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The European Union and the Council of Europes joint action on "Fostering Women's Access to Justice in Turkey" held its second multi-stakeholder meeting in Mula on 14 June.

The meeting aimed to identify the main challenges and solutions faced by women in accessing justice, but also to create local and sustainable support networks for the needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged women. Strengthening inter-institutional dialogue and raising awareness about practices sensitive to gender equality were also among the aims of the meeting.

In his speech, Atty. Cumhur Uzun, President of Mula Bar Association, noted that In this action, we are very pleased to have been selected as one of the four pilot bar associations in Turkey and to set a valuable example to the other provinces with our practices. For women's access to justice; non-governmental organisations, bar associations, local government officials, public institutions constitute the links of the chain and everyone should act with a sense of responsibility. As Mula Bar Association, we will continue to support women's access to justice and be a model not only for women in Mula, but also for women in other regions. We are glad to be part of this action and contribute together to the realisation of this ultimate and worthwhile goal."

Pnar Bapnar, Head of Operations at the Council of Europe Programme Office in Ankara, underlined that the joint EU/Council of Europe action Fostering womens access to justice in Trkiye strives to increase the gender sensitivity of legal aid services and women's access to these services as well as to improve legal awareness and literacy among women so that they can exercise their rights as equal citizens in Trkiye.

The grant agreement signed between the Council of Europe and the Union of Turkish Bar Associations to support women's access to legal aid is one of the important aspects of the action, said Bapnar. Within the scope of this grant, legal aid services will be provided to women by legal aid lawyers participating in the training program in at least 360 cases," she added.

The Union of Turkish Bar Associations, local bar associations and legal aid centres, legal aid lawyers, universities, law faculties, women's studies and gender research and application centres, non-governmental organisations working in the fields of combating gender-based violence and gender equality, public institutions and organisations, violence prevention centres, women's shelters and experts working in the field of women's rights have joined forces to ensure better protection of womens rights and their improved access to justice.

In her presentation, Assistant Professor Asuman Aytekin nceolu shared her observations on legal, institutional, socio-economic and cultural barriers to women's access to justice in Turkey and explained how the key principles of access to justice, namely justiciability, availability, accessibility, provision of remedies, quality of services and accountability, can be operationalised in practice. Related to the quality of judicial services, she stressed that legal professionals should be aware of and avoid re-producing gender-based stereotypes and biases when interpreting and applying existing laws, which otherwise amount to discrimination and set barriers to womens access to justice.

The first multi-stakeholder meeting was held in Ordu in May 2022, the second was held in Mula and two further meetings will be held in Nevehir and Diyarbakr before the end of September. The meetings are taking place as a part of the action on Fostering women's access to justice in Trkiye, implemented within the framework of the European Union and Council of Europes joint programme entitled "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022".

Agenda

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European Union and Council of Europe support improvement of women's access to justice - Council of Europe

The European Union and the Council of Europes joint action on "Fostering Women's Access to Justice in Turkey" held its second multi-stakeholder meeting in Mula on 14 June.

The meeting aimed to identify the main challenges and solutions faced by women in accessing justice, but also to create local and sustainable support networks for the needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged women. Strengthening inter-institutional dialogue and raising awareness about practices sensitive to gender equality were also among the aims of the meeting.

In his speech, Atty. Cumhur Uzun, President of Mula Bar Association, noted that In this action, we are very pleased to have been selected as one of the four pilot bar associations in Turkey and to set a valuable example to the other provinces with our practices. For women's access to justice; non-governmental organisations, bar associations, local government officials, public institutions constitute the links of the chain and everyone should act with a sense of responsibility. As Mula Bar Association, we will continue to support women's access to justice and be a model not only for women in Mula, but also for women in other regions. We are glad to be part of this action and contribute together to the realisation of this ultimate and worthwhile goal."

Pnar Bapnar, Head of Operations at the Council of Europe Programme Office in Ankara, underlined that the joint EU/Council of Europe action Fostering womens access to justice in Trkiye strives to increase the gender sensitivity of legal aid services and women's access to these services as well as to improve legal awareness and literacy among women so that they can exercise their rights as equal citizens in Trkiye.

