June 2020
For me, June was all about "Women, Peace and Security" - read more in my newsletter!
The union is already the largest donor of humanitarian aid. In future, the EU will also have to finance reconstruction measures - and should use the funds strategically.
Today the fourth Syria donor conference is taking place. So far the EU has been on the sidelines in the Syrian war. For the euobserver I have written down why and how it has to change its approach.
But where does the EU stand when it comes to gender equality in its Foreign and Security Policy? Where and how can it improve? Together with my colleague Ernest Urtasun, I commissioned a study with the Centre for Feminist Foreign policy on exactly this topic. The result: there is a lot of room for improvement, and:
Libya is demoralised - and the EU is just watching. The refugee crisis continues and the Corona pandemic is exacerbating the dramatic situation. The German government had tried to fill the gaps. And is now facing the shattered remains of its initiative.
Maria Ressa, the editor-in-chief of the online portal "Rappler", is to spend 6 months behind bars for "defamation on the net". I spoke to her on Instagram about press freedom and the state of the demorcracy in the Philippines.
Two years after the murder of the columnist of the "Washington Post", Jamal Khashoggi, a sanction mechanism for human rights violators* is under discussion in the EU. This mechanism must be a top priority for the German Federal Government, which takes over the EU Council Presidency on 1 July.
In the shadow of the health crisis, a human rights crisis is unfolding. And that makes things even worse. To overcome the global #Corona crisis, we need to tackle both. That is why "Team Europe" must become "Team Human Rights". Spending billions is not enough.
Throughout the world, courageous people stand up for human rights and often risk their freedom, even their life. Human rights defenders should therefore be protected and should find easier refuge in the EU.
Today, EU Foreign Ministers will meet with US State Secretary Mike Pompeo. Last week, Donald Trump announced economic sanctions against officials of the International Criminal Court who are investigating potential war crimes by U.S. troops in Afghanistan. My statement:
Here you can read my written question regarding visa policy for human rights defenders.
