Steven Allen

A printed agenda for a European Parliament event titled "Fundamental rights violations in EU funds" co-hosted by FURI and The Greens/EFA. The document shows the event date (4 November 2025), time (15:30-17:30 CET), location (Room A5E1, SPINELLI building, Brussels), and lists speakers and discussion topics related to EU fund violations and fundamental rights protection.

A parliamentary hearing room in the European Parliament with distinctive orange and wood furniture. Multiple attendees sit at an orange desk with microphones and papers on the left side, while others sit at a curved desk on the right. A large window with frosted glass panels dominates the background, and a yellow-lit wall is visible. A laptop and documents are visible in the foreground.

Interior view of the same European Parliament hearing room from a different angle, showing the curved orange desk in the foreground with a microphone, papers, and a laptop. Several people stand in the background near the orange-paneled walls. The distinctive curved architecture with metal ceiling panels and orange textured wall panels is visible throughout the room.

A printed report cover from FURI (EU Funds for Fundamental Rights) displayed on an orange table. The cover features a photograph of temporary housing units on barren ground and is titled "1.1 Billion Euros, 63 Projects, Six Countries, One Pattern: How EU funds violate fundamental rights." The report is dated May 2025.

Pleased to be in the European Parliament with @stevenbp.bsky.social today on behalf of @validityfoundation.bsky.social, raising awareness on the use of EU funds for institutionalisation and other violations of fundamental rights which has been uncovered by the FURI project (tinyurl.com/469wm2pj)

It is time that the EU stops wasting money and peoples' lives. Proud that @validityfoundation.bsky.social contributed to this important research.

#racist, not raised. #RACIST

Netanyahu to The Hague. Give him a nice cell. A cell from which he leaves only in a box. Long after everyone has forgotten who he was. Many, many years from now. Many years to think about how his soul will burn, and to remember every chip in the walls. For eternity. No access to judgment day. None.

To be clear: the world supports South Africa, and #Ramaphosa did well given the choreographed, raise nonsense of #Trump. RSA has greater moral credibility in its toilet paper compared to the shit that spews endlessly from Trump and his minions. #AMANDLA

The current problem with @bsky.app is that is predominantly gives a US perspective on the world. That isn't the only perspective that exists, and it shouldn't be dominant. Diversity, globally, matters.

Image of the entrance and exit to a a road tunnel in Budapest, which goes under a hill on Buda side of the city m it is an old, grand, stone engraved with leaf greenery of the hills behind and around it, and the photo is taken from a distance and low to the ground, with green grass at the bottom of the image. Above the tunnel are three large posters which have been displayed by people protesting against Hungary's draconian legislative proposal to shut down civil society. Two of the signs have the image of a heart with the word "CIVIL" in the middle, a reference to Civilizáció, the Hungarian Coalition of Civil Society Organisations. A third poster has text which says: "Érted lettünk. Veled vagyunk. Miattad maradunk." This translates to: "We came for you. We are with you. We will stay because of you." It is a message to the Hungarian public, and a message of defiance against government reputation.

"Érted lettünk. Veled vagyunk. Miattad maradunk." Let's defend Hungarian civil society!

Today is Palestinian Prisoners' Day when Palestinians honour those imprisoned by Israel’s apartheid regime

As Israel ramps up its mass imprisonment of Palestinians, we must demand our government pressure Israel to #FreeThemAll

Write to David Lammy palestinecampaign.eaction.online/prisonersday25

BNC Statement on Palestinian Prisoners’ Day This Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, the Palestinian-led BDS movement calls for BDS pressure on HP, Microsoft and Cisco...

On April 17th, #PalestinianPrisonersDay, the @bdsmovement.bsky.social, calls for holding Microsoft, HP & Cisco accountable for their roles in maintaining Israel’s illegal #apartheid regime, and for facilitating egregious human rights violations in Israeli prisons. bdsmovement.net/news/bnc-sta...

Closing institutions and ensuring all people with disabilities can live in the community should be TOP PRIORITY at #GDS2025. We've secured a 30min slot for those who'll be there in person. Let's use it to strategise and get #deinstitutionalization firmly on the global development agenda!

Yes. But let's fight back 💪🏽🏳️‍🌈 - rainbows can be powerful.

Füstgyertya, kiabálás, szovjet himnusz – megszavazta a parlament a Pride-ot betiltó törvényjavaslatot A Momentum és Hadházy Ákos Orbán-Putyin csókolózós fényképével szórta tele a Parlamentet. A Jobbik és a Mi Hazánk képviselői is támogatták a gyülekezési törvény módosítását, Orbán Viktor nem szavazott...

#Hungary bans Pride citing child protection against homosexual propaganda. I guess this year's #RainbowParade will be big...

Oh man, I need to brush up my knowledge on private international law! Erm... Any advice?

Ending violence, ensuring inclusion: strengthening protections against gender-and disability-based violence - Validity Foundation - Mental Disability Advocacy Centre ShareTweetAs the DIS-CONNECTED project comes to a close, we are releasing our reports and tools developed throughout the initiative. The project explored violence against women and children with disab...

On #IWD, I want to share with you a report I wrote for @validityfoundation.bsky.social on their DIS-CONNECTED project examining violence against women with disabilities, access to justice and support services in the EU. Amazing project by Validity and partners! validity.ngo/2025/02/27/e...