The grant agreement signed between the Council of Europe and the Union of Turkish Bar Associations to support women's access to legal aid is one of the important aspects of the action, said Bapnar. Within the scope of this grant, legal aid services will be provided to women by legal aid lawyers participating in the training program in at least 360 cases," she added.

The Union of Turkish Bar Associations, local bar associations and legal aid centres, legal aid lawyers, universities, law faculties, women's studies and gender research and application centres, non-governmental organisations working in the fields of combating gender-based violence and gender equality, public institutions and organisations, violence prevention centres, women's shelters and experts working in the field of women's rights have joined forces to ensure better protection of womens rights and their improved access to justice.

In her presentation, Assistant Professor Asuman Aytekin nceolu shared her observations on legal, institutional, socio-economic and cultural barriers to women's access to justice in Turkey and explained how the key principles of access to justice, namely justiciability, availability, accessibility, provision of remedies, quality of services and accountability, can be operationalised in practice. Related to the quality of judicial services, she stressed that legal professionals should be aware of and avoid re-producing gender-based stereotypes and biases when interpreting and applying existing laws, which otherwise amount to discrimination and set barriers to womens access to justice.

The first multi-stakeholder meeting was held in Ordu in May 2022, the second was held in Mula and two further meetings will be held in Nevehir and Diyarbakr before the end of September. The meetings are taking place as a part of the action on Fostering women's access to justice in Trkiye, implemented within the framework of the European Union and Council of Europes joint programme entitled "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022".

Agenda

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European Union and Council of Europe to support improvement of women's access to justice - Council of Europe

BRUSSELS (AP) Drug trafficking and use across the European Union are returning to pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest report published by the blocs drug agency on Tuesday.

As COVID-19 restrictions and increased border controls have been relaxed on the continent, the EMCDDA said drugs are available in large quantities in the region, and in some cases above pre-pandemic levels.

Hundreds of drug production laboratories are being dismantled, and new psychoactive substances are appearing in the bloc every week. In 2021, 52 new drugs were reported for the first time, the agency said.

For me, the take-home message that stands out from our analysis of drug trends in 2022 can be summarized as Everywhere. Everything. Everyone, said the agency director, Alexis Goosdeel.

About 83.4 million people aged 15-64 in the EU, or 29% of that population, are estimated to have ever used an illicit drug, with more men than women reporting use.

The agency said cannabis remains the most popular substance, with over 22 million people reporting its use in 2021, ahead of cocaine, MDMA and amphetamines. Some 1 million Europeans used heroin or another illicit opioid. An estimated 5,800 overdose deaths occurred in the EU in 2020, the most recent year for which that figure was provided.

The report pointed to an increased use of social media applications and encrypted messaging services to get access to products during the pandemic, a model that is likely to persist.

The agency said last month that record amounts of cocaine are being seized in Europe while manufacturing of the drug is now taking place inside the the EU.

While the agency said its too early to assess the impact on heroin trafficking of the return to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the agency noted it could lead to an increase. According to the report, poppy cultivation continues in the country despite a ban on production and sale.

The countrys current financial problems might make drug revenues a more important source of income, the report said.

The report also looked at the war in Ukraine, noting that the conflict could have consequences for smuggling routes.

See more here:
'Everywhere. Everything. Everyone': Drugs are back in the EU - The Associated Press

The European Court of Human Rights stopped the first Rwanda flight from leaving the UK

Last night, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) launched a last-minute intervention to halt the flight carrying seven migrants to Rwanda.

There has been much dismay over how the Court has been able to override the rulings of the British High Court, Court of Appeals and Supreme Court.

The authority of the ECHR to intervene in this case is based on the UKs membership of the Council of Europe (CoE).

The CoE is an organisation which aims to uphold human rights throughout its member states. It is distinct from the European Union as it is solely based on protecting human rights.

For example, Turkey and Monaco are members of the CoE without being members of the European Union, as the UK is.

