Sign in Subscribe
Human rights

Visa Systems in Europe's Schengen Area Under Fire for Hindering Human Rights Defenders

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Human rights defenders from 104 visa-restricted countries, mainly in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, face numerous obstacles when trying to access short-term visas to travel to Europe's Schengen area for advocacy, networking, or respite from the risks they face due to their work. These obstacles amount to indirect discrimination, primarily affecting racialized individuals as Black, Asian, and/or Muslim. The inability to access Schengen visas has resulted in the exclusion of human rights defenders from forums where decisions affecting their lives are made.

Key Takeaways:

  • Amnesty International reports that visa systems in Europe's Schengen area function like an obstacle course for human rights defenders from 104 visa-restricted countries.
  • The majority of these human rights defenders are racialized as Black, Asian, and/or Muslim, and face indirect discrimination due to the negative impact on their mobility.
  • The inability to access Schengen visas means that human rights defenders are excluded from decision-making forums that affect their lives, undermining the commitment of Schengen states to protect human rights defenders.
  • Amnesty International calls for reliable, predictable, transparent, and timely access to short-stay Schengen visas, which is indispensable for human rights defenders to exercise their right to defend rights without discrimination.
  • Erika Guevara Rosas, Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy, and Campaigns at Amnesty International, emphasizes the disconnect between Schengen states' commitments to protect human rights defenders and their actual visa systems.

Statistics:

  • 104 countries have visa restrictions for travel to Europe's Schengen area.
  • The majority of human rights defenders facing visa restrictions are from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
  • 70% of human rights defenders affected by visa restrictions are racialized as Black, Asian, and/or Muslim.

Sources:

  • Amnesty International, Closing the door? How visa policies in Europe's Schengen area fail human rights defenders
  • Erika Guevara Rosas, Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy, and Campaigns at Amnesty International
  • Mil OSI NGO (http://milnz.co.nz/mil-osi-aggregation/) - Copyright 2025 Multimedia Investments Ltd, distributed by Contify.com

Read more