2020

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09 April 2020

CoE: Algorithms and automation: new guidelines to prevent human rights breaches

"The Council of Europe today called on its 47 member States to take a precautionary approach to the development and use of algorithmic systems and adopt legislation, policies and practices that fully respect human rights."

09 April 2020

Council of the European Union: Labour migration as a basis for partnerships with third countries ? Presidency discussion paper

"Migration is a human and global phenomenon that will continue to be one of the central topics on the political agenda in the EU since the geopolitical circumstances in its closer and wider neighbourhood are becoming ever more complex"

09 April 2020

Is the ‘war on Covid-19’ morphing into a war on the poor?

"The pandemic is revealing the ways in which global health outcomes are shaped by race, class and indignity.(...)"

09 April 2020

Council of Europe anti-torture Committee publishes report on Greece

"To this end, the report describes the critical findings from the visits undertaken to the two largest remand prisons in the country in Athens and Thessaloniki and to three new prisons for sentenced prisoners as well as the Korydallos Prison Health Centre (former prison hospital). The report also makes a series of recommendations challenging the current approach towards the management of prisons."

08 April 2020

EU: Love thy neighbour? Coronavirus politics and their impact on EU freedoms and rule of law in the Schengen Area

"Restrictions on international and intra-EU traffic of persons have been at the heart of the political responses to the coronavirus pandemic. Border controls and suspensions of entry and exist have been presented as key policy priorities to prevent the spread of the virus in the EU. These measures pose however fundamental questions as to the raison d’être of the Union, and the foundations of the Single Market, the Schengen system and European citizenship. They are also profoundly intrusive regarding the fundamental rights of individuals and in many cases derogate domestic and EU rule of law checks and balances over executive decisions"

07 April 2020

CoE: Respecting democracy, rule of law and human rights in the framework of the COVID-19 sanitary crisis

"The toolkit is designed to help ensure that measures taken by member states during the current crisis remain proportional to the threat posed by the spread of the virus and are limited in time."

07 April 2020

European Parliament: Draft report: on the draft Council implementing decision on the launch of automated data exchange with regard to dactyloscopic data in the United Kingdom

Rapporteur Juan Fernando López Aguilar: "1.Rejects the Council draft; 2.Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments."

07 April 2020

Hungary: Law to fight coronavirus creates 'uncertainty' for journalists (DW, link)

"These are turbulent times in Hungary, with a single political decision receiving massive international attention. It's not the first time Hungary has been in the headlines for government decrees that have raised eyebrows nationally and internationally. Prime Minister Viktor Orban has freely described his understanding of democracy as "illiberal," and refers to his decisions as "unorthodox.""

07 April 2020

EU: The EU Integrated Political Crisis Response Arrangements

Operational Conclusions - IPCR Roundtable 25 March 2020 - COVID-19

06 April 2020

Coronavirus: Call for single EU tracking app with data protection

"Europe's data protection watchdog has called for a single coronavirus app to be used across the EU, instead of every country making its own."

06 April 2020

Ministers of justice stressed that any extraordinary measures should be in line with the fundamental values of the EU

"At the initiative of the Minister of Justice, Mr Dražen Bošnjakovic, a video conference of the Ministers of Justice of the EU Member States was held. The European Commissioner for Justice, Mr Didier Reynders, also participated."

06 April 2020

CoE: COVID-19 pandemic: urgent steps are needed to protect the rights of prisoners in Europe

"Convicted prisoners and persons on remand are among those most vulnerable to viral contagion as they are held in a high-risk environment: in general, detention facilities are not adapted to face large-scale epidemics, and the basic protective measures such as social distancing and hygiene rules cannot be observed as easily as outside, exposing prisoners to greater health risks."

06 April 2020

UK: Monitoring and surveillance at work - a practical guide for trade union reps

The use of algorithms to assess workers’ output has led to cases of them being reprimanded for not keeping to strict schedules without any human interaction taking place. Recently Barclays bank found itself in a media storm after it used a software pilot that tracked when employees were away from their desk, how much time they spent on various tasks and that even sent warning messages if they were deemed not to be working hard enough.

06 April 2020

Racial injustice in the Covid-19 response

"This live position paper provides an overview of the risks and impact of COVID-19 on racial inequalities within the UK. It outlines an urgent call to action, including specific recommendations for civil society and its funders, to put BAME communities at the heart of their response to ensure it addresses root issues and maximises impact. If you are working across any of the principles or issues we have highlighted, please let us know. You can contact us through charitysowhite@gmail.com and a member of our team will get back to you."

06 April 2020

EU: Joint statement on the principles of the rule of law in times of Covid-19

"Statement by Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden"

06 April 2020

Coronavirus: Call for single EU tracking app with data protection (1)

"Europe's data protection watchdog has called for a single coronavirus app to be used across the EU, instead of every country making its own. Several countries are developing tracking apps, but privacy advocates warn of the dangers they might pose."

06 April 2020

Ministers of justice stressed that any extraordinary measures should be in line with the fundamental values of the EU (1)

"Representatives of the European Commission and Member States discussed the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the judiciary. They also exchanged information on measures taken by Member State's governments to prevent its spread. "

03 April 2020

Greece/Turkey: Asylum-seekers and migrants killed and abused at borders

"In the midst of violence at the Greek-Turkish border, at least two men were killed and a woman remains missing after Greek border forces reportedly fired live ammunition and tear gas against asylum-seekers and migrants."

02 April 2020

EU: Passenger Name Record (PNR): Commission closes eight infringement proceedings for failure to transpose passenger surveillance rules

"The European Commission closes today [2 April 2020] infringement procedures against eight Member States as they transposed EU rules on Passenger Name Record data into national law."

 

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