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Kartik Raj

@kartikraj.eurosky.social
2.2K followers 228 following 1K posts

Work: @hrw.org on human rights in Europe Non-work: Migrant. Parent. Pedant. Anorak. #dadjokes. He/him. Barcelona-based. Work output here: www.hrw.org/about/people/kartik-raj

PostsRepliesMedia
Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 22/09/2026
Important training opportunity for Civil Society Organizations thinking of engaging with the European Social Charter and its mechanisms, offered here directly by the specialists on social rights at the @coe.int. Registration form here: forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/Respon...
Image advertising Council of Europe event:
Training on the European Social Charter
Monitoring and implementing the European Social Charter
2 October 2026
9.30-12.00 CET
Registration deadline 30 September 2026
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 15/09/2026
If ever anyone needed further persuading that the proposed enactment of the socioeconomic equality duty were a good idea -- remember this was legislated for in 2010, and is still pending --- then I think this delightfully unhinged Telegraph opinion piece with a glorious subhead should do the trick.
Screenshot of Daily Telegraph opinion piece: 
Author: Annabel Denham
Title: Britain does not need any more equality
Subtitle: Labour is planning to impose a Procrustean ‘socio-economic duty’ on all public bodies that will only make our economy more sluggish
Image: a still from the Two Ronnie's TV show with the caption "Socio-economic duty suggests that fairness is not about equal treatment, but differential treatment based on class"
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 08/09/2026
I hope fellow pedants laughed as much as I did at the stray definite article in this sentence in the @theguardian.com today, making reference to the Mayor of London's approach to local authorities and licensing laws. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026.... Sadly now corrected.
The government is due to grant new powers to the Khan, allowing him to “call in” local council decisions he opposes.
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 17/06/2026
Nouvel rapport* sur le système discriminatoire des amendes policières en France, qui piège les jeunes noirs, arabes et nord-africains dans le surendettement. Ces amendes sont utilisées comme outil de profilage racial. (*rédigé par @hrw-fr.hrw.org, Re-Claim et MCDS) www.hrw.org/fr/news/2026...
Une mère de famille fait face à une dette de plusieurs dizaines de milliers d'euros accumulée par des amendes impayées de ses fils, suite aux multiples verbalisations durant leur enfance ; Paris, France, juin 2026. © 2026 Souleymane Fofana (Commeas)
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 17/06/2026
New research on France's discriminatory system of police fines, that traps youth (especially Black, Arab & North African boys and young men) in debt with long-lasting impact. The fines are also used as a tool of racial profiling. Report by @hrw.org, Re-Claim and MCDS www.hrw.org/news/2026/06...
A mother faces her sons’ unpaid fine debt of tens of thousands of euros resulting from dozens of fines they received throughout their childhood, Paris, France, June 2026. © 2026 Souleymane Fofana (Commeas)
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 08/06/2026
Hungarian Prosecutors Drop Pride-Related Charges posted for @hrw.org Positive Move for Civic Space, LGBT Rights, and Rule of Law www.hrw.org/news/2026/06...
Hungarians march in downtown Budapest to protest against the previous government’s law banning LGBTQ+ Pride events, May 1, 2025. © 2025 Denes Erdos/AP Photo
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 04/06/2026
RIP
Screenshot of a black and white drawing of a girl crying from Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 04/06/2026
If English-speaking journalists following these developments are looking for a response from @hrw.org, please get in touch here, or feel free to quote this below:
Screenshot of quote: “Today’s decision to drop charges against Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony and Pécs-based activist Géza Buzás-Hábel for their role in organising 2025 Pride events is good news for human rights in Hungary,” said Kartik Raj, senior Europe researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The fact that authorities cited the recent European Court of Justice judgment declaring Hungary’s anti-LGBT law unlawful is a positive step towards  restoring the rule of law in the country.”
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 22/04/2026
El País does a stellar job of the anticlimactic headline. This is exemplary. Filed from Seville.
