Systems

Support for human rights systems and defenders

Many organisations work to defend your rights. We help their efforts with independent evidence, advice and expertise.

We support their frontline work. And we shine a light on potential risks and priority areas. Together we make your rights a reality.

Highlights

  • Periodic updates / Series
    18
    October
    2023
    Civil society organisations struggle to maintain an environment safe from threats and attacks. FRA’s sixth annual update on civic space explores the challenges for organisations across the EU. While there has been significant development since FRA began monitoring the situation in 2018, civil society organisations remain under immense pressure. Abusive lawsuits and attacks against those involved in migrant search and rescue at sea are just some of the challenges identified. This report presents ways forward to protect civil society and human rights.
  • Report / Paper / Summary
    11
    October
    2021
    This report proposes a framework for becoming, and functioning as, a ‘human rights city’ in the EU. It includes ‘foundations’, ‘structures’ and ‘tools’ for mayors, local administrations and grassroots organisations to reinforce fundamental rights locally. It is based on existing good practice and expert input by representatives of human rights cities in the EU, academic experts, international organisations and city networks.
  • Page
    The European Union Fundamental Rights Information System EFRIS is a Human Rights Gateway, bringing together data and information from existing human rights databases, and enables viewing and analysis of relevant assessments of fundamental rights in the EU.
  • Handbook / Guide / Manual
    23
    October
    2018
    As a very modern human rights catalogue containing many rights not found in established bills of rights, the Charter indeed looks good on paper. Those familiar with the main principles of EU law can usually quickly recite that the Charter is always binding on the EU, and binding on Member States only when they are "implementing EU law". But what does this often-quoted language from Article 51 of the Charter actually mean?
Products
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From 25 to 27 June, representatives of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) from across the EU, Serbia and North Macedonia will gather at FRA.
FRA will join a meeting on 17 June in Geneva on local governments for human rights – addressing economic and social inequalities at local level.
FRA’s Director was invited by the Romanian Presidency of the European Council to present the key findings of the Fundamental Rights Report 2019 at the Council of the EU’s Working Party on Fundamental Rigths, Citizens’ Rights and Free Movement of Persons (FREMP).
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FRA Director Michael O’Flaherty will be one of the keynote speakers at an international seminar on ‘Building the present, designing the future: public policies for a more equal society’.
FRA Director Michael O’Flaherty will be one of the keynote speakers at the civil society days of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), on 12 June.
FRA will take part in an expert meeting on business and human rights at the European Law Institute (ELI) in Vienna on 3 June.
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In the framework of the agency’s cooperation with civil society, FRA will speak at the opening session of the International Civil Society Forum in Bucharest that takes place from 3 to 4 June.
On 21 May, a group of students from the Department of International Law at the University of Erfurt in Germany will visit FRA.
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In the framework of its cooperation with civil society in the Fundamental Rights Platform (FRP), the agency is hosting a peer exchange workshop on strategic litigation in human rights, with selected experienced organisations.
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The FRA Director Michael O’Flaherty will address the Congress of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) on its opening day in Vienna on 21 May.
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The agency’s Executive Board and Management Board will meet on 16 and 17 May.
On 14 May, the FRA Director will exchange views with the Heads and Chairs of European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI) and European Network of Equality Bodies (Equinet) on key strategic priorities to help each organisation’s planning.
The agency’s Scientific Committee will meet on 6 May at FRA.
On 8 May, the FRA Director will exchange views with the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights of the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament.