In a move that defies logic, EU foreign ministers this week scrapped the EU's one remaining sanction against Uzbekistan – a purely symbolic embargo on arms sales – despite Tashkent's defiance of the human-rights criteria the EU had set for its lifting.
When it comes to Kosovo, EU states seem to agree on one thing - that it is time for those who fled war and persecution to go home. In the 30 months to July 2009, western Europe deported 14,862 Kosovars.
The return of one man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing to Libya, where he got a hero's welcome, has caused an international outcry while the return of hundreds of boat migrants to Libya, where they face certain detention and probable brutal mistreatment, causes nary a peep.
African immigrants who attempt the dangerous boat journey across the Mediterranean to Italy face a double dose of hardship. Since May, if their vessels are intercepted by the Italian authorities, they have been summarily returned to Libya, where migrants typically suffer widespread mistreatment.
The Léger Committee, tasked with drawing the outlines of a broad reform to criminal procedure and which issued its final report on September 1, has recommended narrow adjustments to the rights of those held in police custody that neither go far enough nor apply to everyone.
Natalia Estemirova was Chechnya's great champion of human rights until her kidnap and murder last month. On the 40th day after her death, her friend Tanya Lokshina of Human Rights Watch commemorates a uniquely courageous and selfless woman.
After almost a decade of dismay at U.S. policy, it was wonderful for those of us in Europe who work on women's rights to witness the U.S. Secretary of State stand up in Congress and say, "We happen to think that family planning is an important part of women's health," and, "Keeping women and men in ignorance and denied access to services actually increases the rate of abortion."
The European Commission's pressure on Italy to report on its forced - and reportedly brutal - return of migrants to Libya is welcome. But the statement by Jacques Barrot, the Commission's vice-president, that these were isolated incidents unlikely to be repeated, because the Libya-Italy agreement will mean "fewer illegal migrants coming in", is cause for concern.
In a move that defies logic, EU foreign ministers this week scrapped the EU's one remaining sanction against Uzbekistan – a purely symbolic embargo on arms sales – despite Tashkent's defiance of the human-rights criteria the EU had set for its lifting.
When it comes to Kosovo, EU states seem to agree on one thing - that it is time for those who fled war and persecution to go home. In the 30 months to July 2009, western Europe deported 14,862 Kosovars.
The return of one man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing to Libya, where he got a hero's welcome, has caused an international outcry while the return of hundreds of boat migrants to Libya, where they face certain detention and probable brutal mistreatment, causes nary a peep.
African immigrants who attempt the dangerous boat journey across the Mediterranean to Italy face a double dose of hardship. Since May, if their vessels are intercepted by the Italian authorities, they have been summarily returned to Libya, where migrants typically suffer widespread mistreatment.
The Léger Committee, tasked with drawing the outlines of a broad reform to criminal procedure and which issued its final report on September 1, has recommended narrow adjustments to the rights of those held in police custody that neither go far enough nor apply to everyone.
Natalia Estemirova was Chechnya's great champion of human rights until her kidnap and murder last month. On the 40th day after her death, her friend Tanya Lokshina of Human Rights Watch commemorates a uniquely courageous and selfless woman.
After almost a decade of dismay at U.S. policy, it was wonderful for those of us in Europe who work on women's rights to witness the U.S. Secretary of State stand up in Congress and say, "We happen to think that family planning is an important part of women's health," and, "Keeping women and men in ignorance and denied access to services actually increases the rate of abortion."
The European Commission's pressure on Italy to report on its forced - and reportedly brutal - return of migrants to Libya is welcome. But the statement by Jacques Barrot, the Commission's vice-president, that these were isolated incidents unlikely to be repeated, because the Libya-Italy agreement will mean "fewer illegal migrants coming in", is cause for concern.
The Greek government has come up with a novel solution to a growing backlog of asylum appeals: Abolish appeals. No backlog. No Problem.