Human Rights

UK Court: “Right to Rent” Law Violates ECHR

March 07, 2019

The UK High Court has declared that a UK law requiring landlords to confirm the lawfulness of prospective tenants’ presence in Britain is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, race, and national origin.
ECtHR: French Failure to Provide Care Violated Migrant Child’s Rights

March 06, 2019

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that the failure of French authorities to care for a 12-year-old Afghan national who lived unlawfully in a migrant camp in Calais for six months amounted to “inhuman or degrading treatment” in violation of European human rights law.
ECtHR: UK Counter-terror Legislation Violated Rights

March 06, 2019

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that UK counter-terrorism legislation - amended in 2014 - giving authorities the power to stop and question passengers arriving at ports of entry without any suspicion of involvement in terrorism had not been sufficiently circumscribed and did not contain enough legal safeguards against its abuse.
EU Body Calls for Bloc-wide Minimum Income

March 05, 2019

In February, the European Economic and Social Committee adopted an opinion calling on the European Commission to establish a “binding EU framework” mandating a “decent minimum income for all EU citizens,” with adjustments based on the standard of living in each country.
CoE Official Calls for French Review of Treatment of “Yellow Vests”

March 04, 2019

Council of Europe (CoE) Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović has called on French authorities to review their police procedures in responding to the “yellow vest” protesters to ensure they comply with obligations to respect human rights during protests and refrain from restricting the freedom of peaceful assembly.
AU Opposes EU Plan for Extraterritorial Migrant Processing

March 01, 2019

The Guardian reports that a leaked paper from the African Union (AU) shows the multilateral organization is seeking to dissuade coastal African countries from participating in an EU plan to establish migrant processing centers in their territories, finding such a scheme would violate the international human rights agenda.
Facebook Pledges Opening of Political Ads to External Analysis

February 22, 2019

Facebook has responded to pressure from campaign groups by promising to open its online platform to external analysis of the ways in which it allows users to target political advertising in the EU.
CoE Committee Calls for Public Media Financing

February 20, 2019

The Council of Europe’s (CoE) Committee of Ministers has called on CoE members to “ensure the financial sustainability of quality journalism,” including through such means as government financial support, while also avoiding constraints on the media’s “editorial and operational independence.”
ECtHR: Conviction of Romanian Pastors Violated Rights

February 20, 2019

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that Romania had violated the rights to religious freedom of two pastors the country’s courts had convicted of “unlawful exercise of pastoral duties” for conducting religious services without approval from their respective churches.
EU Institutions Agree to Standards for Flexible Labor Contracts

February 14, 2019

EU institutions have agreed to legislation requiring companies across the bloc to provide “more transparent and predictable working conditions” through new minimum standards for labor contracts, especially for those in “flexible employment relations,” as part of the EU’s Pillar of Social Rights.