Human Rights in Europe

In this second interview, we remeet with Sergej Stoma from the Diversity Development Group to discuss two important court rulings in Lithuania following the European Court of Justice ruling we spoke about in the first episode of this series. What does the future for migrants entering Lithuania look like? Listen to find out.

In our interview with Sergej Stoma from the Diversity Development Group in Lithuania, we explore the reasons behind illegal migrant pushbacks and deportation at the Lithuanian border, especially to Belarus. What is the judiciary behind this and how did it come about? In this first episode, we seek to understand the dynamics of the situation better and reflect on the European Court of Justice‘s evaluation of it. In our second episode (to be published next week) we update on recent judiciary happenings, more specifically court decisions, and evaluate what this may mean for migrants entering Lithuania in the future.

Together with Member of the European Parliament Niklas Nienaß we are exploring the European Union’s recently adopted and by the European Court of Justice newly validated conditionality mechanism on the rule of law. How does it work? What are the underlining power plays between European Institutions from the mechanism‘s initial proposal, over adoption and validation to implementation? How effective will it be? Ultimately, what we all want to know: Does it represent a solution to all current and future rule of law breaches in the EU, such as currently in Hungary and Poland?

Listen in to get an insight into above questions.

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Welcome to our first episode of our podcast series on care worker rights in Europe. In this episode we speak about the rights of care and health workers in Italy. In one of the countries with the oldest population in the world, working conditions in care homes are highly precarious and care work does not receive the appropriate recognition. COVID-19 has not only raised attention to the issue but also exacerbated working conditions for many care and health workers. Listen to our podcast with Debora Del Pistoia from Amnesty Italy to find out what Amnesty Italy is asking to change in order to create a sustainable care system for both patients and workers.

Please sign Amnesty Italy’s petition here: https://www.amnesty.it/appelli/firma-diritto-salute-anziani-case-di-riposo/

Welcome to the fourth and final episode of Abortion Rights in Europe. Today, we will be shedding light on the situation in Slovakia. The Slovakian government has frequently engaged in attempts to rollback abortion rights, which has been rejected each time only by a narrow majority in Parliament. This November, there was a 19th attempt to pass a draconian abortion bill which would have dangerous and discriminatory effects for all sexual and reproductive rights in Slovakia.

In our conversation with Daniela Muzikova, the Social Media Coordinator of Amnesty Slovakia, we will discuss the current legislative framework in Slovakia that addresses accesses to abortion, the recent attempts to rollback this framework and how these restrictions would ultimately change the lives of all women in Slovakia.

In this episode, we take apart the legislative situation on abortion in Germany. While abortion is allowed it is not decriminalised. In our discussion with Raphaela Rains from the TekoMaf, a women‘s rights section of Amnesty International in Germany, we speak about the rather paternal abortion rules that exist in Germany. After all, Article 2018 that regulates abortion can be found in the German Criminal Code. ‚What is it doing there and what does it exactly say?‘ Listen to answers to this and other burning questions such as ‚What kind of process do women undergo when seeking abortion in Germany and how does it affect them?‘ Will the recent change in government have any influence in liberating abortion in Germany?‘ in our podcast.

In late 2021, as winter approached, a new crisis unfolded at the Polish/Belarusian border. Large groups of migrants were trapped between the two countries in horrendous conditions with little food or water. It has been reported by Amnesty International that Polish forces have engaged in illegal pushbacks of migrants on the border, thereby violating the principle of non-refoulement under public international law. The Polish government has imposed a state of emergency on the Belarusian border, severely restricting media, and humanitarian access to the border zone.

In this episode, we discuss the continuing situation on the Polish/Belarusian border with Kalina Czwarnóg of Fundacja Ocalenie, as well as the nature of the right to asylum, the response of the European Union, and most importantly, what we can do to help the situation.

Copy Right of the cover art: STR/NurPhoto 

In our second episode on abortion rights in Europe, Natalia, Justina and Kinga from the Abortion Dream Team talk about their work and experiences as abortion activists in Poland. We take a look at the current reality of abortion law and opportunities for pregnant people in Poland and discuss the case of the 30-year-old Izabela, who died as a result of her difficult pregnancy and who was refused treatment following the abortion ban. We ask ourselves how the abortion law could develop into this precarious situation and consider the situation in Poland in an international comparison of women's rights.

What are the recent developments regarding reproductive rights in Europe? One year after the extremely restrictive decision of the Polish Constitutional Court on abortion rights, we discuss this question with Irène Tolleret, member of the European parliament (Renew). Also, we talk about the role of digital influences and sexual education. What is needed to make the slogan “my body - my rights” come true for all women* in Europe?

This is the kick-off session of our new podcast series on abortion rights. Stay tuned for the next episode.

The LGBTI community in Hungary is going through a difficult time. A new law was introduced in June this year. The amendments within the law require that all media content that “propagates homosexuality or portrays it” shall not be shown to children under the age of 18, and commercials that show “diversion from one’s biological sex, change of gender, propagates or portrays homosexuality” shall not be made accessible to children.
We discuss the new developments with Amnesty International Hungary Director Dávid Vig and Programme Director Áron Demeter.

Editor´s note: The slogan of the campaign has been decided since recording: It is #LGBTIRightsAreHumanRights

In this episode our group´s Poland expert Dagny talks about the current human rights situation in Poland, focusing mostly on the recent protests and the government reaction to them, as well as the cause of the protest: the severe restrictions to women´s rights, above all of abortion, which is now effectively banned completely. 

In this episode we review human rights in 2020 and give a preview of what to expect in 2021. The main topics are Poland, Hungary, police violence and minority rights. 

This week the Hungarian government passed laws that severely restrict the rights of LGBTI, including banning them from adopting children.
We react to these developments and give insights to what Amnesty has done to stop this and what happens now. 

We talked to two human rights activists from Hungary about the current situation, covering among others discrimination against LGBTI and Roma, the situation of youths and what needs to change.