The Centre for Peace Studies (CPS), in collaboration with a lawyer, has today submitted an appeal to the Municipal Misdemeanor Court in Zagreb against the verdict that resulted in the long-time activist against Putin and human rights defender Vladislav Arinichev spending 15 days in detention. Arinichev protested in Zagreb against the life-threatening actions of the Security and Intelligence Agency. After being released from prison, Arinichev was again deprived of liberty as Croatia denied his asylum request, and he has been on a hunger strike for five days in the reception centre for foreigners in Trilj.

Antisemitism persists in the EU, affecting Jews both online and offline. Concerns over safety and frequent experiences of harassment force many to conceal their Jewish identity. These alarming insights come from the latest survey by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). The EU and some of its Member States have put in place measures and action plans to tackle antisemitism. EU countries need to build on these efforts to ensure Jews can live their lives with dignity, free from hate and fear. This is especially important given the impact that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has had on Jewish communities in Europe.

Project Description:

"Lives in Motion" is a non-formal educational project implemented by civil society organizations from Italy, Romania, Portugal, and Croatia (Maghweb, ANP | WFF, Polylogos, Center for Peace Studies). The project is funded by EACEA under the CERV-EU-REM program. Through the project partners will collaboratively develop, test, and disseminate an interdisciplinary, non-formal educational toolkit that provides high school teachers and students (aged 15-18) with a multi-faced, historical, and critical understanding of migrations into, out of, and within Europe.

Dear colleagues, the office of the Centre for Peace Studies will be closed on June 28, 2024.

In case of an emergency, please send an email to cms@cms.hr!

The new report from the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) finds that most data protection authorities face challenges when implementing the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including a large number of complaints, a lack of human and financial resources, and a growing workload. FRA calls on EU countries to ensure that data protection authorities have the resources they need to protect people’s personal data.

People’s fundamental rights are at risk across Europe. This is due to rising levels of poverty, persistent threats against democracy, widespread racism and challenges occurring in the context of migration finds FRA’s Fundamental Rights Report 2024. These threats underline the need to ensure strong and sustainable fundamental rights protection across the EU, particularly for people in vulnerable situations. The report suggests how policymakers and civil society can work in tandem to counter the threat of social exclusion and enable a more equal and fairer society for all.

On the eve of the European elections, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) published a report on the political participation of persons with disabilities. The report provides an overview of developments since the last report published in 2014, considers good practices and suggests activities to ensure equal opportunities for people with disabilities, under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

More LGBTIQ people in Europe are now open about who they are. At the same time, they face more violence, harassment, and bullying than before. This is especially true for younger LGBTIQ people, who are particularly vulnerable. These are some of the findings of the latest EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) survey, based on responses from more than 100,000 LGBTIQ people across Europe.

Media freedom continues to stand perilously close to breaking point in many EU countries and in some, it needs to be almost completely revived, Liberties’ Media Freedom Report 2024 finds. 

On 10 April 2024, the European Parliament adopted the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, a package of reforms expanding the criminalisation and digital surveillance of migrants. 

Despite civil society organisations’ repeated warnings, the Pact “will normalise the arbitrary use of immigration detention, including for children and families, increase racial profiling, use ‘crisis’ procedures to enable pushbacks, and return individuals to so called ‘safe third countries’ where they are at risk of violence, torture, and arbitrary imprisonment”.