Landmark Ruling: European Court Finds Moldova failed to Protect Woman with Disabilities from Servitude - Validity Foundation - Mental Disability Advocacy Centre ShareTweetFirst-ever European Court decision on servitude of persons with disabilities reveals systemic failures in Moldova’s deinstitutionalisation practices  Validity has prepared an Easy-to-Read Su...

A groundbreaking decision on the link between disability, institutionalisation, and servitude/forced labour by the European Court of Human Rights.

I.C. was right when she said: “Didn’t I tell you? Didn’t I tell you that they will not get away with what they did?”.

validity.ngo/2025/02/28/l...

➡️ Full judgment here: lnkd.in/gK-F5SRP

➡️ Easy-to-Read summary: bit.ly/3QDQuCA

➡️ Press release from the European Court of Human Rights: bit.ly/3XnXly6

#DisabilityRights #Servitude #ECHR #Article4 #Moldova #Deinstitutionalisation #IntellectualDisability #AccessToJustice #SGBV

I couldn't be more proud of the @validityfoundation.bsky.social team & our Moldovan partners. This crucial judgment is the first ever addressing servitude of persons w disabilities in context of #DI under Article 4 #ECHR. Inclusion means support in the community, not treating people as possessions.

Dunno how he does it! Peter's (@desibility.bsky.social) Disability Debrief keeps finger on pulse - 'Right to be angry!' France disability-segregated; #GlobalDisabilitySummit & 'polycrisis' (disability governance, #Palestine, #Ukraine, censorship); Trump, aid cuts(!!); yet, legal landmarks. Support!

Europe’s population crisis: see how your country compares – visualised How anti-immigration politics across the EU clashes with demographic reality

Well worth a read.

Screenshot of a live news update from the Times of Israel. It says: Katz announces establishment of new panel tasked with advancing 'voluntary' emigration of Gazans. By Emmanuel Fabian. [Photo: A group of white men, some in military flax, sitting around a table apparently talking. A caption to the photo says: Defense Minister Israel Katz holds an assessment with defense officials, February 17, 2025. (Ariel Hermoni/ Defense Ministry)] Defense Minister Israel Katz announces the establishment of a new directorate in the Defense Ministry tasked with enabling Palestinians to “voluntarily” leave the Gaza Strip, as per US President Donald Trump’s stated plans. Katz held an assessment today on the subject of Palestinians leaving Gaza, during which the new directorate was decided upon, his office says. The new directorate will include representatives from various government ministries and defense bodies. Also during the assessment, the ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) presented Katz with an initial plan on the subject. “The plan includes extensive assistance that will allow any Gaza resident who wants to emigrate to a third state, to receive support that includes special departure arrangements through the sea, air, and land, among other things,” Katz’s office says.

As if they have ever hidden their plans. They need to brought to justice #genocide #Gaza #Palestine

And further, in s. 12 of the treaty: "The provisions of Section 11 shall be applicable irrespective of the relations
existing between the Governments of the persons referred to in that section and the Government of the United States." There isn't a special getout clause concerning #ICC or #Israel.

The US is violating article IV, s. 11, of the treaty on UN HQ (1947): "The federal, state or local authorities of the [US] shall not impose any impediments to transit to or from the headquarters district of: ( 1 ) representatives of Members or officials of the [UN], or of specialized agencies [...]"

One practical thing the #GeneralAssembly could do would be to move the headquarters of the UN outside the USA. Especially given USA as host country has banned #ICC prosecutors from entering and is now interfering with international justice.

I couldn't bring myself to vote for him because he defined his leadership on fighting against anyone who dares to speak for the a Palestinians. His prognostications on #Palestine have been well known for a long time. Labour is not an avenue to tackle injustice given its current takeover.

I wish I could say with any genuine measure that this is a suprise. Of course it isn't.

Screenshot of an excel document containing a list of approved side events to the Global Disability Summit.

Only a small minority of side events to the #GlobalDisabilitySummit will have any involvement of persons with disabilities. Zero events on one of the largest disabling events in history in #Palestine due to veto on that topic. #Google prime place. What on earth is going on?

Where on earth is the fightback on this? Wait-and-see really isn't acceptable any more - impacts are immediate and probably not easily rolled back.

US Government (State Dept) also has a prime spot at the #GlobalDisabilitySummit - reasonable to expect the organisers to cancel that immediately.

Is it worth going to the #GlobalDisabilitySummit? No agenda (yet), sky-high Berlin hotels, visa sponsor letters not out yet(!!), no public criteria on side event selection (most non-OPD led), criticism that the mass disabling atrocity in #Palestine cannot be mentioned. Should I use my registration?

USAID’s future appears bleak as Musk and Trump work to dismantle agency | CNN Politics The fate of the US Agency for International Development appeared bleak Monday after Elon Musk, the world’s richest man charged with overhauling the federal government, said President Donald Trump had ...

Unmitigated chaos. Where on earth are the famous constitutional "checks and balances"?

As a surgeon in Gaza, I witnessed hell visited on children. It shames me that Britain played a part in it | Nizam Mamode I saw them killed by sniper fire and drones. Why doesn’t Labour condemn it? Why do arms keep flowing in Israel’s direction? asks retired professor of transplant surgery Nizam Mamode

"Reduced to scooping out the blood with my hands, I felt an overwhelming wave of nausea – I was anxious that the child would not survive. Luckily she did, although many others did not." Donate, if you can @medicalaidpal.bsky.social