Tag Archives: Europe

Religion + Belief

ClimateWatch | France

ClimateWatch
France, Post-Attacks

In the wake of the attack that left more than 80 dead during Bastille Day festivities in Nice, French Muslims have expressed fears of scapegoating for the violent crime and others that have erupted over the last two years in France. An attack that left a Catholic priest dead in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray further inflamed tensions in the country as the nation responded to its fifth terrorist attack in 2016. Fearing the ongoing state of emergency and retaliatory attacks against their communities, many French Muslims, who have been among the victims of these attacks, have made large public condemnations of the attackers and expressed solidarity with non-Muslim French neighbors and the counterterrorism efforts. Observers and commentators have offered analysis on what the recent attacks mean for Muslim relations in France and how the country can move forward as the country battles inequality at home and threats from abroad.

Nice Aftermath
Community Response
Political Response
France and Islam
Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity

U.K. News | Immigrants & Racial Minorities

Hate crime reports surge in U.K. in wake of Brexit
  • Since the U.K. voted to leave the European Union, a 500% increase in hate crimes reported online has drawn attention to a wave of racist, anti-immigrant sentiment in the country.
  • Some 331 reports have been filed through the online report filing portal in the week since the vote (a significant increase from the weekly average of 63) as critics of the “Leave” campaign have accused the anti-E.U. movement of stirring xenophobic sentiment in the country.
  • PM David Cameron announced additional funding to security forces to stem the tide and called on politicians across political parties to condemn hate crimes.

Read more:
“Hate crime reports surge in Britain after divisive EU referendum, police say” (Reuters)
“Cameron announces plan to tackle hate crime after vote to leave EU” (The Guardian)
“U.K. Announces New Plan to Tackle Hate Crimes” (The Wall Street Journal)

(Image Credit: PRU/HO/AFP/Getty Images, via The Wall Street Journal)

Ideology + Affiliation

U.K. News | Politicians

UK MP assassinated after meeting with constituents
  • Labour Party MP Jo Cox was murdered near near a library in the village of Birstall, near Leeds.
  • The homicide was allegedly the culmination of an altercation between Cox, elected to Parliament in 2015, and 52-year-old Tommy Mair.
  • At least three witnesses reported that Mair shouted “Britain first” while shooting Cox, the slogan and name of a far-right nationalist group pushing for the U.K.’s exit from the European Union in the upcoming referendum on June 23.

Read more:
“Labour MP Jo Cox dies after being shot and stabbed” (The Guardian)
“Labour MP Jo Cox Dies After Shooting” (BuzzFeed News)
“Jo Cox MP dead after shooting attack” (BBC)

(Image Credit: via BBC)

Nationality + Migration

Poland News | Foreigners

Polish parliament expands government surveillance powers ahead of major international events
  • The lower house passed legislation expanding the government’s surveillance and detention capabilities, subjecting foreigners to increased monitoring in the country.
  • Drafted in the wake of the Brussels attacks, the new law allows intelligence agencies the ability to conduct surveillance for three months without court approval, detain suspects for two weeks without charges, and expedite deportation of suspects.
  • In July, Poland will host a NATO summit and World Youth Day, a Catholic event attended by the Pope.

Read more:
“Poland approves closer surveillance of foreigners ahead of NATO summit, pope visit” (Reuters)
“Panel: Poland’s New Police Law Allows Privacy Infringement” (AP via ABC News)
“Watchdog says surveillance powers in Poland too broad” (Radio Poland)

Ideology + Affiliation, Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity

Germany News | Turkish-German Politicians

Turkish-German lawmakers receive death threats following Armenian Genocide resolution
  • Germany’s 11 MPs of Turkish descent received the threats following the passage of a resolution to recognize the 1915 mass killings of Armenians in Turkey as genocide.
  • Targets included Cem Oezdemir, the leader of Germany’s Greens Party who had pushed for the resolution.
  • Officials have been advised against travel to Turkey after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan publicly accused them of betraying their Turkish heritage.

Read more:
“After threats, security concerns for German MPs with Turkish roots” (Reuters)
“Report: German MPs advised not to visit Turkey” (Deutsche Welle)
“German-Turkish war of words intensifies after ‘genocide’ vote” (euronews)

(Image Credit: Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Romania News | LGBT

Romanian groups work to block same-sex unions in the country
  • Anti-LGBT activists undertook a signature campaign to push for a constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex unions.
  • The campaign was spurred by the Coalition for Family, a confederation backed by the Orthodox Church that claims to have amassed 3 million signatures in support of the amendment.
  • Current marriage law in Romania defines marriage as a union of “partners,” which conservative activists have attempted to have changed before in a failed 2013 campaign.