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 16/04/2026
Life imitates art?
Close up shot of Samuel L Jackson's character in the film Pulp Fiction
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 29/03/2026
Blue sky
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 26/03/2026
Full text of the Chișinău Declaration here: rm.coe.int/declaration-... Strong first paragraph spelling out the links between democratic stability and security, and ensuring greater attention to and respect for social rights to guarantee those things. Based on recent rights experience.
Screenshot of first page of the CHIŞINĂU DECLARATION, highlighting the first paragraph:  1. The Council of Europe member States gathered in Chișinău recognise that social rights as enshrined notably in the European Social Charter are under unprecedented pressure as Europe grapples with overlapping and mutually reinforcing societal crises. Democratic stability and security are directly impacted by rising socio-economic inequalities and the cost-of-living crisis. These factors, as well as the need to increase defence spending resulting from the unstable international situation, including Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, have placed burdens on governments, institutions and communities already grappling with climate change, the health challenges arising from the Covid-19 pandemic and demographic change.
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 24/03/2026
This new reporting on grotesque pension inequality in Hungary, revealed by HVG's data journalists, is stunning. A tiny handful of retirees claiming public pensions over 1 or 2 million HUF. One third of all retirees in relative poverty; one sixth in extreme poverty. hvg.hu/360/20260324...
Infographic in Hungarian showing pension inequality in Hungary, based on official data obtained by HVG magazine
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 05/03/2026
Deutschland: Gesetzesentwurf zur Grundsicherung untergräbt Recht auf soziale Sicherheit Reform dürfte Kinderarmut und Armut bei Alleinerziehenden verschärfen Weiterlesen: www.hrw.org/de/news/2026...
Deutschland: Gesetzesentwurf zur Grundsicherung untergräbt Recht auf soziale Sicherheit
Reform dürfte Kinderarmut und Armut bei Alleinerziehenden verschärfen
Photo: Zwei Frauen auf dem Weg in ein Jobcenter in Berlin, Deutschland, 25. Juni 2025 © 2025 Jens Kalaene/picture alliance via Getty Images
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 05/03/2026
Deutschland: Gesetzesentwurf zur #Grundsicherung untergräbt Recht auf soziale Sicherheit Reform dürfte #Kinderarmut und #Armut bei #Alleinerziehenden verschärfen #Buergergeldreform #Buergergeld #Sozialstaatsreform #Existenzminimum @hrwdeutschland.bsky.social
Zwei Frauen auf dem Weg in ein Jobcenter in Berlin, Deutschland, 25. Juni 2025 © 2025 Jens Kalaene/picture alliance via Getty Images
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 05/03/2026
The German government’s social security bill has its second reading in the Bundestag today. The plans run counter to Germany’s human rights obligations, and will leave more people, including children in low-income families and single mothers, at risk of poverty. @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2026/03...
Two women visit a Jobcenter in Berlin, Germany, June 25, 2025 © 2025 Jens Kalaene/picture alliance via Getty Images
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 04/03/2026
And this landmark 2012 @hrw.org report on xenophobic violence researched and authored by @evacosse.bsky.social and Jude Sunderland: www.hrw.org/news/2012/07...
Cover of HRW 2012 report: Hate on the Streets: Xenophobic Violence in Greece
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 01/03/2026
Publica una foto que hagis fet, sense context, per portar una mica de zen al feed.
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 12/02/2026
Not a great week for human rights in Hungary... add to that the first hearing in the criminal case against Pastor Gábor Iványi, a social and economic rights defender, part of a politically motivated crackdown on dissent. Read all of @hrw.org's work on the country here: www.hrw.org/europe/centr...
Screen shot of HRW Hungary page featuring three publications:
February 12, 2026 - News Release - Hungary: Blocking Lawsuits Undermines Rule of Law
February 10, 2026 - Dispatches - Hungary's Prosecution of a Pride Organizer is a Warning to All Protesters
February 10, 2026 - Dispatches - Italy, Hungary’s Snub of ICC Arrests Should be a Wake-Up Call for the EU
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 06/02/2026
What is about curling that makes me set aside all my rational impulses and skepticism about sportswashing, the role of money in major sports, the geopolitics of each of these games, ICE in Italy, nationalism, etc… and want to watch? Not gonna lie, seeing Snoop on the ice is pretty excellent. 🥌
Screengrab of post by New York Times/The Athletic showing a picture of Snoop Dogg learning to curl during the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 04/02/2026
ICYMI, the UK government has put forward legislation to end the cruel two-child limit social security policy. It is a short bill that simply proposes deleting two lines of earlier legislation applying the limit. Finally debated yesterday. bills.parliament.uk/bills/4059
Cover sheet of UK Parliamentary Bill 359 59/1 Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 26/01/2026
Sliding towards authoritarianism? A compilation of recent work done by @hrw.org colleagues covering human rights in the US here: www.hrw.org/feature/2026...
Demonstrators march during the "No Kings" national demonstration against US President Donald Trump and Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Los Angeles, California, June 14, 2025. © 2025 Ringo Chiu/AFP via Getty Images
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 24/01/2026
It’s a beaut.
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 14/01/2026
8/n I'd characterise the government's efforts to address this deep pension poverty as "applying band-aids to an open wound." They have issued food vouchers worth €75 to use in a three month period. They promise an extra month pension, which in reality turns out to be an extra week's pension.
Margit, 85, shows the food vouchers she has remaining after buying fruit at a market in Budapest, Hungary. She reported that only some market stalls would accept them. October 2025. © 2025 Kartik Raj/Human Rights Watch
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 14/01/2026
7/n I visited one rural community where I had access to pension income data. All 98 old-age pensioners in the municipality received pension incomes below what a working person earning minimum wage would. All of them. 89 of them received pensions below the income poverty threshold. All but nine.
Case Study of One Municipality

Local authorities in one of the municipalities that Human Rights Watch visited provided information on the ages of all residents receiving pensions and gross monthly pension payment amounts. At the time of the visit, 98 pensioners between ages 63 and 92 received age-related retirement pensions. All but nine received pensions below the poverty threshold, and all received pensions lower than the gross monthly minimum wage.

With scatter graph
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 14/01/2026
6/n Our report has detailed analysis based on the government's own data. We use the official data to document how so many people's pension incomes fall below the poverty threshold, or the equivalent of minimum wage; how women are particularly worse off; how recent sudden inflation made things worse.
Bar chart of number of people receiving old age pensions in Hungary by monthly amount, with comparisons to at risk of poverty threshold, and minimum wage thresholdsTable of numbers and percentage of people, by gender, receiving old age pensions in Hungary by monthly amount, with comparisons to at risk of poverty threshold, and minimum wage thresholdsBar charts showing gender distribution of old age pension payments by age and amountLine graphs of inflation in Hungary with other EU27 states, and food price inflation in particular
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 14/01/2026
3/n Béla, an 87-year-old retired agricultural worker, showed me the slip of paper showing his monthly pension of 148,665 Hungarian forints (~€376). After paying for food, utilities, home maintenance and medicine, his monthly disposable income is 10,000 HUF (€25).
Béla, a retired agricultural worker, holds a slip of paper that confirms his monthly pension of 148,665 HUF (€376). Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, Hungary, November 2025. © 2025 Kartik Raj/Human Rights Watch
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 14/01/2026
1/n "It is what it is" (or "Ez van" in Hungarian) was what so many older people I interviewed in Hungary told me with resignation-- accompanied with a shrug, raised eyebrows, or a downward glance--about the poverty they experience. @hrw.org's findings are out now: www.hrw.org/news/2026/01...
