Europe rights commissioner criticizes Germany-Kosovo repatriation agreement
Council of Europe Commissioner on Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg on Thursday criticized an agreement reached Wednesday between Germany and Kosovo that would return to Kosovo thousands of refugees who fled to Germany during the 1998-1999 Kosovo War...
The top rights official at the Council of Europe on Monday rejected the notion of banning Muslim burqa and niqab garments. Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg noted in a...
Council of Europe presses for rights court reform to ease backlog
The Council of Europe (COE) reached a joint declaration Friday to undertake reforms of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) by the end of 2011 in order to address the...
France minister proposes bill to restrict illegal immigration
French Immigration Minister Eric Besson on Friday presented a bill that would create "transit zones" allowing the French government to immediately detain undocumented immigrants wherever they are found. According to Besson, the draft law [Le...
Europe court rules sex trafficking violates human rights convention
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled Thursday that sex trafficking violates conventions against slavery and forced labor, finding both Russia and Cyprus liable in the case of a young woman who...
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov agreed Saturday to consider accepting one Guantanamo Bay detainee after a request from the Obama administration, though the Bulgarian Parliament would...
The Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of the Interior announced Friday that the country will accept two Syrian Guantanamo Bay detainees in order to aid US...
Irish Justice Minister Dermot Ahern announced Wednesday that Ireland will accept two detainees being released from the US prison facility at Guantanamo Bay . The detainees will not be admitted as refugees, but...
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said Tuesday that the Netherlands would be willing to consider accepting Guantanamo Bay detainees, despite earlier statements to the contrary. Meeting with US President Barack Obama ...
Spain will consider accepting four Guantanamo Bay detainees at the request of the US government, foreign minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said Wednesday. Before Spain responds to the request, Moratinos said that the...
