Dear President Christodoulides,
We are writing ahead of the Republic of Cyprus’ upcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) to call on your government to use its leadership to uphold the EU’s commitments to human rights and the rule of law within its member states and in its external policies and translate them into concrete actions.
Cyprus’ Presidency comes at a critical juncture. Internally, the EU is struggling to address and prevent democratic backsliding in some of its member states. Externally, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and continued brutal conflicts at Europe’s doorstep expose civilians to serious crimes. International justice mechanisms and multilateral bodies are under attack, undermining victims’ right to justice and accountability. Transactional and short-term diplomatic strategies have undermined principled engagement to uphold human rights – while leaders of other global powers are increasingly reluctant or blatantly hostile to promote respect for human rights.
Cyprus’ Presidency is likely to face the challenges of securing justice for Russian atrocities in Ukraine, ensuring that serious crimes in Israel and Palestine are met with a resolute response by the EU, and strengthening the EU’s response to rule of law decline in some member states. We encourage you to consider the following issues and commit to concrete actions.
Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights in EU Member States
The rule of law situation in Hungary remains on the agenda of the Council under the article 7 procedure. But member states have yet to take decisive action to hold the Hungarian government accountable as it intensifies its assault on judicial independence, free expression and assembly, and other rights of Hungarians. Sweeping constitutional amendments adopted in April restricted freedom of assembly under the guise of “child protection”. A proposed “transparency of public life” bill would authorize the government-appointed Sovereignty Protection Office to investigate, defund, and dissolve civil society and media organizations it labels “foreign-influenced,” subjecting them to intrusive audits and punitive fines. While the government has paused the bill under intense domestic and EU criticism, it continues to restate its intention to introduce these measures. After refusing to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an International Criminal Court (ICC) fugitive, when he visited in April, Hungary in June formally moved to withdraw from the Court despite EU member states’ legally binding commitments to respect the ICC treaty. We call on the Cyprus Presidency of the Council to:
- Work to build a sufficient majority to hold a four-fifths vote to determine the existence of a clear risk of a breach of EU treaty values in Hungary;
- Refrain from supporting any decisions to release EU funds to Hungary and prevent any circumvention of the EU Conditionality Regulation restrictions that may enable Hungary to access frozen funds. Call on the Commission to adopt measures to suspend additional funds in view of the worsening rule of law breaches;
- Publicly call on Hungary to reconsider its decision to withdraw from the Rome Statute and to fully cooperate with the Court;
- Protect civic space across the EU by speaking out against initiatives for foreign-influence style legislation in member states and interference in the independent work of civil society;
- Champion stronger protections for media freedom and pluralism across all EU member states, including robust measures to counter the threat of SLAPPs and prioritize the full and effective implementation of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA).
EU’s Foreign Policy
Mounting challenges on the global stage require stronger EU resolve in response to serious violations of international humanitarian law and growing attacks against international institutions promoting human rights and accountability.
While Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Europe’s security dominates EU foreign policy, the EU’s support for the ICC's proceedings on Ukraine faded in Council’s statements on the situation. A US-proposed peace plan risks further overlooking the need for justice and accountability. Russian forces have inflicted immense suffering on Ukraine’s civilians through the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other IHL violations. Over the past year, Russia’s war in Ukraine has brought far greater suffering to civilians, with intensified attacks increasing civilian casualties by 48 percent in the first seven months of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024. In Russia-occupied territories of Ukraine, erasure of Ukrainian identity and cultural heritage, coercive “passportization”, unlawful conscription, the imposition of the Russian curriculum in education and violations of property rights may constitute international crimes. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, thousands of Ukrainian children were taken to Russia or Russia-occupied areas of Ukraine.
Despite extensive evidence of Israeli authorities’ war crimes, crimes against humanity, including extermination, and acts of genocide in Gaza, and war crimes and crimes against humanity in the West Bank, and EU’s own review finding Israel in breach of article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, the EU has yet to adopt any of the measures proposed by the Commission President and requested by a large number of European NGOs and trade unions. Reluctance of member states to adopt those measures increased after an October ceasefire, while repeated EU statements in support of a “two-state solution” are not accompanied by concrete measures to address Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians and to bring EU policies into compliance with international law, such as an EU-wide ban on trade with settlements.
Civilians continue to bear the brunt of brutal conflicts in Sudan, the Sahel, eastern Congo, Myanmar and to face insecurity in post-conflict situation like in Syria. Escalating United States sanctions against ICC officials and those supporting its work have targeted ICC officials (including EU nationals), a UN expert (also an EU national), and civil society groups. If unchecked, they could severely undermine the Court’s global mandate and the critical work of human rights organizations on behalf of victims of serious crimes.
The increased persecution of independent civil society in Russia and Belarus, and rising authoritarianism in Egypt, Tunisia, Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Central Asian states have severely undermined civic space in the EU’s neighborhood. Bilateral relations with repressive global and regional powers, including China, India, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and others, came to the detriment of seriously addressing their appalling human rights records.
We call on the Cyprus Presidency of the Council to:
- Reinforce support for justice and accountability for Russia’s serious violations in Ukraine, including for ICC proceedings; ensure there is no amnesty for serious crimes under international law as part of any negotiation; ensure that the release of unlawfully detained Ukrainian civilians and children and Russian political detainees, and the repatriation of prisoners of war, are priority issues for the EU in any future negotiations; work to secure access for independent monitors to all detention facilities where Ukrainian prisoners are being held.
- Support concrete measures in response to Israel authorities’ grave abuses across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including by suspending the trade pillar of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, imposing sanctions against Israeli officials credibly implicated in serious ongoing abuses, banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements, and committing to execute all ICC arrest warrants;
- Strengthen the EU’s role in responses to other crises, including in Sudan, Myanmar, the Great Lakes and Syria, ensuring that a renewed approach on the Sahel reflects a focus on protection of civilians, human rights and justice;
- Mainstream human rights in all aspects of EU-China relations; Raise concerns about severe human rights abuses in Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong and other parts of China both privately and publicly during your presidency. Condition EU partnerships with China to concrete human rights benchmarks, and boost EU’s commitment to support civil society and human rights defenders and speak up when they are under threat;
- Express support for the ICC’s work across all situations, commit to providing the court with consistent financial, political and practical support, support the activation of the EU Blocking Statute and other concrete actions to mitigate or nullify the effects of any coercive measures, including sanctions, against the court, its officials, and those cooperating with it.
At times when human rights are increasingly challenged by some political leaders, including in countries with close ties with the EU, your Presidency should ensure that the European Union raises up to the challenge and champions the protection of human rights and international law. The EU can have the credibility to do so and bring others together, if it shows consistent support, free from double standards and selectivity, for shared democratic values at home and in its foreign policy.
We hope to continue close cooperation with your government on these and other issues. Thank you for your attention.
Bruno Stagno Ugarte
Chief Advocacy Officer, Human Rights Watch
