US sanctions on the International Criminal Court aim to destroy it, grant impunity to perpetrators, & deny justice to victims of genocide, crimes against humanity, & war crimes The EU and its states must actively protect the Court by activating the EU Blocking Statute.

Families & communities of the disappeared face persistent human rights violations that do not cease until they find the whereabouts of the disappeared person. Crucial reading for EU & member state officials & all who care about human rights in Mexico.

Our calls to the EU? 👉Keep disappearances high on the EU & member state agenda with Mexico, from summits to HR dialogues 👉Lend full diplomatic & technical support to women searching for disappeared loved ones & to Mexico's protection mechanism for rights defenders to help them

📢 Amnesty International Mexico's Norma Gonzalez & Adriana Sánchez Gómez met EU & member state officials in Brussels. On the agenda: Mexico's crisis of disappearances. 133,000+ people are disappeared or missing in Mexico, affecting the disappeared, their families & communities.

👉Arbitrary & discriminatory detentions 👉Excessive and lethal use of force 👉Unlawful killings 👉Suppression of protests 👉Illegal surveillance 👉Detention conditions that should be investigated as torture, and 👉Possible forced disappearances. These are not isolated incidents.

The EU and its member states must 👉Act to protect Sudan's civilians 👉Engage external enablers of the conflict, including UAE 👉Work toward accountability 👉Stay connected with communities & support local responders

Read more here👇

CELAC and EU leaders must be clear. There can be no sustainable security, responsible value chains & sustainable development goals without human rights. Both sides must ➡️Commit to protect civic space & rule of law ➡️Act for mutual accountability in upholding rights commitments

EU member states & companies domiciled in their territory, must cease the purchase of coltan and gold from Rwanda – or processors & refineries from third countries that buy coltan & gold from suppliers in Rwanda – until the Rwandan gov't takes concrete action to end abuses.

The EU and its member states must press M23 to stop all abuses in mining sites it controls, including the Rubaya and Lomera mines. And press Rwanda to ensure Rwandans have no role in abusive mining operations – if they do, they should be investigated and held to account.

The plunder by M23 & Rwanda of DRC’s gold and coltan may amount to the war crime of pillage.

Our research details M23 abuses committed against miners in DRC including: 👉summary killings 👉torture & ill-treatment 👉arbitrary detention 👉forced labour & forced recruitment

Finally, human rights are under pressure externally AND internally. Authoritarianism is on the rise globally. The EU must stand up to rule of law violations, no matter which state commits them. And EU law itself must be human rights compliant and then duly enforced.

It is positive to hear the commitment to protecting equality. However, the Anti-Racism Strategy will only help eradicate racism if protection against discrimination is taken seriously across all fields of policymaking, including migration and (digital) security.