Summary report of the outcome of the first FRP meeting of 7-8 October to the FRA Management Board Prepared by the Interim FRP Panel which was selected by the meeting General Participants to the 1 st meeting of the Fundamental Rights Platform warmly welcomed the commitment by the FRA to engage with civil society. The FRP (as represented at the meeting) were committed to helping the FRA continue in its work, and to legitimise that work. To that end, the meeting concluded that a transparent and democratic process should be developed rapidly for the future working of the Platform to capitalise on this goodwill. Platform members also strongly endorsed the view that ordinary members of the public, and victims of human rights abuses, should be central to our thinking. 1. FRA Work programme 2009 / 2010 The Platform is not able, at present, to comment on the work plan of the FRA for 2009. We simply did not have the ability to collect and represent any coherent perspective additional to the consultation process initiated by the FRA. Similarly, we do not, at present, have the necessary structure to offer a commentary on the collated consultation responses. If the progress made over the two days of the meeting is reflected in the rapid adoption of a clear process for the Platform, we will be able to comment on the proposed 2010 work programme. 2. Strategic priorities for the FRA The participating members of the Platform were able to comment coherently on the strategic priorities for the FRA. The participants suggested that the main strategic objectives for the FRA should include; a) Fundamental rights should be fundamental to EU policies Participants in all working groups and plenary sessions strongly supported the aspiration that fundamental rights should be central to EU policy-making and legislation. This was expressed in several related points: - Maintaining the monitoring role of the FRA and its role as a Fundamental Rights watchdog in Europe.
o This means that FRA work priorities must be EU relevant and designed in a way to make EU accountable for fundamental rights issues. - Building the role of the FRA in advising EU policy making and legislative processes and maintaining the monitoring role of the FRA and its role as a Fundamental Rights watchdog, especially in respect to: o New or pending EU legislation, specifically by providing input in the methodology regarding fundamental rights impact assessment as carried out by the European Commission, including in areas such as education and housing. o Monitoring the effectiveness of existing EU law, including structural obstacles affecting the protection of fundamental rights, o Mapping EU tools for substantive legislative work on fundamental rights, in particular in the case-law developed by the Court of Justice. o Ensuring the application of EU legislation concerning non discrimination, by making it an issue of the democratic participation of the European citizens. b) Data collection and research Participants in all working groups and plenary sessions strongly emphasised the FRA s role as an Agency for the collection, synthesis and reporting of meaningful data on fundamental rights issues in ways which enable comparison between nations and across time, This was expressed in several related points: - The data collection and dissemination function of FRA is determined by its capability: o To properly assess the situation via the recording useful data on incidents, victims accounts utilizing apart from official statistics NGO/civil society sources. o To collect and analyse regular and comparable data, not only across the EU but also over time to assess trends and tendencies in society at all levels (EU, national, regional, local) in all discrimination fields: country reports as well as thematic reports must supplement the annual reports o To work through NGOs who have a lot of resources and experience to draw from.
c) Rights for All Participants in all working groups and plenary sessions generally wanted to avoid a shopping list approach instead, the themes of Rights for All, cross-cutting, a comprehensive approach and the principle of indivisibility of rights were expressed. Under that theme, topics including: o Rights across the age-span (including, therefore, children s rights), This could involve the use of data to better analyse how States and the European Union adopt and use instruments to ensure children s rights. This, in turn, may focus on how children receive the protection and care necessary to their well being, especially for those who live in poverty, and how the right of children to have personal relations and direct contacts with both parents is guaranteed (especially in migrant families). o Gender issues, o Rights of undocumented peoples (including, therefore the rights of non-citizens in some definitions of that term), this may involve investigating anti-discrimination and human rights in areas such as detention conditions of migrants, questions of undocumented migrants, borders control and transit zones, the right to marry and to found a family etc. o Social, economic and cultural rights most participants reported close linkage between these issues, and suggested it should be a matter for the FRA to address. This would include issues such as dignity and equality in labour law and in the access to services, o Protection of vulnerable groups - hate crimes and hate speech are particularly important as they affect many discriminated groups. o Access to justice o Rights to democratic participation in decision making in the EU, o Freedom of expression, o Data protection and rights to privacy, including in the exchange of personal data, o Combating discrimination in all its forms, o Finally, it was suggested that the FRA should be sensitive to counterterrorism issues as they affect nearly all of the thematic areas.
