On May 1, 2004, the European Union was enlarged by the accession of ten new Member States: Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia from Central and Eastern Europe, as well as Malta and Cyprus. Specifically, this date marks the entry into force of the EU Accession Treaty, which was previously approved by the European Council and Parliament, ratified by the existing Member States and the Candidate States (the latter through  national referendums). The official enlargement ceremony was held in Dublin, Ireland, where the new Member States were welcomed by European Commission President Roman Prodi, European Enlargement Commissioner Gunter Verheugen and European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection David Byrne.

Prior to joining the European Union, each Candidate State was obligated to fulfill the Copenhagen Criteria, a set of economic and social requirements, and to adhere to the acquis communautaire, the collective policies and rules of the EU.

The European Union Enlargement website contains information on the accession negotiations and a profile of each new Member State.

For more information on the European Union accession process and its relationship to womens rights, please see the Enlargement of the European Union section of this website.

For more information, please see the Amnesty International press release of the report.

For more information on trafficking in Kosovo, please visit the Kosovo section of this website.

Amnesty International has expressed its concern over Protocol 14 to the European Convention on Human Rights, which was opened for signature during the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers' session of 12-13 May, 2004. Foreign Ministers and representatives of seventeen member states signed the protocol on 13 May.  These states include Armenia, Croatia, Estonia, Denmark, France, Georgia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Slovenia, and Switzerland.

Protocol 14 sets new admissibility criteria for cases regarding human rights violations. While Amnesty International endorsed the widely-held view that the European Court of Human Rights must reform in order to address its significant increase in applications, it argued in a press release that “the new admissibility criteria proposed is vague, could lead to arbitrary decisions, and could be applied differently in respect of different states and by different Chambers of the Court.” Amnesty International stated that the proposed criteria does not adequately address the Court’s main challenges; namely, to efficiently screen applications and expeditiously render judgments. It also disapproved the Protocol’s provision to include a representative judge from a state contesting the application of the expedited procedure, citing concerns of bias.

Meanwhile, in its May 11 press release, AI approved of the following components of the reforms: 

• better implementation of the European Convention at national level which, if implemented, would lead to fewer violations and the creation or improvement of redress mechanisms in member states;
• the expeditious and effective filtering of applications and rendering of judgments on the merits;
• the strengthening of monitoring of the implementation of the Court's judgments by the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers.

"Amnesty International also welcomes the proposal to create an expedited procedure to handle 'manifestly well-founded' cases, concerning violations of the European Convention about which the Court's case-law is clear."

Cited from the AI Press Release, AI Index: IOR 30/013/2004 (Public) News Service No: 120, 11 May 2004.

For more information concerning the reform of the European Court of Human Rights, please see a Council of Europe summary here. 

For more information about the procedures of the European Court of Human Rights, please see the International Law: European Court of Human Rights section of this website.  

On May 14, 2003, the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) announced the publication of a handbook to guide OSCE participating states in creating and sustaining a National Referral Mechanism  to protect and promote the human rights of trafficked persons. The handbook can assist OSCE participating States in implementing the OSCE Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings, which encourages the establishment of multidisciplinary teams to develop and monitor anti-trafficking policies.

This development follows on the May 13 appointment of Dr. Helga Konrad as the OSCE Special Representative on Trafficking in Human Beings by the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Solomon Passy.  Dr. Konrad, former chairperson of the Task Force on Trafficking in Human Beings of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, has stated that "[i]t is my intention to tackle all the dimensions of human trafficking, not just trafficking for sexual exploitation but also trafficking into forced and bonded labour and in particular trafficking in children and minors."  From OSCE Press Release Dated 13 May 2004 available here.

For more information on OSCE policy statements relating to trafficking, see the section of this website relating to Trafficking Regional Law and Standards: OSCE.

BAKU, 18 May 2004 - The OSCE Office in Baku today welcomed the adoption by Azerbaijan of a national action plan to co-ordinate all efforts in the fight against human trafficking.

