Brussels, 25/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - In a press release published on Monday 24 March, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRM) expressed its fears that the new European neighbourhood policy (ENP) developed after the Arab Spring, had “failed to effectively support civil society and allow it to take part in the crucial democratic transition process”.
This position comes at the very moment that the EU is finalising an assessment report on its action in this area. Official Commission sources have said that the report will focus on the comprehensive country-by-country assessments and will be published on Thursday 27 March. The EMHRM sounded the alarm and said that it had serious concerns about the challenges facing civil society in the countries concerned.
According to its own assessment, the EMHRM considers that “human rights activists are regularly harassed, threatened and sometimes pursued in the courts and the laws and practices relating to these organisations are becoming increasingly restrictive”. It added that “public meetings and demonstrations criticising the authorities are perceived as security threats. Recent events in Egypt, Syria, Libya and Algeria are testimony to the worrying escalation in human rights violations, which do not bode well for activists in the region”. The EU is being called on to step up its commitment to “enhancing its so-called 'more for more' policy and placing freedom of association, meeting and expression, as well as women's rights and the promotion of justice, at the heart of its relations with southern neighbourhood countries”. (FB)