2014 - Commissioner's Human Rights Comment
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Human Rights Comment

Protecting Children's Rights: Europe should do more

18/11/2014 Strasbourg

25 years of child rights protection Twenty-five years ago, on 20 November 1989, the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). It was a landmark development: for the first time, states recognised children as fully-fledged bearers of a range of human rights,...

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Human Rights Comment

Preserving Europe's social model

13/10/2014 Strasbourg

PRESERVING EUROPE’S SOCIAL MODEL As we enter the 7th year of the economic crisis, the end is not yet in sight. Worse, in most countries, the adoption of austerity measures has so far contributed little to recovery, but has exacerbated the dire living conditions of millions of people. Not...

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Human Rights Comment

LGBTI children have the right to safety and equality

02/10/2014 Strasbourg

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) children are often victims of bullying and violence in schools, at home and via social media. This has a serious effect on their well-being and prevents openness about their personal identity. Like all children, LGBTI [i] children are entitled to...

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Human Rights Comment

Missing persons in Europe: the truth is yet to be told

28/08/2014 Strasbourg

Tens of thousands of persons remain missing and still haunt Europe decades after the demise of dictatorships and the end of armed conflicts. For example, Spain has yet to come to terms with its past and shed light on the fate of more than 150 000 persons who remain missing as a result of the...

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Human Rigths Comment

Maintain universal access to health care

07/08/2014 Strasbourg

Universal access to health care has been undermined by austerity measures and the economic crisis. Cuts in health services and difficult economic and social conditions are beginning to have a measurable impact on the health of the population in many countries. Yet the right to health is...

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Human Rights Comment

Fighting violence against women must become a top priority

29/07/2014 Strasbourg

On August 1, the Istanbul Convention, a landmark treaty of the Council of Europe dedicated to preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, will enter into force. It could not come at a better time. Violence against women remains one of the most widespread human rights...

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Human Rights Comments

Protect women’s rights during the crisis

10/07/2014 Strasbourg

Women and men entered the economic crisis on an unequal footing. The crisis and resulting austerity measures have hit women disproportionately and endangered the progress already made in the enjoyment of human rights by women. A gender-sensitive response is necessary to halt and reverse this...

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Human Rights Comment

Youth human rights at risk during the crisis

03/06/2014 Strasbourg

Young people have been one of the groups hardest hit by the economic crisis in Europe, with youth unemployment being the most common pathology of many countries implementing austerity measures. However, it is not only the social and economic rights of young people that are being undermined, but...

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Human Rights Comment

A boy or a girl or a person – intersex people lack recognition in Europe

09/05/2014 Strasbourg

On 1 March, Fox News presenter Clayton Morris had to apologise for his ‘ignorant and stupid’ comments mocking the new gender options for Facebook profiles which allow users to register as intersex. The TV presenter had ridiculed the move of the social media company referring to intersex by saying...

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Human Rights Comment

Protecting children’s rights in the digital world: an ever-growing challenge

29/04/2014 Strasbourg

Protecting children’s rights in the digital world: an ever-growing challenge Most teenagers spend a substantial share of their time on Internet, often using social media, which have become a major means of socialising. Growing access to the Internet has brought about almost unlimited...

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Human Rights Comment

Hate speech against women should be specifically tackled

06/03/2014 Strasbourg

In May 2013, a campaign led notably by Women, Action and the Media and the Everyday Sexism Project attracted global public attention to the issue of social media content promoting violence against women. Such content included the photograph of a well-known singer with a bloodied and beaten face...

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Human Rights Comment

Police abuse – a serious threat to the rule of law

25/02/2014 Strasbourg

Far too often, police officers in many European countries resort to excessive use of force against protesters, mistreat persons in detention, target minorities and otherwise engage in misconduct. This undermines public trust in the state, social cohesion, and effective law enforcement, which...

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Human Rights Comment

Europe still haunted by antisemitism

23/01/2014 Strasbourg

More than 70 years after the Holocaust, antisemitism is growing in Europe. While official statistics are missing in many countries, research shows that deeply ingrained hostility continues to threaten Jewish people’s security and human dignity across Europe. Today’s antisemitism finds its way...

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Human Rights Comment

Sex-selective abortions are discriminatory and should be banned

15/01/2014 Strasbourg

Selective abortions of female foetuses are well known from China and India, but they are common in some parts of Europe, too. This deeply discriminatory practice springs from the disadvantaged status of women in society. It must be vigorously countered and banned in law. In Council of Europe...

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