The United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture is commemorated every June 26, due to the entry into force in 1987 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, reaffirming that torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment are prohibited and constitute serious...
In honour of World Whistleblowers' Day, we want to emphasise the importance of responsible citizens who, despite the risk, choose to fulfil their civic duties in defence of transparency, responsibility and accountability. Whistleblowers are important actors in national and European efforts to detect, investigate and tackle corruption: their exposés have brought to light irregularities in public...
On April 23, the Council of Ministers approved an agreement creating three study and technical commissions already foreseen in Law 20/2022, of October 19, on Democratic Memory. The creation of each of these commissions was contemplated in the twelfth, fifteenth and sixteenth additional provisions of the Law. In the twelfth additional provision, the establishment of...
In the last months, in the Valencian Community and in Aragon and Castilla y León, the so-called "Laws of Concord" have been proposed. These legislative measures, to which FIBGAR opposes, constitute a violation of democratic values, as well as a setback of what has been achieved with difficulty by the Spanish society. The approval of just...
The environmental challenges we face today are unprecedented, and have emerged as an issue that threatens global democracies. This was the central theme of the last seminar of our project "VOCES - Voices of civil society for a more sustainable democracy: dialogue between Europe and Latin America" entitled "Challenges of environmental democracy". In this event...
The potential of universal jurisdiction remains untapped, although a positive trend stands out. This is what the 2024 edition of the Universal Jurisdiction Annual Report prepared by TRIAL International, in collaboration with Civitas Maxima, the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA), the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), the International Federation for Human Rights...
On the 16th of April 2024, the DIRECTIVE (EU) 2024/1069 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 11 April 2024 on protecting persons who engage in public participation from manifestly unfounded claims or abusive court proceedings (‘Strategic lawsuits against public participation") has finally been published in the Official Journal of the European Union. This Directive...
Today the Committee of Ministers finally of the Council of Europe (CoE) adopted the Recommendation CM/Rec(2024)2 on countering the use of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs). Despite not being legally binding on Council of Europe members, it will significantly influence norms across 46 nations. It calls on member states to devise comprehensive and effective strategies...
On 3 April, the fourth seminar took place as part of our project VOCES - Civil society voices for a more sustainable democracy: dialogue between Europe and Latin America. In this case, it was held under the title "Political instability: immediate consequences". This event counted with the outstanding participation of María Fernanda Poveda, who participated...
