Brussels, 13/01/2003 (Agence Europe) - In a recent Memorandum to the Greek Presidency, Amnesty International calls on the EU to put human rights at the centre of its domestic and international policy.
Internationally, "the EU is making significant efforts to make its human rights policy more effective… And these efforts do produce steady progress in a number of respects. However, we see hardly any effect on some of the world's worst human rights crises, where the EU is not able or not prepared to put human rights at the heart of its efforts due to lack of political will and common focus", notes the human rights organisation in its Memorandum. Amnesty International singles out the conflicts in Russia, the Middle East, Columbia, the Congo and Nepal as priority areas, along with the death penalty, the connection between protecting human rights and terrorism and the reform of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. The human rights NGO notes that the EU will "continue to have to withstand the continuing attack by the US on achievements of international law and governance, and in particular on the International Criminal Court". Amnesty highlights the importance of the European Union police mission in Bosnia Herzegovina which will, it notes, help to conclude investigations into war crimes. Falling between he EU's domestic and external policies, Amnesty International asserts "there is a clear need to call for caution" in terms of the EU's plan to integrate the immigration problem in its relation with third countries, relations which might evolve in line with the extent to which the countries concerned cooperate over the issue.
According to the Memorandum, "the internal dimension of the Greek Presidency priorities aims to ensure freedom, security and justice to all, but the reality is likely to be more selective, if not downright restrictive". In terms of Europe, Amnesty International severely criticises "the EU's blind spot regarding observance of human rights within its own borders". Amnesty notes that AI's "regular reports on human rights in Europe" have met with a "deafening silence" from the EU. Amnesty also condemns repressive legislation justified as "counter-terrorism". With regard to the gradual adoption of a European asylum policy, Amnesty International asserts, "there is reason to fear that the spirit and the integrity of the Geneva Convention may be undermined by the outcome of ongoing negotiations on the "qualificative directive" defining the status of refugees. It is concerned that "the overall fight against "terrorism" may be used as a means to broaden the scope of provisions that exceptionally allow for exclusion or revocation of refugee status". In a similar vein, Amnesty warns that "forthcoming negotiations on the proposal for a directive on asylum procedures will end up as an "empty box", referring to national legislation on some of the most critical issues".