EU Guidelines: Human Rights & Humanitarian Law

The European Union publishes a lot of useful information for students of politics, law and economics, as well as other interested EU citizens.

Many of the publications are available at the EU Bookshop in printed or digital form (pdf):

http://bookshop.europa.eu

I would like to draw attention to a recent publication issued by the Council of the European Union (General Secretariat of the Council) ‘EU Guidelines Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law’ (March 2009; 89 pages).

The publication is downloadable for free in English and French (Lignes directrices Droits de l’homme et Droit International Humanitaire).

The Guidelines serve not only international EU missions, but they contain a wealth of information useful for students, teachers, researchers and others interested in the human rights and humanitarian law.

Here is a look at the contents:

1. Death Penalty (1998) (updated on 2008)

2. Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (2001) (updated on 2008)

3. Human Rights dialogues with third countries (2001) (updated on 2009)

4. Children and armed conflict (2003) (updated on 2008)

5. Human Rights Defenders (2004) (updated on 2008)

6. Promotion and Protection of the Rights of the Child (2007)

7. Violence against women and girls and combating all forms of discrimination against them (2008)

8. Promoting Compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL) (2005)


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Death penalty

Because misleading information about the European Union is continuously spread on the web, I recommend that everyone unsure about the EU’s position reads the Guideline on the death penalty.

The conspiracy theorists repeating the ‘footnote within a footnote’ distortions are, I presume, beyond redemption.



Ralf Grahn