"The Government of Azerbaijan should be congratulated for its forward-looking and proactive stance in fighting trafficking in human beings," said Robin Seaword, Deputy Head of the OSCE Office in Baku. "We hope that by consistent implementation of the letter and spirit of the National Action Plan, Azerbaijan will play a model role in this field."

"The events in this sphere represent the most rapid progress anywhere, from a starting point in November 2002, when the existence of trafficking in human beings was not recognised, to the adoption of the National Action Plan," he added.

The document is a result of the close co-operation between the Azerbaijani Government and institutions and the international partners. It is in line with the spirit and provisions of the OSCE documents on the prevention of trafficking in human beings, which commit all participating States to take actions to eradicate human trafficking.

The Action Plan envisages further improvement of the legal framework, assignment of a National Co-ordinator, creation of a special police department against human trafficking, ensuring protection of victims and consolidation of resources and activities of the relevant governmental, non-governmental and international organizations.

"We share a common goal, a common determination, and a common strategy to succeed," said Mr. Robin Seaword, stressing the Office's readiness to continue its co-operation with the Azerbaijani authorities and institutions. "We stand ready to offer Azerbaijan further advice and assistance to abolish trafficking and related transnational criminal activities."

Cited from OSCE Online Press Release, 18 May 2004, available here.

For more information, please visit the Azerbaijan section of this website.

According to an Amnesty International report published in May 2004, the Office of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina released a report in June of 2003 which found that the State Commission, a law enforcement body charged with implementation of a National Action Plan Against Trafficking , and other law enforcement agencies were not given adequate support by the state government and that there were severe shortcomings in the provision of shelter to vulnerable victims. See Amnesty International summary for Bosnia and Herzegovina for more information.

Compiled from the 2004 Amnesty International report on Bosnia and Herzegovina and from a report from the Office of the High Commisioner for Human rights.

For more information, please visit the Trafficking and Bosnia and Herzegovina sections of this website.

Compiled from the 2004 Albanian summary by Amnesty International and  a report from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Presence in Albania

For more information on trafficking, please visit the Trafficking section on this website. For more information on violence against women in Albania, see the Albania section of this website.

According to an Amnesty International report published in May 2004, the delayed adoption of the new Law on Asylum and amendments to the Law on the Movement and Stay of Foreigners hinders the prevention of trafficking and protection of victims, many of which continue to be treated largely as illegal migrants. See Amnesty International summary for Bosnia and Herzegovina for more information.

Compiled from the 2004 Amnesty International report on Bosnia and Herzegovina.

For more information, please visit the Trafficking and Bosnia and Herzegovina sections of this website.

According to a Amnesty International report published in May 2004, the Tuzla Cantonal Court found the owner of a local nightclub guilty of enslavement in March 2003 and sentenced him to three and a half years in prison. This case is notable because it marks the first conviction in the Federation for enslavement. Previous offenders were charged with the lesser offence of procurement. See Amnesty International summary for Bosnia and Herzegovina for more information.

Compiled from the 2004 Amnesty International summary for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

For more information, please visit the Trafficking and Bosnia and Herzegovina sections of this website.

According to a 2004 report published by Amnesty International, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) published a report in September 2003 entitled Domestic Violence Against Women in Albania which found that 40 percent of women in 11 districts were regularly subjected to physical violence in the home. The study further reports that 64 percent of women report physical and psychological violence. 

Compiled from the 2004 Albanian summary by Amnesty International and UNICEF report, Domestic Violence Against Women in Albania.

For more information on violence against women in Albania, please visit the Albania section of this website. For more information on domestic violence in general, see the domestic violence section of this website.

Amnesty International released its annual human rights report today.  The report provides a regional overview of the human rights situation in Europe and Central Asia and highlights violence against women as a significant human rights concern in each country of this region. 

For more information, please see the What's New section of each country page on this website.