The year 2024 is a major election year for Belgium. Regional, federal and European elections take place on June 9, followed by provincial and municipal elections on October 13. The current context is hardly one for optimism. In many European countries, we are seeing a rise in discourse and political forces that openly threaten respect for human rights. After the June 9 elections, a crucial period begins for all political parties, in their negotiations of government agreements, to assume a firm commitment to human rights.
Asylum and migration, the rights of women and LGBTQIA+ people, climate change and even the right to protest: the issues raised by Amnesty International are at the heart of the electoral campaign. Unfortunately, these issues are not always addressed from a human rights perspective by political forces.
Furthermore, a current drift is very worrying because we see that our governments are condemned (sometimes up to 8,800 times as is the case in the context of respecting its obligations regarding the reception of male asylum seekers , or on the Climate affair) and that the latter sit on court decisions, thus denying the rule of law. We see a growing indifference among political leaders in Europe and Belgium towards human rights legal frameworks. Human rights deserve better than indifference or double standards; they must be the common basis for all government action.
Internationally, the world is marked by massive human rights violations. Horrors are multiplying in deadly conflicts in Gaza, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ukraine, etc. In Iran, as in many other regions, people are arrested, prosecuted, and even executed for the simple fact of expressing their opinion.
Belgium must orient its foreign policy to promote respect for human rights and prevent massive violations of international law.
In this context, Amnesty International French-speaking Belgium presents a program of concrete recommendations in terms of human rights. We ask political parties participating in the legislative elections to make them priorities. We hope that these commitments will materialize into priority policies and actions during the next legislature, provided with the necessary resources.
The demands of Amnesty International French-speaking Belgium:
- Respect for the right to asylum and the human rights of asylum seekers, who must in particular be guaranteed dignified reception conditions while awaiting a decision concerning their asylum application.
- Respect for freedom of expression and the right to protest peacefully, without fear of repression or censorship.
- Urgent and concrete measures to fight against climate change, with an exit from fossil fuels.
- Stopping irresponsible and opaque arms exports, to avoid contributing to violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.
- The total decriminalization of abortion as well as the removal of obstacles to safe and legal access to abortion.
- Active participation in the creation of an international convention on the human rights of older people.
- The eradication of all forms of discrimination based on ethnic origin, skin color, religion, age, gender or sexual orientation.
- A legal framework to ensure corporate responsibility for human rights across all of their activities.
- An institutional architecture to ensure compliance with Belgium’s human rights obligations.
- An absolute priority given to human rights in Belgium’s international relations.
You too, relay these demands and ask our political leaders not to forget to defend human rights. Sign the petition!
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