According to the FRA’s Founding Regulation: “[t]he Agency should take measures to raise the awareness of the general public about their fundamental rights, and about possibilities and different mechanisms for enforcing them in general, without, however, dealing itself with individual complaints.” (Regulation (EC) no. 168/2007 establishing a European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights). In line with the Founding Regulation, the pilot project CLARITY aims to enhance the knowledge about which non-judicial body with a human rights remit (national human rights institution (NHRI), equality body (EB) and/or ombudsperson institution) to turn to when fundamental rights are at stake.
Where should one turn to claim a right in the European Union? The question as to where to turn when fundamental rights are at stake is one of the crucial obstacles to effectively exercising rights across the EU. There is, therefore, a need to facilitate access to justice by providing information on how and where to make a complaint or get assistance from at the level closest to home for aggrieved individuals.
The CLARITY pilot project involves the creation of a pilot online tool that will enable an easy identification of the most appropriate non-judicial body with human rights remit for a particular fundamental rights issue. The pilot online tool covers different fundamental rights areas, including the area of non-discrimination. The pilot tool principally targets intermediaries, such as NGOs guiding victims of fundamental rights violations to a relevant body. Close collaboration and direct involvement of NHRIs, EBs and/or ombudsperson institutions has been maintained throughout the whole project lifecycle.
