Support to the National Human Rights Institutions in Monitoring Fundamental Rights and Related Aspects of the Rule of Law
Date:
National human rights institutions play an important role in EU processes on fundamental rights and the rule of law in various contexts. These range from ensuring that the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and other EU fundamental rights laws are effectively taken into account when assessing the fundamental rights situation in their countries, to contributing to the European Commission's reporting on the rule of law. This also includes the potential role of national human rights institutions in ensuring compliance with the Charter in the use of EU funds at national level. The EU Charter Strategy 2020-2030 calls for further strengthening of such a role for national human rights institutions in the future.
The project ‘Support to National Human Rights Institutions in Monitoring Fundamental Rights and Related Aspects of the Rule of Law’ is a project implemented by the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights and other beneficiaries of the project with the lead partner, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), funded by the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Regional Cooperation. It aims to strengthen the role of national human rights bodies in the promotion and protection of fundamental rights and the rule of law in selected grantee countries by providing them with advice and institutional support and enhancing their capacity on EU law, with a particular focus on the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The regional project strengthens the role of national education and rights bodies in enforcing the Charter at the national level, including by expanding their institutional knowledge base and building the capacity of NHRI staff to use the Charter in their work. It also strengthens the capacity of NHRIs to monitor fundamental rights and the rule of law by enhancing their engagement with relevant EU mechanisms in support of fundamental rights and the rule of law at the national level. Furthermore, the project contributes to enhancing the capacity of NHRIs to monitor compliance with the Charter when implementing EU funds, as foreseen in the Common Provisions Regulation on EU funds.
The main beneficiaries of this project are national civil rights institutions in the seven grantee countries. The project will also produce positive results for many other institutions, administrative structures and civil society organisations, as well as for individuals, especially those belonging to specific vulnerable groups.
The participation of national regulatory authorities in this project will be linked to accreditation in line with the Paris Principles, and will thus clearly contribute to an indicator within the sustainability objectives of national regulatory institutions in line with these principles, as highlighted in the recent EU Council Conclusions. Through this linkage, the project will create incentives for national human rights bodies to maintain or apply for higher status. To enhance sustainability and benefit from the experience of NHRIs from other European countries, the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI) has joined the project as an expert partner. Together with FRA's well-established links with various international and national actors, this will contribute to multiplying the project's outputs beyond the core group of beneficiary national research institutions.
Objectives of the project
National human rights institutions in EU Member States often lack the capacity to make full use of the support for fundamental rights that the EU legal framework provides. Often, EU law remains a tool that national human rights bodies use sporadically and randomly to address certain aspects of fundamental rights protection as they carry out their national mandate, because they lack a broad institutional knowledge base and do not use EU law in a structured manner. This includes the use of specific mechanisms created by the EU to promote the protection of fundamental rights and the rule of law at the national level.
National human rights institutions, particularly in selected grantee countries, would benefit from targeted capacity building to apply EU fundamental rights law, and in particular those set out in the Charter, more systematically. Their ‘A status’ indicates that they have the basic structures needed to use and benefit from the institutional development and learning to be gained from the project. The purpose of the proposed project is at the heart of the priorities set out in a number of Norwegian and EEA Fund programmes, including the Regional Cooperation Programme. The following principles and priorities are embedded in the proposed project activities and outcomes:
- addressing common European challenges through transnational cooperation;
- pluralistic dialogue and strengthening of transnational/regional networks, knowledge sharing and policy exchange to accelerate innovation
- development of sustainable structures for transnational cooperation between the public sector, the civil sector and academia;
- engagement that contributes to more effective and efficient policy-making and responses to common European challenges.
In particular, the project aims to:
- Enhance the use of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union by NHRIs and strengthen their role in its enforcement at the national level, including by building the capacity of NHRI staff to use EU fundamental rights legislation in their work;
- Strengthen the capacity of NHRIs to monitor fundamental rights and the rule of law by increasing their engagement with relevant EU mechanisms and promoting national dialogues on fundamental rights and the rule of law;
- Develop the capacity of NRAs to monitor respect for fundamental rights in the implementation of EU funds, as provided for in the newly applicable EU legislation.
These objectives are interlinked and mutually reinforcing. The direct outcomes of this project will benefit national human rights institutions in the seven beneficiary countries, which will be strengthened in their role and capacity to engage in fundamental rights and rule of law processes at EU level. However, the project will also have a positive impact on a wide range of other institutions, administrative structures and civil society organisations, as well as individuals, in particular those belonging to specific vulnerable groups, who would benefit from a higher level of national protection based on EU fundamental rights law.