Anna, 80, shows a notebook containing detailed records of monthly expenses, for herself and her sister Erika, 84, in their home in Budapest, Hungary, October 2025. © 2025 Kartik Raj/Human Rights Watch
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 08/01/2026
Out today from @hrw.org - new report authored by colleague @lydsg.bsky.social ‘Silencing the Streets’: The Right to Protest Under Attack in the UK www.hrw.org/news/2026/01... "The UK should be protecting the right to protest instead of stripping away people’s rights."
Demonstrators hold a banner during a protest against the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) bill on January 15, 2022 in London, UK.  © 2022 Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 07/01/2026
@patrickdalton.bsky.social Postcard from Badalona, a satellite town of Barcelona. Reminded me of @shitlondon days.
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 17/12/2025
Egy magyar aktivista emlékére Balog Gyula (1959-2025) a lakhatási jogokért és a szegénység ellen folytatott küzdelem kiemelkedő alakja volt. Nyugodj békében Gyula bacsi! www.hrw.org/hu/news/2025...
Balog Gyula (1959-2025), lakhatási jogi és szegénységellenes aktivista a Human Rights Watch képviselőjével beszélget budapesti otthonában 2025 novemberében. Szobája falán a dél-indiai óceán távoli szigetcsoportja, az Amszterdam-sziget térképe látható, amelyről Gyula éppen regényt írt. 
© 2025 Human Rights Watch
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 17/12/2025
In Memory of Gyula Balog (1959-2025), an inspiring housing rights and anti-poverty activist Here is a brief reflection on behalf of @hrw.org to express our condolences, as Gyula’s friends and colleagues lay him to rest today in Budapest. Rest in power, Gyula bacsi! www.hrw.org/news/2025/12...
Gyula Balog (1959-2025), housing rights and anti-poverty activist, speaking with Human Rights Watch at his home in Budapest, November 2025. On the wall is a map of Amsterdam Island, part of a remote archipelago in the southern Indian ocean, about which Balog was writing a novel.
© 2025 Human Rights Watch
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 12/12/2025
A really clear, succinct statement about fiscal policy and human rights in the current UK context. Pretty jargon free, doesn’t require a degree in economics or human rights law. I liked this two paragraph polite rejoinder to Reevesonomics and Starmerism in particular.
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 10/12/2025
I guess this is one way for a former human rights lawyer to be elected, become head of government, and then wish everyone a happy international human rights day. 😐😑🙄🫠
Guardian cover 10 Dec with lead story "PM urges Europe to curb human rights laws to halt rise of populism".
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 09/12/2025
Thanks @spaincivilwartours.bsky.social for your talk and the book, and glad to see you on here, as I’ve left the other place! And thanks for that incredible story about the importance of the figure of the witness to atrocities.
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 03/12/2025
The ears.
A black kitten with outrageously large pointy ears.
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 03/12/2025
Just met this little fella at my 5am coffee stop. 😻😽🫶🏾
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 29/11/2025
Three important secondment vacancies @coe.int on social rights — all with imminent application deadlines. talents.coe.int/en_GB/career...
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 28/11/2025
5/5 Rest in power, Gyula! And I hope that you get to see that settlement on Amsterdam Island (marked on that map pinned up above your desk) from wherever you are now.
Gyula Balog, Hungarian activist being interviewed by Human Rights Watch in his Budapest home. November 2025. (C) Human Rights Watch.
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 28/11/2025
1/n I was deeply saddened to hear that Gyula Balog passed away earlier this week. I met and interviewed him only a couple of weeks ago, for an ongoing research project, in his home. Gyula described himself as "an alcoholic, a homeless person, an activist, an actor, and an expert by experience."
Gyula Balog, Hungarian housing rights activist being interviewed by a Human Rights Watch researcher, November 2025 (C) HRW
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 26/11/2025
Good riddance to rubbish policy. The end to the UK's "two child limit" social security policy has been announced, and it will soon be gone. We @hrw.org welcome the news, as one of many, many, many voices calling for an end to this arbitrary, cruel social security policy.
