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6
February
2024

NHRI accreditation status and mandates - update 2024

The 2024 update on NHRIs accreditation status and mandates also covers their engagement in the monitoring of fundamental rights compliance in the use of EU funds at national level. Moreover, the update also shows how NHRIs make use of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in their work when advising government or in education, training and awareness raising activities. Since its 2020 report 'Strong and effective national human rights institutions – challenges, promising practices and opportunities', the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) has been regularly tracking the accreditation status and mandates of NHRIs.

The Common Provisions Regulation (2021/1060) on EU funds has opened up the possibility for NHRIs (along with Equality Bodies and Ombuds Institutions) to play a role in fundamental rights-related monitoring in the use of eight major EU Funds at the national level. ENNHRI issued a statement on the potential role of NHRIs in the context of the EU funds in 2022, and in December 2023 FRA released a major report on EU funds: Ensuring compliance with fundamental rights. The report includes recommendations for EU and national policy makers on how they could benefit from the expertise of NHRIs when implementing EU funds in a way that is compliant with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as required for the Funds governed by the Common Provisions Regulation for the programming period 2021–2027. 

FRA collected information from NHRIs for the preparation of a 2020 report asking whether they are engaged in the monitoring of the EU funds implementation. Back then only three NHRIs reported such an involvement. In 2023, out of the 26 NHRIs that responded to this question, 13 NHRIs indicated they were engaged in the monitoring of fundamental rights compliance in the use of EU funds at national level. With regard to challenges, eight NHRIs indicated lack of capacity and resources and three NHRIs highlighted lack of impact, lack of knowledge and lack of resources as the main challenges in performing their role. Two NHRIs encountered challenges such as lack of clarity due to insufficient guidance by the European Commission. When responding to the survey, some NHRIs mentioned the unclarity of mandates of EU funds monitoring committees or decision-making on projects and their concrete involvement remaining quite abstract. Several NHRIs observed a need to raise the government’s awareness of the obligations regarding the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and four indicated challenges regarding interference into the independence of the institution.

On the positive side, some governments have reached out to the respective NHRI in their country, to seek training on the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, while some NHRIs have issued guidance to the national authorities on monitoring the compliance of EU funds with fundamental rights.

Table 5 – NHRIs that are engaged in monitoring fundamental rights in the use of EU funds: challenges in performing their role

NHRI (or nearest equivalent)

Lack of capacity and resources

Lack of impact

Lack of knowledge

Interference into the independence or mandate of the institution

Other

Inter-federal Centre for Equal Opportunity and the fight against racism and discrimination (Unia) (Belgium)

Yes

 

Yes

 

 

Ombudsman of the Republic of Bulgaria

Yes

 

 

 

 

Ombudswoman of the Republic of Croatia

Yes

Yes

Yes

 

 

Commissioner for Administration and the Protection of Human Rights (Cyprus)

 

 

Yes

 

 

Finnish Human Rights Centre

Yes

 

 

 

Yes

Greek National Commission for Human Rights

Yes

 

Yes

 

 

Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Ombudsman's Office of the Republic of Latvia **

 

 

 

 

 

Commissioner for Human Rights (Poland)

Yes

 

 

Yes

 

Portuguese Ombudsman

 

 

 

Yes

 

Romanian Ombudsman

 

 

 

 

 

Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia **

 

 

 

 

 

Ombuds institution of Spain

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

 

Note: ** highlights NHRIs that have not provided answers to the survey.
Source: FRA, December 2023.

For more information see: Supporting National Human Rights Institutions in monitoring fundamental rights and the fundamental rights aspects of the rule of law | European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (europa.eu)

 

Table 6 – Reasons for NHRIs not to engage in monitoring fundamental rights compliance in the use of EU funds

NHRI (or nearest equivalent)

Not invited by the responsible authorities

Lack of human / financial resources

Lack of knowledge

Concerns regarding the independence or mandate of the institution

Not relevant for the institution

Other

Austrian Ombudsman Board

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

 

Federal Institute for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights (FIRM) (Belgium)

 

 

 

 

 

Yes

 

Public Defender of Rights (Czechia)

 

 

 

 

Yes

 

Chancellor of Justice (Estonia)

 

 

 

Yes

 

Yes

Parliamentary Ombudsman (Finland)

 

 

 

 

Yes

 

National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (France)

Yes

Yes

 

 

 

 

German Institute for Human Rights

 

Yes

 

Yes

 

Yes

Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights **
(Hungary)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Seimas Ombudsmen’s Office (Lithuania)

Yes

Yes

 

 

Yes

 

Consultative Human Rights Commission of Luxembourg

Yes

Yes

Yes

 

Yes

 

Netherlands Institute for Human Rights

Yes

 

 

 

 

 

Slovak National Centre for Human Rights

Yes

Yes

 

Yes

 

 

Equality Ombudsman (Sweden)

 

 

 

 

Yes

 

Note:  ** highlights NHRIs that have not provided answers to the survey.

Source: FRA, December 2023.