Taiwan cannot be absent from the global fight against transnational crime

Taiwan serves as key geopolitical hub in East and Southeast Asia, and Taiwan can help make a safer World, writes Huang Ming-chao. The World Drug Report 2018 published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) pointed out that North America, East Asia and Southeast Asia are key regions in the production and…

Religious Minorities Under Threat in China

Rights organisations have made a fresh and damning condemnation of China’s human rights record. This comes after what is said to be a big upswing in persecution of religious minorities in the country. Speaking in the European Parliament in Brussels, Anna Hill, of Open Doors International, said that China had risen to number 27 on…

Finance Sector Mobilizes Against Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking

The Financial Sector Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking has released its final report, “Unlocking Potential: A Blueprint for Mobilizing Finance Against Slavery and Trafficking,” during the United Nations General Assembly in New York.  With the release of the report, the Liechtenstein Initiative launches Finance Against Slavery and Trafficking, a project based at the United Nations…

Will Kövesi be appointed as EU Public Prosecutor, despite the strong public opposition against her candidature?

Parliament and Council negotiators agreed on appointing Laura Codruţa Kövesi, MEPs’ preferred choice to be the first head of the new EU Public Prosecutor’s Office. The negotiations between the European Parliament and the Council on the new European Chief Prosecutor to lead the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) have been ongoing since last spring. Parliament’s…

European Prosecutor’s Office: Should Laura Kövesi remain the top candidate?

Last week, the majority of EU countries’ ambassadors voted to support Romania’s former anti-corruption prosecutor Laura Codruta Kovesi to be the EU’s first public prosecutor but should she be the final choice of the EU Council and the European Parliament? asks Oliver Pahnecke. This question needs to be raised in light of information that shows…

Decision-makers and civil society join forces to forge an EU that works for people

Civil society organisations, decision-makers and other stakeholders are gathering in Helsinki, Finland today [16 September] to participate in Social Platform’s second annual ‘Building Social Europe’ Flagship Conference. The Flagship Conference, organised in cooperation with the Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, focuses on two central themes: participatory democracy and civil society’s role in the…

Founders of Georgian London-listed bank consider taking case to Strasbourg

The legal team representing the founders of JSC TBC Bank, Mamuka Khazarade and Badri Japaridze, held a press conference in Tbilisi stating that they already have enough evidence to bring a case at the European Court of Human Rights regarding the treatment of Khazaradze and Japaridze. One of the lawyers, Zviad Kordzadze, added that two…

Major Green success: Commission recommends revolution in combating anti-money laundering

While the newly elected Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is still busy with recruiting members for her college, the existing EU Commission outlined future priorities in the field of anti-money laundering (AML). The ne Communication ‘Towards a better implementation of the EU’s AML/CTF framework’ gives an overview of the four reports published this week…

The Council of Europe Lifts Sanctions against Russia Disregarding Human Rights

On Tuesday (25 June), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) lifted sanctions against the Russian delegation, a decision correctly named by some media as a “moral victory of the Kremlin.” The Ukrainian delegation walked out in protest and slammed the decision as an “unacceptable concession to Russia”, write Aaron Rhodes and Willy…