Human Rights

Iran is facing the most serious challenge to the regime in years. Unprecedented protests, a collapsing economy, and a brutal crackdown are pushing the system to its limits. What is happening on the ground, why this protest cycle is different, and what Europe must now do: we asked three questions to Hannah Neumann, Green MEP and Chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation for relations with Iran.

Over a quarter of the world’s population has no safe access to drinking water. To improve this situation, the United Nations has declared water a human right: it must be safe to drink and accessible to all. Decisive political action is required to prevent such well-intentioned efforts from faltering.

The externalisation of migration and asylum management by the EU raises numerous ethical, legal and operational questions. Externalisation agreements exacerbate the vulnerabilities of displaced people in search for safety, as they force them to resort to smuggling or trafficking rings. This dossier by the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung's Thessaloniki office provides the space for this timely discussion on the intersection between human rights and foreign and security policy and its expression in terms of migration policies globally.

From 2024 to 2027, Egypt is slated to receive more EU aid than any other country, under a migration agreement which aims to prevent the arrival of refugees and migrants into the European Union.

In 2023, Javier Milei, a self-described “anarcho-capitalist” surprised Argentina’s political establishment and won the presidential elections. He’s an admirer of US President-elect Donald Trump and of tech mogul Elon Musk, and his political platform is characterised by hash austerity and a very conservative social agenda. Using the rulebook of other illiberal regimes throughout the world when it comes to political communications and dealing with pluralism, his style and policies are making waves worldwide. What is going on in Argentina and what are the implications for human rights, digital rights and the environment?

The 2025 Anne Klein Women’s Award goes to the Belarusian feminists and women’s rights activists Darya Afanasieva, Irina Alkhovka and Julia Mickiewicz. All three, the women’s and human rights activist Irina Alkhovka, the feminist blogger Darya Afanasieva and the feminist activist and politician Julia Mickiewicz, are victims of officially sanctioned persecution and repression, which has forced them into exile in Europe from where they are continuing their gender democratic activism.

Equitable access to land and fertile soil is fundamental to realising human rights, such as the right to food. Although numerous United Nations declarations on land rights have been ratified by national governments, deadly land conflicts persist throughout the world.

Azerbaijan has strengthened its energy ties with the EU since 2022, ramping up gas deliveries and articulating ambitions to export renewable energy and green hydrogen to Europe in the future. However, the EU’s shrinking gas demand and Azerbaijan’s lack of a genuine decarbonization strategy cast uncertainty on the long-term prospects of this partnership.

Externalisation is increasingly seen as a lever for solving the EU’s migration issues, yet poses serious legal, ethical and practical problems. 

Although Lebanon receives EU support to provide for Syrian refugees, they are increasingly being criminalized and deported. Less than a week after Commission President Von der Leyen’s visit in May, Lebanon issued new residence regulations that effectively block the pathways to legal residence. These new regulations were followed by deportations to Syria, which the EU does not consider safe for return. Instead of making support conditional on respect for the refugees’ human rights, the EU is turning a blind eye. 

The Italian Prime Minister has always claimed to be fighting against an alleged cultural hegemony of the left. And ever since she won the election, she has been trying to take over public broadcasters, museums, and theatres. The aim is to take control of the collective discourse and impose her own narrative. 

Slovakia's ruling nationalist-populist coalition plans to introduce controversial Hungarian-style NGO regulations, raising concerns about transparency and fears of increased bureaucracy and repression of civil society.  

In an extraordinary upsurge, millions of Germans have been demonstrating against the far right. The unexpected movement has shaken the AfD without seriously threatening it. But Germany's political landscape looks likely to change.  

The European Commission has signed a new agreement with Egypt. One of the aims is to reduce migration to Europe. But this will most likely not succeed.

Supporting a range of militias in the Middle East and providing weapons to Russia in its war against Ukraine, Iran is increasingly in the geopolitical spotlight. At the same time, Iranian women are still fighting for their rights, while legislative voting took place on 1 March 2024. So, we asked three questions to MEP Hannah Neumann (Greens/EFA), Chair of the EP Delegation for relations with the Arab Peninsula, Member of the EP Delegation for relations with Iran, as well as Standing Rapporteur on Iran, regarding how she sees EU-Iran relations moving forward.

On February 27 2024, the well-known Russian human rights activist Oleg Orlov, co-founder and long-time director of the Memorial human rights centre, was sentenced to two years and six months of prison Moscow and arrested in the courtroom - for "repeated discrediting of the Russian army."

The EU Commission, the European Parliament and EU Member States are negotiating a reform of the common asylum policy. The comprehensive reform package contains a large number of legislative proposals that would have massive consequences for asylum seekers.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted seventy-five years ago this week. In view of the crimes committed in Germany’s name and the Shoah, this anniversary presents the country with a particular challenge in this post-October 7 world.

The app"Aktiv1st" tracks the social media activity of Socialist Party members and supporters, rewarding them with points for all their likes and shares, and ranking them in a list to foster peer-to-peer competition.

Substances that are proven to present a particularly high level of acute or chronic risk to health or the environment are commonly referred to as Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs). Far too rarely are these substances withdrawn from circulation – especially in the Global South they cause great harm.