The Russian invasion of Ukraine triggered solidarity from EU governments, local authorities and society as they welcomed more than 7 million people fleeing the aggression. The European Union’s rapid response, activating the EU Temporary Protection Directive, offered welcome relief and much-needed support to those in need. It allowed displaced persons the opportunity to quickly settle and to work, travel and access services across the EU. But other pressing human rights issues have come to the fore and remain high on the EU’s agenda, such as human trafficking, sexual and gender-based violence, hate crime and hate-fuelled disinformation.
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.
Les actes de terrorisme représentent une menace de taille pour la vie et la sécurité des personnes et un défi majeur pour les États sur le plan de la sécurité. Dans le même temps, la législation, les politiques et les autres mesures de lutte contre le terrorisme peuvent donner lieu, directement ou indirectement, à de graves limitations des droits fondamentaux et porter préjudice à des individus, des groupes, ainsi qu’à la société dans son ensemble. Le présent résumé expose les principales conclusions du rapport de l’Agence des droits fondamentaux de l’Union européenne (FRA) sur la directive (UE) 2017/541 relative à la lutte contre le terrorisme, principal instrument de droit pénal dont dispose l’Union européenne (UE) en matière de lutte contre le terrorisme.
Civil society is a key component of Europe’s fundamental rights architecture. From supporting people affected by the pandemic to helping those fleeing the war in Ukraine, civil society plays a crucial role in upholding people’s rights. In so doing, it contributes to a healthy rule of law culture. FRA’s civic space report provides an overview of the many ways in which civil society contributes to the checks and balances that underpin the rule of law.
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.
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 bulletin looks at the fundamental rights situation of all persons fleeing the Russian war in Ukraine to the four EU Member States neighbouring Ukraine. This is primarily in terms of the application of the EU Temporary Protection Directive. It is based on findings of FRA’s field mission to Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia at the beginning of March 2022. It is also based on weekly country reports prepared by Franet, the contracted research network of FRA between 1 March and 27 April 2022.
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.
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.
Les enfants sont des titulaires de droits à part entière. Ils sont bénéficiaires de tous les droits fondamentaux et de tous les droits de l’homme, et sont sujets de réglementations particulières compte tenu de leurs caractéristiques spécifiques. Le présent manuel a pour but de montrer comment le droit et la jurisprudence européens s’adaptent aux intérêts et besoins particuliers des enfants. Il illustre également l’importance des parents et des tuteurs ou d’autres représentants légaux et fait référence, le cas échéant, aux principaux droits et responsabilités conférés aux personnes ayant la charge des enfants. Ce manuel entend sensibiliser le lecteur et approfondir ses connaissances des normes juridiques qui protègent et promeuvent les droits de l’enfant en Europe. Il constitue un ouvrage de référence sur le droit de l’Union européenne et du Conseil de l’Europe dans ces domaines. Il explique comment chaque question est réglementée en vertu du droit de l’UE, y compris de la charte des droits fondamentaux de l’Union européenne, ainsi qu’en vertu de la convention européenne des droits de l’homme, de la charte sociale européenne et d’autres instruments du Conseil de l’Europe.
The EU is facing a large-scale humanitarian crisis. Over 10 days at the beginning of March, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) visited all EU countries bordering Ukraine and Moldova – Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
The Fundamental Rights Forum 2021 was the space for dialogue on the human rights challenges facing the EU today. In this video, participants talk about the challenges of fundamental rights in the digital age.
The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights has been regularly collecting data on asylum and migration since September 2015. This report focuses on the fundamental rights situation of people arriving in Member States and EU candidate countries particularly affected by migration. It addresses fundamental rights concerns between 1 July and 30 September 2021.
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.
L’avis 1/2021 de la FRA illustre l’étendue et la nature des expériences vécues en matière d’inégalité et de discrimination à travers l’UE. Ce faisant, il se réfère aux motifs de discrimination et aux domaines de la vie couverts par la directive sur l’égalité en matière d’emploi et par la directive sur l’égalité raciale, ainsi que par la proposition de directive sur l’égalité de traitement. Cet avis a été publié le 30 avril 2021. Le présent résumé rassemble les principales recommandations («Points clés et avis») décrites dans l’avis 1/2021 de la FRA.
This report examines the EU’s main criminal law instrument in the field of counter-terrorism, Directive (EU) 2017/541. Specifically, it considers how the directive engages issues of fundamental rights, affecting individuals, groups and society as a whole.
Antisemitic incidents and hate crimes violate fundamental rights, especially the right to human dignity, the right to equality of treatment, and the freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This report provides an overview of available data on antisemitism as recorded by official and unofficial sources in the EU Member States as well as Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia. The data provided by the countries are supplemented with information from international organisations.
The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights has been regularly collecting data on asylum and migration since September 2015. This report focuses on the fundamental rights situation of people arriving in Member States and EU candidate countries particularly affected by migration. It addresses fundamental rights concerns between 1 January and 30 June 2021.
This report examines why victims do not report bias-motivated incidents and the barriers that they face when reporting incidents through national crime reporting systems. By mapping existing practices that have a bearing on the victim’s experiences when reporting bias-motivated violence and harassment, it aims to provide evidence to support national efforts to encourage and facilitate reporting – and ultimately assist Member States in delivering on their duties with regard to combating hate crime.