Membership of the CoE means the countries are subject to the authority of the ECHR. The ECHR rules on potential violations of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The plane that was scheduled to leave for Rwanda Andrew Matthews

Individuals can make applications to the ECHR which, if successful, would override the rulings of the state in which they are residing. In this case, an Iraqi national made an application to the ECHR for them to indicate an urgent interim measure.

Interim measures are an order from the ECHR to delay the implementation of a policy or decision in their member states. They are normally issued in cases of expulsion or deportation.

In the Rules of Court for the ECHR, it is written that "interim measures are only applied in exceptional cases.

"The court will only issue an interim measure against a Member State where, having reviewed all the relevant information, it considers that the applicant faces a real risk of serious, irreversible harm if the measure is not applied."

In this case, the ECHR has indicated to the UK government in a press release that the Iraqi national should not be removed to Rwanda until "three weeks after the delivery of the final domestic decision in his ongoing judicial review proceedings".

Demonstrators at a removal centre at Gatwick protest against plans to send migrants to Rwanda Victoria Jones

The press release also lays out their reasoning. They contend , in line with the view of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, "that asylum-seekers transferred from the United Kingdom to Rwanda will not have access to fair and efficient procedures for the determination of refugee status".

Additionally, they argue that "the finding by the High Court that the question whether the decision to treat Rwanda as a safe third country was irrational or based on insufficient enquiry gave rise to serious triable issues".

As such, the ECHR concluded that there was a "resulting risk of treatment contrary to the applicants Convention rights".

The court also highlighted that Rwanda is not a part of the European Convention on Human Rights, casting further uncertainty over the fate of the migrants once deported.

The European Convention on Human Rights is enshrined in the Human Rights Act of 1998. This means that the articles of the convention are enforceable in British courts.

Interim measures have been issued before in cases pertaining to deportation and removal. In September 2010, the ECHR indicated an interim measure to the French government in the case of Y.P. and L.P. v France.

The applicant was a former Belarusian resident who had applied to asylum in France following repeated persecution and targeted violence due to his opposition to the leading regime.

The French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA) rejected their request. Y.P. then applied to the ECHR arguing that returning to Belarus would lead to significant harm being inflicted on him and his family.

This led to an interim measure being issued which delayed the deportation until legal proceedings in the ECHR itself were completed.

Eventually the applicant was allowed to remain due to the judgement made by the court that the deportation would contravene article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

This article enshrines the protection of individuals from torture or degrading punishment.

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Key differences between the Council of Europe and the European Union explained after Rwanda mess - GB News

The European Union will sign an agreement with an undisclosed manufacturer on Tuesday for the supply of about 110,000 doses of vaccines against monkeypox to be delivered from the end of June, EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides said.

On the sidelines of a meeting of EU health ministers in Luxembourg on Tuesday, Ms Kyriakides said the vaccines will be bought with EU funds and delivered to EU states.

Commission officials said the name of the vaccine maker will be unveiled shortly.

The bloc's drug regulator said this month it was in talks with Danish biotech firm Bavarian Nordic over trial data that could underpin an extension of the approved use of the Imvanex shot, known as Jynneosin the United States, beyond smallpox to include monkeypox.

The US regulator has approved Bavarian's smallpox vaccine for use against monkeypox.

Some EU states, including Germany and Spain, have made their own orders for monkeypox vaccines.

Ms Kyriakides said the EU had recorded 900 cases of monkeypox.

There are confirmed cases in 24 different countries across Europe.

There have been 34 countries in which monkeypox is not endemic that have reported outbreaks of the viral disease, with the total number of confirmed cases approaching1,500.

Monkeypox is making headlines because it is spreading in an unusual manner.

Australia has recorded eight case of monkeypox so far.

The WHO said the monkeypox outbreak outside Africa would not lead to a pandemic, but it was considering whether the outbreak should be assessed as a "potential public health emergency of international concern".

Reuters/ABC

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European Union to buy 110,000 monkeypox vaccines as number of cases in Europe passes 900 - ABC News