World

Troubling gap between EU promises and actions on human rights – report

Published

2 years ago

January 11, 2024

Troubling gap between EU promises and actions on human rights – report

The European Union “persistently failed” to act on its human rights commitments in 2023, Human Rights Watch said Thursday.

The watchdog’s latest annual report lists “repressive” migration policies, discrimination against marginalised communities and democratic backsliding by certain member states as some of the EU’s human rights shortcomings in 2023.

The bloc is also denounced for its “double standards” on foreign policy, as it endorses accountability for war crimes in Ukraine whilst shying away from similar efforts in Gaza. Such contradictions mar the EU’s “standing as a principled global actor,” the report says.

The highly-valued publication provides a barometer of respect for human rights across the world.

Human Rights Watch’s EU Advocacy Director Phillippe Dam pinned personal responsibility for the EU’s underperformance on human rights on Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“The EU is increasingly parking human rights to a lower level of engagement, or is, in fact, de-prioritising it,” Dam told Euronews.

“And of course, von der Leyen has a responsibility. Her contribution to the EU-Tunisia deal really puts human rights aside, but also in other international engagements, be it with the United Arab Emirates, the Philippines, or the conflict in Israel and Gaza.”

“We really hope that in the months left for this Commission, there will be efforts to put human rights back at the centre again.”

Euronews contacted the European Commission for comment, but they did not immediately respond.

EU reputation dragged down by ‘double standards’

Respect for human rights is one of the EU’s founding values. But the report denounces the current EU executive for prioritising trade, economic and political ties at the expense of human rights, and for failing to exert sufficient diplomatic pressure on states in the Persian Gulf, China and India to tackle abuses.

“The rest of the world sees this discrepancy, and it makes the EU perceived not as a principal international actor,” Dam explained, “but it also makes the EU less effective and less impactful in the world because human rights violators see that reality and they feel that they can also blackmail the EU in return.”

The report lists other glaring shortcomings in the bloc’s foreign policy efforts, such as its failed attempts at mediating the long-standing dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Baku’s military takeover of the region in September led to the forced displacement of its ethnic Armenian population.

Sudan, where a bloody civil war broke out last April, has also been neglected by the EU in 2023, the report says.

The New York-based watchdog has also consistently criticised the EU’s inaction on the hostilities in Israel and Gaza, which it says has exposed “biases and divisions” between European countries.

“The EU was right to strongly condemn the heinous attacks and the killings of hundreds of civilians in Israel by Hamas and other armed groups in October,” Dam said.

“But after three months of bloodshed in Gaza, it’s really shocking to us not to hear the European Union call for accountability for the investigation of the International Criminal Court,” he added.

It comes as a high-stakes lawsuit filed by South Africa kicks off Thursday at the Hague-based International Court of Justice, which will see Israel contest allegations of genocide. EU nations have so far refrained from expressing support for the case.

Migration policy under fire

Human Rights Watch also says the EU’s migration policies have contributed to “death, torture and abuse” in 2023, as the death toll of those trying to reach EU territory by sea reached more than 2,500.

The bloc’s controversial deal with Tunisia to curb the number of migrants embarking on the dangerous route to Europe across the Mediterranean is lambasted as a “failed approach.” The agreement was signed last July with Tunisia’s President Saied, despite widely-documented evidence of his authorities’ abusive treatment of sub-Saharan migrants, including illegal pushbacks, racial hatred and human rights violations.

Dam told Euronews he fears mainstream political parties’ divisive rhetoric on migration could fuel polarisation ahead of the upcoming European elections.

“Mainstream political parties do not have the courage to tell their voters that there are ways to have migration policies that respect the human rights of migrants (…) to regain control and borders while at the same time protecting the rights of asylum and ensuring accountability when migrants’ rights are under attack.” he explained.

Migration is set to be a defining issue in the electoral campaign before Europeans head to the polls in June.

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World

Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war

Published

9 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war

From being just a fringe risk, conflict in the Middle East has become a top worry for investors unsettled by the prospect of a power struggle in Iran and a protracted regional war, with ramifications for everything from global trade to inflation.

World

Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’

Published

10 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’

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The past 48 hours in Tel Aviv have been unlike anything seen before, a leading security analyst has said, as sirens blared amid missile threats following Operation Epic Fury and U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran.

“We are facing a biblical event — nothing less,” Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital, speaking from his shelter in the city.

Like many Israelis, Michael said he had spent hours in reinforced rooms during the ongoing barrage, adding that he was “very experienced in this.”

“But this all requires time and determination, and I do hope that Trump will also have them both,” he said, speaking shortly after the president released a video message stating that the military operation would continue “until all of our objectives are achieved.”

Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system over Tel Aviv. (JACK GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)

“Trump is the only one who can make the change — and that change will impact the entire region and the international order for years to come,” Michael added.

As of Sunday, Tel Aviv remained under a state of emergency following Iranian missile attacks that caused casualties and widespread damage.

According to The Associated Press, Iranian missile and drone strikes have killed approximately 11 Israeli civilians and wounded dozens more in retaliation for the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.

Shrapnel from missile impacts damaged at least 40 buildings in Tel Aviv, and authorities reported at least one death in the area from falling debris.

The Philippine Embassy in Israel confirmed the death of a Filipino national after a missile strike hit Tel Aviv on Saturday.

TOMAHAWKS, B-2 STEALTH BOMBERS AND ATTACK DRONES POUND OVER 1,000 IRANIAN TARGETS IN 24-HOUR BLITZ

People take shelter as Iran launched missiles and drones towards Israel following the US-Israeli attacks. ( Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“We enter our shelter once the siren is heard and stay there until the Home Front Command announces that we can leave,” Michael said.

“Usually, it is about 20 to 30 minutes — unless there are further sirens during our stay. Since yesterday morning, it has happened around 30 times.”

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog also visited an impact site in Tel Aviv Sunday, delivering a message of resilience.

“The people of Israel and the people of Iran can live in peace. The region can live in peace. But what undermines peace time and again is terror instigated by this Iranian regime,” Herzog said.

EXILED IRANIAN CROWN PRINCE SAYS US STRIKES MARK ‘BEGINNING OF THE VERY END’ FOR REGIME

Israeli emergency service officer walks past building debris at the scene of a Iranian missile attack. (Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP via Getty Images)

Following the reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and roughly 40 senior Iranian officials, Iran formed a provisional leadership council.

Iran named Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i to lead roles.

“The Supreme Leader did not complete the necessary groundwork regarding his own succession,” Michael added.

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“Pezeshkian will face very troubling challenges due to their heavy losses, severe disruptions to control and command systems, and the massive bombing and attacks across Iran, including Tehran,” he said.

“Even if this regime doesn’t collapse, it will never be able to reconstitute itself, recover or return to its previous position,” Michael added.

Emma Bussey is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Before joining Fox, she worked at The Telegraph with the U.S. overnight team, across desks including foreign, politics, news, sport and culture.

World

Israel FM says Europe too divided, slams Spanish PM

Published

11 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Israel FM says Europe too divided, slams Spanish PM

Israeli minister Gideon Sa’ar said Europe “does not have unified position” on what role it should play in Iran as European ministers sought to establish a joint approach Sunday.

As Israel and the United States conducted a joint military strike on Iran, leading to the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Europe was kept on the sidelines.

EU member states did not participate in the operation and, in some cases, they were not informed prior as it is customary among strategic allies.

Asked whether Israel sought to keep Europe on the margins, Sa’ar said internal divisions within EU member states had kept them out of critical exchanges of operational details, unlike the United States, which the minister described as his country’s greatest ally.

“In Europe, you have all kinds of approaches,” he told Euronews. “You have countries like the Czech Republic which is strongly supporting this operation and then you have Spain, which is standing with all the tyrants of the world.”

On Saturday, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez was among the most critical voices in Europe, suggesting the US-Israeli strikes on Iran risk plunging the region into total war.

“We reject the unilateral military action of the United States and Israel, which represents an escalation and contributes to a more uncertain and hostile international order,” Sánchez said Saturday. The Spanish PM reiterated that message on Sunday.

“We urge for de-escalation and call to respect international law in all conflicts,” Sánchez added. “You can be against a heinous regime, like the Iranian regime, while also rejecting a military intervention that is unjustified, dangerous and outside of international law.”

Sa’aar said Israel considers the operation “fully justified” citing the right to self-defense from a regime that “has called for the destruction of Israel” and lashed at the Spanish prime minister for sending an “anti-Israeli, anti-American message.”

“Read the statement, they are standing with Iran!” he added.

When asked if any of his European counterparts had manifested an interest in joining the military operation or provide support on the ground, Sa’ar said he held multiple exchanges with European ministers over the weekend and suggested that “if others want to join, they will know have to convey the message.”

On Sunday, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen appeared to back regime change in Iran in line with Israel and the US, saying that the “risk of further escalation is real. This is why a credible transition in Iran is urgently needed” in comments on Sunday.

Sa’ar told Euronews said the strategic strikes and the elimination of Khamenei alongside top regime commanders could “create the conditions to weaken the regime enough to allow the Iranians to take their future into their own hands”.

“The future leadership of Iran should be determined by the Iranian people through free elections. Our only requirement is that whoever comes to power in Iran must not pursue the destruction of Israel,” he said.

Watch the full interview on Euronews from 8pm CET