Photo Credit: UN Photo/Manuel Elías Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), made a legitimacy dash to Seville in Spain last week, to attend a UN international development summit, the first of its kind in a decade. Addressing the conference, he made sweeping claims about Sudan’s important steps toward ‘civilian-led democratic transition’, claims…
Human Rights
Little Progress in Combatting Roma Attacks
Photo by Michael Schmid on Unsplash The Roma Foundation for Europe has condemned what it claims is a sharp rise in racist attacks and discrimination against Roma and Sinti in Germany, calling it a test of political will and journalistic responsibility. The Foundation’s attack follows the latest annual report by Germany’s Anti-ziganism Reporting and Information…
Expat Rights
MEP Demands Ban on Hungary Extraditions
Collapse of the World Order
The current international peace system is outdated and ineffective, says Oleksandra Matviichuk, a Ukrainian human rights lawyer and 2022 Nobel Peace Prize co-recipient. Speaking in London last week to highlight the urgent need for justice and accountability, she said “We are witnessing the collapse of the world order before our eyes.” She told this site, “The…
Commission Urged to Rethink Embargo Policy
Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash Brussels-based foreign correspondents association API-IPA says it has taken note of the European Commission’s formal reply to a case involving the European Ombudsman. The case concerns how the European Commission dealt with the request by a journalist working at a news agency to be added to a mailing list…
Hungary Criticised for Strangling Free Speech
MEPs have attacked the failure of EU member states to take action against Hungary over its alleged curbs on freedom pf speech. LGBTQ+ rights have been under attack in Hungary and, at the European Council meeting on the Article 7 procedure, Member States are said to have failed to take any decisions. This has been…
EU-Wide Journalism Award Launched
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash The fifth edition of the Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism has been launched. It is run the European Parliament and seeks to reward top quality journalism. The idea is to recognise journalists who promote or defend the core principles and values of the European Union. These are said…
Brussels Think Tank Fights for Free Speech
A debate at a leading Brussels hotel had to be rearranged after what the organisers called a “cowardly” attack. The discussion about the new Donald Trump era and geopolitics was due to be held at the Stanhope hotel near the city’s EU Quarter on Wednesday evening. But, after eggs were thrown at the hotel,…
EU Increases Aid to Caribbean and Latin America
Photo by Richard Lu on Unsplash The European Commission says it will provide €120 million in new humanitarian aid to several Latin American and Caribbean countries this year. This, it says, is to help the region’s most vulnerable, in view of the recent natural disasters and armed conflicts. Part of the aid will also bolster…