HRW quote card that says, “The UK government’s decision to end the cruel "two-child limit” social security policy is welcome and long-overdue. It forced growing numbers of children and families into poverty and undermined their rights.”
Kartik Raj, Europe Senior Researcher
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 17/11/2025
3/3 Köszönöm for the warmth with which you spoke with a stranger. Warmth, yes, that’s a good word. Warm like this bowl of húsleves (broth), and other warm soups—and the many warm cups of tea (which is actually more akin to warm fruit squash)—that my interpreter and I were given during the week.
A bowl of husleves, a Hungarian clear meat broth with dumplings and vegetable
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 17/11/2025
1/3 I’ve just returned home after a week interviewing older people on low pension incomes in Hungary for @hrw.org. The findings will be out in the coming months. This photo is of an 80 year old woman showing me her notebook of expenses, in which every last forint is meticulously accounted for.
An older woman, age 80, shows an orange notebook that contains details of her monthly expenses.
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 07/11/2025
New briefing from @amnesty.org on unequal access to abortion across Europe (covering 40 countries) www.amnesty.org/en/documents... "Abortion is essential healthcare and a human right." Too right. And yet too often denied.
Cover of Amnesty International briefing When rights aren’t real for all: The struggle for abortion access in Europe 

Cover photo: Amnesty International placard supporting abortion rights during the 8th of March protest, Luxembourg 2024 © Amnesty International Luxembourg
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 07/11/2025
Hungarian authorities are prosecuting a human rights defender filling the gaps left by its crumbling public services and social security system. Pastor Gábor Iványi, whose church supports people in poverty, faces absurd, politically-motivated charges. More from @hrw.org: www.hrw.org/news/2025/11...
Pastor Gábor Iványi of the Hungarian Evangelical Fellowship speaks with National Tax and Customs officials during an armed raid on his church’s center in Budapest, Hungary on February 21, 2022.  © 2022 Hungarian Evangelical Fellowship
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 03/11/2025
Glad to join friends in the UK’s Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Network meeting with the Ministry of Justice today to follow up on the UN CESCR’s review earlier this year. More here on the network: justfair.org.uk/campaigns-2/...
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 20/10/2025
While my people may be celebrating Deepavali/Diwali, the festival of light today 🪔 , I’d like to extend warm greetings to anyone else who deals with data, tables, graphs and charts in their research on this auspicious day. Happy World Statistics Day! 📊📈👨🏾‍💻🤓
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 10/10/2025
Die Pläne der deutschen Regierung zur Sozialstaatsreform sind schädlich für die Menschenrechte. Hier habe ich vor ein paar Wochen, als wir noch auf die Nachricht warteten, versucht zu erklären, warum (via @hrwdeutschland.bsky.social) www.hrw.org/de/news/2025...
Text box: „Die Pläne der deutschen Regierung, bestimmte Empfänger von Bürgergeld mit drastischen Leistungskürzungen zu bestrafen, zeigen eine Missachtung ihrer Menschenrechte. Dieser harte Kurs wird Armut verschärfen, den sozialen Zusammenhalt untergraben und viele in völlige Verelendung treiben.“
Kartik Raj, Senior Researcher für Europa bei Human Rights Watch
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 09/10/2025
The German government's plan for social security "reform" is bad news for #humanrights. I tried to set out why for @hrw.org here, a couple of weeks back, as we awaited details of these plans: www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...
QUOTE CARD with text
“The German government’s plans to punish some social security recipients with severe cuts to support demonstrates contempt for their human rights. This harsh approach will increase poverty, erode social cohesion, and push many into destitution." 
Kartik Raj, Senior Europe Researcher
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Kartik Raj @kartikraj.eurosky.social · 06/10/2025
Lightweights.
Inbox symbol showing tens of thousands of unread messages.
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