treaty in 1993. AEDH takes this opportunity to join the Alliance for the European Year of Citizens 2013 (EYC 2013 Alliance) in order to elaborate and defend the proposals of European civil society on citizenship and present them to the European institutions and Member States, during events and meetings planned throughout the year.

AEDH in brief

The European Association for the defense of Human Rights (AEDH) gathers together leagues and associations defending Human Rights in European Union countries. It is a partner of the FIDH, the International Federation for Human Rights. Within a Europe where important choices concern more than 500 million people, we try to influence the institutions by taking position and promoting Human Rights.