Acts of terrorism represent a serious threat to the lives and safety of people, and a profound security challenge for states. At the same time, counter-terrorism legislation, policies and other measures can entail, directly or indirectly, serious limitations to fundamental rights, and can adversely affect individuals, groups and society as a whole. This summary presents FRA’s main findings from its report on Directive (EU) 2017/541 on combating terrorism, the main criminal law instrument at EU level in the field of counter-terrorism.
Since 2014, FRA has been publishing an annual update of the forced return monitoring systems EU Member States have set up under Article 8 (6) of the EU’s Return Directive (2008/115/EC). This overview describes different indicators for an effective forced return monitoring system. It includes the organisation responsible for monitoring forced return, the number of operations monitored in 2021, the phases of monitored return operations, the number of staff trained and working as monitors, and whether the monitoring body issued public reports about their monitoring.
The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (CFREU) is the EU’s bill of rights. It always binds the EU institutions and the Member States when they act within the scope of EU law. However, it is far from easy to assess whether a concrete case falls within the scope of EU law. This is why it is necessary to provide training and training material to legal professionals so that they can understand the field of application of the Charter as laid out in its Article 51. This trainer’s manual aims at providing guidance on both the organisation and the implementation of such trainings based on a series of case studies,
which will be extended in the future.
Civil society organisations face diverse challenges across the European Union. FRA’s report on Protecting civic space in the EU presents the agency’s findings on these challenges. It was issued in September of 2021. This summary presents the Key findings and FRA opinions outlined in the report.
Since September 2021, two National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) had a change in their accreditation status, one applied for accreditation and five have had a change in tasks covered by their mandates. This new 2022 update provides an overview of developments in the accreditation status and mandates of NHRIs from September 2021 to May 2022. It is a follow up of FRA’s 2020 report on ‘Strong and effective national human rights institutions – challenges, promising practices and opportunities’ and the September 2021 update. It covers the 27 EU Member States and three candidate countries (Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia).
Every child has a right to be protected even when they are accused or suspected of committing a crime. The basic principles of justice apply to adults and children alike. But children face specific obstacles during criminal proceedings, such as a lack of understandable information about their rights, limited legal support and poor treatment. The report looks at the practical implementation of Directive (EU) 2016/800 on procedural safeguards for children who are suspects or accused persons in criminal proceedings in nine Member States – Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Estonia, Italy, Malta, Poland and Portugal.
This report contains a comprehensive and thorough account of the activities carried out by FRA in the implementation of its mandate and programme of work during 2021. It provides a detailed account of the results achieved in relation to the objectives set out in the annual work programme for 2021 and the five strategic areas defined in FRA’s strategic plan 2018–2022, of the financial and management information, and of the risks related to the organisational activities and measures.
FRA’s Fundamental Rights Report 2022 reviews major developments in the field in 2021, identifying both achievements and areas of concern. It also presents FRA’s opinions on these developments, including a synopsis of the evidence supporting these opinions.
This focus looks at the impact of the pandemic on social rights. It examines the measures in national recovery and resilience plans that address the social vulnerabilities among a variety of population groups in the EU, including women, children and young people in situations of vulnerability, people with disabilities, older people, Roma and people in precarious working conditions.
The year 2021 brought both progress and setbacks in terms of fundamental rights protection. FRA’s Fundamental Rights Report 2022 reviews major developments in the field, identifying both achievements and remaining areas of concern. This publication presents FRA’s opinions on the main developments in the thematic areas covered, and a synopsis of the evidence supporting these opinions.
This guide can help cities wishing to improve their efforts to respect human rights. It aims to encourage local authorities to adopt higher human rights standards. The idea is to encourage and foster mutual learning on human and fundamental rights. The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), a group of human rights cities and various practitioners in the EU worked together to produce this guide. The guide draws on the promising practices and experiences of cities, regions, experts, international organisations and networks that can be found in the FRA report Human rights cities in the EU: A framework for reinforcing rights locally.
The Fundamental Rights Survey is the first survey to collect comprehensive and comparable data on people’s experiences and views of their rights in the EU-27. The survey included questions related to rights in a number of different areas, including crime victimisation and safety, data protection and privacy, functioning of the democracy, views on human rights and experiences with public services.
Children are full-fledged holders of rights. They are beneficiaries of all human and fundamental rights and subjects of special regulations, given their specific characteristics. This handbook aims to illustrate how European law and case law accommodate the specific interests and needs of children. It also considers the importance of parents and guardians or other legal representatives and makes reference, where appropriate, to situations in which rights and responsibilities are most prominently vested in children’s carers. It is a point of reference on both European Union (EU) and Council of Europe (CoE) law related to these subjects, explaining how each issue is regulated under EU law, including the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, as well as under the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Social Charter and other CoE instruments.
FRA’s 2019 survey on Roma and Travellers in Belgium, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom interviewed almost 4 700 Roma and Travellers, collecting information on more than 8 200 individuals living in their households.
The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) regularly collects data on NGO vessels involved in search and rescue in the Mediterranean. This includes any legal proceedings against them, as well as any difficulties disembarking migrants in safe ports. The International Organization for Migration estimates that from January to 10 December 2021 about 1,654 people have died or gone missing while crossing the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe to escape war or persecution or to pursue a better life. This is an average of more than four people per day. Deadly incidents have also occurred recently in the Channel (La Manche).
Since 2014, FRA has been publishing an annual update of the forced return monitoring systems EU Member States have set up under Article 8 (6) of the EU’s Return Directive. This overview describes different indicators for an effective forced return monitoring system. It includes the organisation responsible for monitoring forced return, the number of operations monitored in 2020, the phases of monitored return operations, the number of staff trained and working as monitors, and whether the monitoring body issued public reports about their monitoring.
This report sheds light on the realities faced by unaccompanied migrant children who are not in the care of child protection systems in the EU. Presented as a case study, it tells the story of children and young adults from Pakistan who travelled alone to the EU without their parents or other adults.
FRA Opinion 1/21 illustrates the extent and nature of lived experiences of inequality and discrimination across the EU. It does so with reference to the grounds of discrimination and areas of life covered by the racial and employment equality directives, as well as by the proposed Equal Treatment Directive. It was issued on 30 April 2021. This summary presents the main recommendations (‘Key findings and opinions’) outlined in FRA Opinion 1/21.