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In the midst of war, human rights and international law institutions have responded with unprecedented speed to the unfolding crisis, not least due to the strong engagement of the Ukraine government in multilateral fora. While these institutions can deliver little immediate relief for Ukraine citizens, the initiatives have important political functions: they show the political and legal alternatives to the logic of war chosen by the Russian government; they contribute to formalising international ...

Scarcity of medical equipment during the COVID-19 crisis, and the ensuing discussion on ‘reshoring’ certain industries back to Europe, have brought back an old dilemma. Namely, countries wish to be strategically independent while depending on products and resources from other countries to fulfil their economic needs. This reflects the debate about whether markets or governments are better at delivering solutions. We can also define this debate as a choice between ‘competitive capitalism’ and ‘strategic ...

The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / Vice-President designate of the European Commission, Josep Borrell, appeared before the European Parliament on 7 October 2019 to answer MEPs’ questions. During the hearing, he made a number of commitments which are highlighted in this document.

Short presentation of two Sakharov Prize Finalists 2017.

Euroopan unioni pitää ensisijaisen tärkeänä tukea demokratiaa maailman eri maissa. Demokratia on yhä ainoa hallintojärjestelmä, jossa ihmiset voivat täysin toteuttaa ihmisoikeuksiaan, ja myös kehityksen ja pitkän aikavälin vakauden kannalta määräävä tekijä. Ainoana suorilla vaaleilla valittuna EU:n toimielimenä Euroopan parlamentti on erityisesti sitoutunut edistämään demokratiaa.

Euroopan unioni on sitoutunut edistämään ulkosuhteissaan demokratiaa ja ihmisoikeuksia unionin perusperiaatteiden eli vapauden, demokratian, ihmisoikeuksien ja perusoikeuksien kunnioittamisen ja oikeusvaltion periaatteiden mukaisesti. Se pyrkii sisällyttämään ihmisoikeuskysymykset kaikkiin politiikkoihinsa ja ohjelmiinsa, ja sillä on useita ihmisoikeuspolitiikan välineitä eri toimia varten. Esimerkiksi yksittäisiä hankkeita voidaan rahoittaa unionin rahoitusvälineistä.

Amid stalled peace talks and a worsening humanitarian situation, the EU is working alongside the UN Special Envoy for Syria to engage key regional and international players and broker a return to the negotiating table. In parallel, an EU emergency humanitarian initiative for Aleppo has been launched to attempt to break the deadlock over humanitarian access and deliver aid to some of the 275 000 people in Aleppo and 13.5 million people across the country who are in desperate need of assistance.

Human rights have become an integral part of most donors' development cooperation. In addition to their intrinsic value, human rights are considered instrumental in achieving sustainable development. Implementing the international development goals related to civil and political rights and governance will be challenging. The EU has gradually refined its policy on integrating human rights into development cooperation. The EU approach includes imposing different forms of conditionality, supporting ...

Food security is a multilayered concept, covering availability, access, use and stability. It is recognised as a global public good. To be free from hunger and malnutrition is also a human right. Following the 2007/2008 food crisis, the international community committed to investing more in agriculture and to better governance. The MDG target to halve the proportion of hungry people was nearly achieved, but 795 million people remain undernourished. The Sustainable Development Goals include an ambitious ...