Read more:
“Romanian groups push for same-sex marriage ban” (AFP via 7 News)
“Three Million Romanians Back Anti-Gay Marriage Campaign” (Balkan Insight)

(Image Credit: AFP)

Nationality + Migration

Germany News | Refugees

Crime report finds sharp uptick in anti-refugee attacks by far-right extremists in Germany
  • German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere reported a 35% increase in politically-motivated crimes by the far-right in 2015, the largest increase since the beginning of record-keeping in 2001.
  • More than 1,000 attacks on refugee shelters were reported, a more than five-fold increase over the previous year.
  • Overall, some 39,000 politically motivated crimes were reported in 2015, including a 31% increase in violent crimes.

Read more:
“Germany registers surge in crimes by right-wing radicals” (Reuters)
“Germany: right-wing violence rose over 40 percent last year” (AP via U.S. News & World Report)
“German Crime Figures May Raise Voter Security Fears” (The Wall Street Journal)

(Image Credit: Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters)

Age, Class + Socioeconomics, Ideology + Affiliation

France News | Workers & Police

Massive protests against French labor reform bring about violence, arrests, strikes
  • Demonstrations have been ongoing since March, when labor and student unions organized against government proposals perceived as decreasing job security and negotiating power for workers.
  • More than 1,000 have been arrested during clashes with police in cities like Paris and Nantes that have seen more than 300 officers injured as protesters have alleged instances of police brutality, with police unions organizing counter-protests against anti-police violence.
  • After President François Hollande’s government survived a no-confidence vote, union leaders planned rolling strikes and continuing demonstrations across the country.

Read more:
“Une semaine de grèves et manifestations pour relancer le mouvement contre la loi travail” (Le Monde, in French)
“French police hit back at ‘anti-cop hatred’ after protest violence” (The Guardian)
“French government shrugs off no-confidence vote, faces new strikes” (Reuters)

(Image Credit: Geoffroy van der Hasselt/AFP/Getty Images, via The Guardian)

Gender

France News | Women

France’s leading political women, journalists, and activists confront sexism in French politics
  • Two op-eds appeared over the last week as protests have grown confronting what many women in French politics—politicians, reporters, and petitioners alike—report is a culture of silence and impunity towards sexual harassment.
  • Appearing in the Journal du Dimanche and Libération, the op-eds called for women who have experienced sexual harassment to speak out and register formal complaints and for an expansion of investigative capacity to ensure the behavior does not go unpunished.
  • The effort comes as a number of scandals have engulfed male politicians, including the most recent leading to the resignation of Denis Baupin, vice president of the National Assembly, following multiple allegations of sexual harassment.

“Ce n’est pas aux femmes à s’adapter à ces milieux, ce sont les comportements de certains hommes qui doivent changer.”

Translation: “It’s not on women to adapt to these environments; it’s the conduct of certain men that must change.”

Read more:
“Harcèlement sexuel : ‘L’impunité, c’est fini’” (Le Journal du Dimanche, in French)
“Harcèlement et politique: «Pour que l’impunité cesse»” (Libération, in French)
“French former ministers launch attack on sexism in politics” (The Guardian)
“Après l’affaire Baupin, témoignages, appels à libérer la parole et retours de flamme” (Le Monde, in French)

(Image Credit: Reuters, via The Guardian)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Europe & Eurasia Research | LGBTI

The State of LGBTI Security in Europe

ILGA-Europe recently released its annual report on the state of LGBT rights and security across the Europe. Covering developments in individual countries and transnational institutions from 2015, the report notes increasing legal protections for gender minorities and family and partnership rights for sexual minorities in Southern and Western Europe as well as ongoing political exclusion, persecution, and violence in Eastern Europe and Eurasia. Here are some of the highlights:

Malta

Rated the most progressive European country, Malta’s groundbreaking law prohibiting surgical intervention into a person’s sex characteristics without consent and inclusive education policies for trans, intersex, and other gender minorities were cited as distinctive policies.

Finland, France, Greece, Ireland

Other countries with significant judicial or policy victories regarding the rights of gender minorities.

Ireland, Luxembourg

Countries extending marriage rights to same-sex couples

Cyprus, Greece

Countries extending civil partnership rights to same-sex couples

Austria, Portugal

Countries extending adoption rights to same-sex couples

Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia

Bottom three countries for LGBTI security

Armenia, FYR Macedonia, Slovenia

Countries blocking same-sex marriage rights

Hungary, Montenegro, Russia, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine

Countries denying, limiting, or antagonizing organization and assembly rights of LGBTI civil society groups

Read:
Annual Review of the Human Rights Situation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex People in Europe 2016 (ILGA-Europe)

Additional:
Rainbow Europe
“Azerbaijan worst place to be gay in Europe, finds LGBTI index” (The Guardian)
“Which EU states are out of touch on gay marriage?” (euronews)

Gender, Sexual + Gender Minorities

Portugal News | Women

Portugal extends reproductive rights to gay and bisexual women and women with fertility issues
  • The Portuguese Parliament voted to extend artificial insemination access to women in same-sex relationships.
  • The bill also legalizes surrogacy for women with health conditions adversely impacting their ability to conceive.
  • The inclusive measure broadens family rights for women in same-sex partnerships following the passage of a bill legalizing adoption by same-sex couples in November 2015.

