“The fight against transnational repression goes far beyond a gesture of solidarity towards exiles. It engages European sovereignty, the credibility of our asylum system, and the integrity of our democratic order”
theft of personal data, coordinated defa- mation, and the deployment of commercial spyware against the phones of exiled defenders and journalists have become standard tools of authoritarian regimes. Women human rights defenders are dis- proportionately exposed. They face sexist abuse, sexualised smear campaigns and threats against their relatives, all designed to humiliate them and force them out of public life. In this context, misogyny is being used as a political weapon. Other democracies are ahead of us. Canada and Australia, in particular, have already adopted measures against trans- national repression. Europe can no longer afford to lag behind. BUILDING A COHERENT DEMOCRATIC RESPONSE The report adopted by the European Par- liament responds to this reality with a structured European strategy. We call for a substantial strengthening of visa and asylum policies, including the swift issu- ance of humanitarian visas to defenders at risk and full respect for the right to asylum under the Geneva Convention. The report also demands the creation of dedicated units, at both national and European levels, tasked with identifying and protecting victims of transnational repression, with particular attention to the gender-specific dimensions of these attacks. Police officers, magistrates and border guards must be trained to recognise and counter trans- national repression, since they are often the first authorities to whom victims turn. Digital platforms must be held genuinely accountable, through the rigorous enforce- ment of the Digital Services Act and the development of safe reporting channels for online harassment and gender-based abuse. The export of European-made spyware to authoritarian regimes must be banned, and Europol should systematically review the Interpol Red Notices and extradition requests that target defenders. Sanctions must finally be applied with consistency, including asset freezes, visa bans and the expulsion of complicit diplomats, under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime. The fight against transnational repres- sion goes far beyond a gesture of solidarity towards exiles. It engages European sover- eignty, the credibility of our asylum system, and the integrity of our democratic order. As authoritarianism advances across the world, our countries have a duty to remain a refuge for those who fight for human rights, for press freedom, and for demo- cratic values.
ter of the world’s governments engage in such practices, and 10 regimes alone are responsible for nearly 80% of documented cases: China, Türkiye, Tajikistan, Russia, Egypt, Cambodia, Turkmenistan, Uzbek- istan, Iran and Belarus. The true scale is almost certainly far greater than the figures we are able to compile, because fear and the absence of reporting channels keep most cases invisible. The methods are, on the other hand, well documented. They include physical threats and assaults, abductions, poison- ings, the cancellation of passports and the revocation of citizenship, the abusive use of Interpol Red Notices to trigger arrests across borders, fabricated extradition requests, and direct threats against the rel- atives of exiled defenders who remain in the country of origin. These practices do more than terrorise the individuals they target. They allow authoritarian regimes to operate inside our democracies, and they weaken the rule of law that European citizens are entitled to expect. Transnational repression is also moving into the digital sphere, where its growth is fastest. Online harassment campaigns, doxxing (publicly exposing a person’s pri- vate information, such as their address), the
// CHLOÉ RIDEL Chloé Ridel is serving her first term as a member of the Euro- pean Parliament. After several years of activism in the non- profit sector, she joined France’s Socialist Party and has been its spokesperson since 2023. She is the author of From One War to Another: Europe Facing Its Des- tiny , in which she describes the crisis of the European project, undermined from within by the rise of the far right. In the European Parliament, she cham- pions many causes, including fighting corruption, defending human rights, promoting feminist diplomacy and advanc- ing ecological policy.
X-TWITTER @chloeridel BLUESKY @chloe-ridel.fr
133 globalgovernancemedia.org
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online