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Today the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) is presenting its report on the fundamental rights of irregular migrants who are employed as domestic workers in the EU. Most irregular migrants in domestic work are women. The report shows that their irregular immigration status, coupled with challenges in regulating domestic work more generally, makes this group very vulnerable to exploitation, including cases of physical abuse. Typical forms of exploitation include low pay, often having to work excessive working hours, and usually not being able to obtain compensation for work-related accidents.
Fundamental rights: challenges and achievements in 2010, the flagship Annual Report of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), charts the progress made in 2010 by the European Union (EU) and its Member States towards securing the rights guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental Rights through developments in legislation, policies and practices. The FRA Annual Report, presented at the European Parliament today, points to promising practices and obstacles to rights protection across a range of policy areas. Some of the major challenges in 2010 related to asylum, the Roma and data protection.
Press Release
The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) has today published a report on the right to political participation of persons with mental health problems and persons with intellectual disabilities in the European Union (EU). The right to vote is a fundamental right of all EU citizens. However, in some Member States persons with mental health problems and persons with intellectual disabilities are discriminated against, since they are not granted this right.
Press Release
Four new reports issued today by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) give evidence that data protection authorities, equality bodies and national human rights institutions across the European Union are in need of additional support.
Today, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) is launching its report Access to justice in Europe: an overview of challenges and opportunities. The report will be launched in Budapest at the conference ‘Protecting victims in the EU: the road ahead', hosted by the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, with the support of the FRA. The report provides a comparative analysis of access to justice across the EU Member States and finds that there are many obstacles that make it difficult for victims to enforce their rights. This report relates mainly to civil and administrative procedures available to victims of discrimination. Although its focus is the area of non-discrimination law, its findings are generally applicable to civil and administrative procedures as a whole.
Press Release
The first comprehensive guide to European non-discrimination law is being launched at the European Court of Human Rights today, 21 March, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
STRASBOURG, VIENNA, WARSAW 21 March 2011 - In a joint statement on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Nils Muiznieks, Chair of the Council of Europe's European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), Morten Kjaerum, Director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), and Janez Lenarčič, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), strongly condemned manifestations of racism and related intolerance.
Today the Fundamental Rights Agency is publishing a report about the fundamental rights situation of persons entering Greece irregularly at its land border with Turkey. This report is based on field research in the Evros region in January 2011.
Today the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) is publishing its findings on multiple discrimination at the European Union agencies exhibition "The way ahead", held at the European Parliament. The findings show that people belonging to 'visible' minorities, such as Roma and people of African origin, are more likely to suffer multiple discrimination – that is, being discriminated on more than one ground - than other minorities. Another relevant ground for discrimination that could increase the experience of multiple discrimination are socio-economic factors such as living with a low income.
Today the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) presents its report on Homophobia, transphobia and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity to Members of the European Parliament. The FRA report reveals that in some EU Member States, legislation and practice is increasing the protection of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons, while in others the rights of LGBT persons are being restricted or neglected. This creates an uneven landscape in the protection of LGBT rights throughout Europe.
Press Release
On 24 November, the topics of diversity and equal opportunities will take centre stage at the Vienna Town Hall. The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) is organising Diversity Day for the fourth time in cooperation with the City of Vienna (Youth Department) and the Vienna School Board.
The European Institute for Gender Equality and the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights sign a cooperation agreement in line with the new EU strategy for gender equality 2010-2015.
Press Release
To mark this year's anniversary of "the night of the broken glass", the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) publishes a handbook for teachers: Excursion to the past - teaching for the future. The handbook emphasises the link between teaching about the Holocaust and other Nazi crimes, and teaching about human rights and democracy. Teachers and guides of memorial sites or museums are key to ensuring that the connection is recognised between Holocaust and human rights education. However, there is a lack of human rights training available for both groups. The FRA thus encourages national governments to better integrate education on the Holocaust and human rights into their school curricula to reflect the significance of human rights in both the history and the future of the EU.
The FRA will today present its new report on racism, ethnic discrimination and the exclusion of migrants and minorities in sport in the European Union. Delegates at the 16th European Fair Play Congress in Prague will discuss the report's findings, including the need to make sport more inclusive and ways of addressing the underrepresentation of persons belonging to minorities in sport. The FRA report also highlights the lack of data available showing the occurrence of racist incidents in sport. It emphasises the need to develop effective ways of monitoring such incidents among players, referees and club officials, as well as between or by fans.
Press Release
The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) is publishing results from a survey of 3,000 Muslim and non-Muslim young people about their experiences of and attitudes towards discrimination, social marginalisation and violence. The results indicate that in the three Member States where the survey took place (France, Spain and the United Kingdom) most young people - regardless of their religious background - do not support violence. On the other hand, those young people who have been victims of discrimination or violence are at greater risk of engaging in violence themselves.
The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) is publishing today, at a Symposium of the European Police College (CEPOL), results from the first ever EU-wide survey on police stops and minorities. The findings show that minorities who perceive they are stopped because of their minority background have a lower level of trust in the police. The results from the FRA's survey are launched together with the FRA Guide on discriminatory ethnic profiling.
Press Release
Over 2 million people live with HIV in the European Union and its neighbouring countries. The number of diagnosed infections has been increasing. The rights of people living with HIV and those at risk of infection must be central to the response to the epidemic, stressed the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) today, ahead of the World AIDS Conference 2010.
Protection mechanisms on paper do not yet fully function in practiceThe 2010 Annual Report of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) identifies challenges in the areas of data protection, extreme exploitation in the workplace, rights of the child, racism and discrimination, and LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) issues.
Today in Warsaw, Frontex Executive Director Ilkka Laitinen signed a cooperation arrangement with the Director of the Fundamental Rights Agency, Morten Kjaerum."Frontex is dedicated to upholding the highest possible standards in border management for the EU - in all its aspects", said Ilkka Laitinen.  "This new cooperation arrangement with our colleagues at the FRA will provide us with access to valuable expertise in the pursuit of this aim", he added.
"I do not know [a legal guardian]. Do I have one?" (Boy, aged 14) "Age assessment was a disappointment for me. [...] I do not have any proof, because there is no government in my country. How could I have any evidence? The worst thing is that  they think I am a liar." (Boy, aged 17) "The policeman said that his child is 15 and understands everything. Then he said: ‘you are 15 and do not understand anything at all. How is that possible?" (Girl, aged 15).