Read more:
“Approved: Parliament expands reproductive rights – Portugal” (The Portuguese American Journal)
“Portuguese Lawmakers Extend Pregnancy Rights to Gay Women” (AP via ABC News)
“President signs same sex adoption into effect” (The Portugal News)

(Image Credit: via The Portuguese American Journal)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Italy News | LGBT

Same-sex civil unions in Italy on track to become reality following lower house vote
  • Italy’s lower house voted to support PM Matteo Renzi’s government and, by extension, a bill legalizing same-sex civil unions.
  • Following Senate approval in February, the confidence vote removed the potential for last-minute attempts to revise the bill, making final approval a formality.
  • The bill has undergone a controversial history including massive anti-LGBT protests and pro-LGBT outrage over the continued exclusion from marriage and removal of a provision granting same-sex partners universal adoption rights to their partners’ children.

Read more:
“Italian MPs support introduction of same-sex civil unions” (The Guardian)
“Italian MPs back same-sex unions in vote for Renzi” (BBC)
“Italy Approves Same-Sex Civil Unions” (The New York Times)

(Image Credit: Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images, via The Guardian)

Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

U.K. News | Muslim Pakistani-British

Sadiq Khan elected mayor of London, first Muslim to hold the post
  • A member of the Labour party, Khan defeated his Conservative opponent Zac Goldsmith with 57% of the vote, ending eight years of Conservative rule of the British capital on pledges to build more affordable housing and freeze fare prices for public transit.
  • Amidst rising Islamophobia throughout the U.K. and Europe as a whole, the mayoral campaign was marred by accusations from Goldsmith and PM David Cameron that Khan, a former human rights lawyer, was connected to extremists.
  • Khan, 45, grew up in a South London housing estate, one of eight children of working-class Pakistani immigrants, and went on to become a lawyer before his election to Parliament in 2005.

Read more:
“Sadiq Khan Elected in London, Becoming Its First Muslim Mayor” (The New York Times)
“Elections: Labour’s Sadiq Khan promises a ‘better’ London” (BBC)
“Top Conservatives condemn Zac Goldsmith’s ‘disgusting’ mayoral campaign” (The Guardian)

Nationality + Migration, Religion + Belief

Germany News | Muslims

German anti-immigrant party adopts anti-Islam manifesto
  • The manifesto from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) states Islam is incompatible with the German Constitution and calls for bans on minarets, full-body veils, and calls to prayer.
  • The AfD holds no seats in the German Parliament, but has members in half of Germany’s state assemblies and polls as high as 14% nationally, causing concern ahead of the country’s 2017 federal elections.
  • Some 2,000 protesters descended on Stuttgart to disrupt the AfD conference, clashing with police during demonstrations.

Read more:
“Anti-immigrant AfD says Muslims not welcome in Germany” (Reuters)
“Germany’s AfD party adopts anti-Islam manifesto” (euronews)
“AfD manifesto criticized as ‘unconstitutional’ for statements on Islam” (Deutsche Welle)

(Image Credit: F. von Erichsen/picture-alliance/dpa, via Deutsche Welle)

Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

France & U.K. Feature | French Jewish Immigrants

The Exodus of French Jews

A rise in anti-Semitic sentiment and attacks in France has left many French Jews in fear of their future in the country. As the U.K. debates its European Union status, French Jews have leveraged the free mobility that comes with E.U. membership to cross the English Channel and build a new life in London. Thousands of Jewish families have reportedly fled France for the U.K., now the second-most popular destination for French Jews after Israel, according to the Jewish Agency. Better economic opportunities have amplified immigration to London, where rabbis have reported significant increases in the numbers of French Jews in their synagogues and Jewish schools. The New York Times and BBC investigate the causes of the exodus and how the largely Sephardic French Jews have been integrated into London’s predominantly Ashkenazi Jewish community and multicultural society as a whole.

Read:
“London Becomes a Leading Destination for French Jews After Attacks” (The New York Times)
“Why French Jewish people are moving to London” (BBC)

Additional reading:
Breaking the Cycle of Violence (Human Rights First report)
“Anti-Semitic Incidents Explode in France — Report” (Forward)
“6 in 10 French people think Jews are responsible for anti-Semitism, survey finds” (The Independent)
“Jewish Leaders in Paris Speak of Community in Fear” (VICE News)

(Image Credit: Andrew Testa/The New York Times)