On 11 March, the World Health Organisation declared the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a global pandemic and called on states to take urgent measures to tackle it. This report covers 12 countries and exposes how the enforcement of the ‘lockdown measures’ adopted by many European states have...

Amnesty International sent a letter to the Council of Europe raising concerns about the treatment of Roma communities in Bulgaria and Slovakia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reports from Bulgaria and Slovakia indicate that respective governments have imposed measures, including mandatory...

Amnesty International sent a letter to the European Commission raising concerns about the treatment of Roma communities in Bulgaria and Slovakia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reports from Bulgaria and Slovakia indicate that respective governments have imposed measures, including mandatory...

Bulgaria and Slovakia have put a number of Roma settlements under compulsory quarantine, arguing that such measures are necessary for the protection of public health and safety. Amnesty International is seriously concerned about the implementation and enforcement of the quarantine measures. Any...

People’s rights are being violated by governments in Europe and Central Asia, who are cracking down on protests and seeking to erode the independence of the judiciary to avoid accountability, Amnesty International said today as it published its annual review of human rights in the region. The...

On International Roma Day this year, Amnesty International calls on the government of Slovakia to ensure that human rights are at the centre of any COVID-19 response measures. Amnesty International is seriously concerned that conducting targeted testing in Roma settlements without providing Roma...

The Slovak Parliament rejected a bill aimed at obstructing access to safe and legal abortion. If adopted, this bill would have undermined women’s privacy and autonomy and subjected them to harmful stigma, humiliation and degrading treatment.

Following a vote today rejecting a bill that would have forced women seeking an abortion to view an ultrasound scan of the embryo or foetus, Amnesty’s Senior Campaigner on Women’s Rights, Monica Costa Riba, said: “Today’s vote is a victory for women and for reproductive rights. By rejecting this...

Following a vote today rejecting a bill that would have forced women seeking an abortion to view an ultrasound scan of the embryo or foetus, Amnesty’s Senior Campaigner on Women’s Rights, Monica Costa Riba, said: “Today’s vote is a victory for women and for reproductive rights. By rejecting this...

Slovak MPs are debating a bill that aims to further restrict access to abortion. If passed, it would require women seeking abortion care to fulfil a number of mandatory requirements that are not justified by medical reasons and would undermine women’s privacy, personal integrity, autonomy in...

More than 30 organizations call on the Slovak legislators to reject a proposal currently in parliament that aims to further restrict access to abortion rights. The draft legislation would require women seeking abortion care to undergo a mandatory ultrasound scanning, to view and obtain the...

Amnesty International calls on the Slovak MPs to ensure that the legal and policy framework allows women and girls in the country to have access to safe abortion services, without barriers or restrictions, as required by international human rights law and standards. In line with the international...