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Report
Mass protests in Europe provide hope as rights and judicial independence eroded
People’s rights are being violated by governments in Europe and Central Asia, who are cracking down on protests and seeking to erode the independence of the judiciary to avoid accountability, Amnesty International said today as it published its annual review of human rights in the region. The organization praised those brave people who took to the streets to defend their own and others’ rights but warned that governments continue to perpetrate human rights violations with impunity across the region. “In 2019, people in Europe and Central Asia were threatened, intimidated, prosecuted, subjected to excessive use of force by police, and…
April 16, 2020
Press Release
Romania: Rights groups submit legal challenge against ‘homophobic’ referendum
A planned referendum to change the definition of family in Romania’s constitution could lead to a breach of international human rights standards and increase homophobic discrimination in the country, said Amnesty International as it joined other rights groups in intervening in a case before the Romanian Constitutional Court. Amnesty International, together with ECSOL (European Commission on Sexual Orientation Law) and ILGA-EUROPE (European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association), will make legal submissions today on the constitutionality of the 7 October vote. The referendum could result in making it impossible to protect same-sex unions in the future. Currently, same-sex couples do not have…
September 14, 2018
Press Release
CIA rendition victims challenge Romania and Lithuania at Europe’s human rights court
Hearings being held today at the European Court of Human Rights in two crucial cases against Romania and Lithuania for complicity in the CIA-led rendition and secret detention programs represent a milestone in accountability, said Amnesty International.
June 28, 2016
Press Release
Amnesty International’s Annual State of the World Report Slams Governments, Including the U.S., for Global Assault on Freedoms
On the launch of its 2015 State of the World report, Amnesty International USA urged President Obama to use his last year in office to bring U.S. laws and policies in line with international human rights standards.
February 22, 2016
Press Release
Your rights in jeopardy, global assault on freedoms, warns Amnesty International
International protection of human rights is in danger of unravelling as short-term national self-interest and draconian security crackdowns have led to a wholesale assault on basic freedoms and rights, warned Amnesty International as it launched its annual assessment of human rights around the world. “Your rights are in jeopardy: they are being treated with utter contempt by many governments around the world,” said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
February 18, 2016
Report
Amnesty International State of the World 2015-2016
International protection of human rights is in danger of unravelling as short-term national self-interest and draconian security crackdowns have led to a wholesale assault on basic freedoms and rights, warned Amnesty International as it launched its annual assessment of human rights around the world. “Your rights are in jeopardy: they are being treated with utter contempt by many governments around the world,” said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
February 18, 2016
Report
State of the World 2014/2015
This has been a devastating year for those seeking to stand up for human rights and for those caught up in the suffering of war zones. Governments pay lip service to the importance of protecting civilians. And yet the world's politicians have miserably failed to protect those in greatest need. Amnesty International believes that this can and must finally change.
February 25, 2015
Report
Annual Report: Romania 2013
REPUBLIC OF ROMANIA Head of state Traian Băsescu Head of government Victor Ponta (replaced Mihai Răzvan Ungureanu) Police were alleged to have used arbitrary and disproportionate force during anti-austerity and anti-government demonstrations. Local authorities in the towns of Baia Mare and Piatra Neamț carried out large-scale forced evictions of Roma. The European Parliament called on Romanian authorities to open a new investigation into their involvement in the CIA-led rendition and secret detention programmes. Background The government fell twice in 2012. Following weeks of protests against austerity measures, the cabinet of Emil Boc (Democratic Liberal Party) resigned in February. In April,…
May 23, 2013
Press Release
Amnesty International Urges Romania To Come Clean Over Secret Prisons
The Romanian authorities must re-open an investigation into CIA secret detention centers on its territory, Amnesty International said today after new evidence of secret prisons was revealed by a German newspaper.
December 8, 2011
Press Release
Amnesty International Urges Romania to Provide Adequate Housing to Evicted Citizens
Contact: AIUSA media relations, 202-509-8194 (Washington, D.C.) – Romania's poorest and most disadvantaged citizens, the Roma, are in desperate need of adequate housing that they lack due to the country's legal system, Amnesty International said in a briefing published today. The briefing entitled, Mind the legal gap: Roma and the right to housing in Romania, documents the stories of Roma individuals and communities across the country and highlights the need for human rights reforms to housing laws. "Widespread intolerance and prejudice against Roma combined with the lack of adequate housing laws have given local officials carte blanche to openly discriminate…
June 23, 2011
Report
Romania legal system condemning Roma to poor housing
The right to adequate housing is a human right that everyone is entitled to without discrimination. However, in Romania, the right to housing is not effectively recognized or protected by national legislation. This often leaves people without access to justice for the human rights violations that they experience. In this document Amnesty International calls on the Romanian government to amend the Housing Law to bring it in line with international and European human rights standards. Local authorities are urged to stop all forced evictions.
June 23, 2011
Press Release
Serbia: Belgrade Authorities are Forcibly Evicting Roma Families
Amnesty International Press ReleaseFor Immediate ReleaseThursday, October 7, 2010Amnesty International Urges the Belgrade Authorities to Stop Forcibly Evicting Roma FamiliesContact: AIUSA media relations office, 202-509-8194(Washington, D.C.) --Amnesty International has urged the Belgrade authorities to stop forced evictions after Roma families, including 17 children and one pregnant woman, were evicted from their homes in the city. “These people are being forcibly evicted from their homes for the second time in less than 10 years and now they have nowhere to go,” said David Diaz-Jogeix, deputy director of Amnesty International’s Europe and Central Asia program.The 36 people were forcibly evicted from their…
March 27, 2011