d) Visibility Participants expressed the wish for the FRA to lead in increasing the visibility of fundamental rights issues, ensuing their prominence in media discussions and securing ownership of these rights by civic society. Under that theme, topics including: o Fully integrating fundamental rights into civil society involving issues of education, and engagement with civil society to both receive and disseminate information (and of course involving the Platform), o Better informing citizens about their rights and the different legal remedies available to protect them o Using EU hooks such as the 2010 year of social inclusion e) Flexibility Notwithstanding the importance of other issues, participants expressed the opinion that the FRA must be flexible to be able to respond effectively to crises and issues of immediate concern, and also to be proactive raising issues not otherwise on the agenda of the EU 3. Feedback and models of information exchange a) The Annual Report Participants clearly valued the idea of an Annual Report, and felt there would be a major perceived lack of momentum not to publish such an Annual Report. Certain specific recommendations were made: - It was pointed out that the Annual Reports highlight important trends and manifestations of discrimination. There were some expressions of dissatisfaction with data collection and qualitative standards with regard to the annual report. For example, one group was critical of the annual report on their country as they believed that the appropriate people were not consulted when it was being prepared. It was suggested that the Scientific Committee could look at these issues. This speaks to the issue of coordinated and meaningful data-collection. - It was argued by several participants that NGOs had a lot to contribute to data collection and research. It was suggested that NGOs could be consulted on draft reports at a national level and asked to make help with
making recommendations. It was pointed out, however, that organisations need resources to be able to participate in data collection and research. - There was also discussion about how the report takes account of the synergy between the different sources of information from FRALEX, RAXEN, NGOs, field workers, members of the public and people who have experienced threats to their fundamental rights etc. - New thematic reports focusing on under-researched areas were particularly welcomed. There was also discussion among participants into how the Annual Report and other FRA reports could be disseminated. Issues here included: - A communications strategy is important - The language issue is fundamental in order to inform as many organizations and persons as possible and create a discussion. o Reports need to be translated to ensure they reach the local level. o Summaries could be available in different languages. o National groups could be asked to assist with translation. - The Annual Report and other reports offer an opportunity for positive pedagogy. This (and other issues) implies the need for different reports tailored for different audiences. o Special materials are needed for educational multipliers. One NGO representative present offered to prepare such materials. - The Annual Report was also seen as a possible avenue for engagement with the media: o Newsworthy items such as the top ten countries on discrimination issues could make a report newsworthy. Moreover, although the FRA is not empowered to find violations of fundamental rights by member states, it was pointed out that ranking countries and showing their upward or downward movement over time would be a useful tool for civil society. - The quality of the FRA reports may be improved with measures such as improved accessibility, even for those who are not computer literate; avoidance of jargon; cross-indexing and hyper linking between EU and national reports (ECONET provided as a good example).
- The Platform must participate in the various stages that the FRA reports are being prepared as well in the general planning and decision-making of FRA. b) The FRA as an information centre Participants were supportive of the idea that the FRA (or the FRP) could be an information centre for Human Rights associations. This would entail: - Partnership through the FRP between the FRA and partner NGOs - A managed website is important for the Platform for its identity and to share key documentation. o NGO platform members provide reports to FRA o NGO Platform members could share reports / papers amongst each other o Some organisations expressed their willingness to provide expert opinions on fundamental rights questions upon request of the FRA o Media could be developed for educational and consciousness-raising purposes o Events could be organised and publicised o NGO contacts to media, gatherings, roundtables could be coordinated 4. Role of the Platform - protocols and Terms of Reference / models for information exchange One issue, which framed other discussions, was to find ways to ensure that there is meaningful involvement of the Platform in the process of FRA decision-making. This would mean that (a) the Platform participates fully in the process (i.e. is fully engages with the FRA Management Board and Scientific Committee; (b) there is a democratic and open structure that ensures that the Platform reflects civil society human rights and anti-discrimination forces in a manner that ensures continuity; (c) there is visibility of the Platform; and (d) that the Platform does not produce another shopping-list of issues, ideas etc but has a clear vision and program that is strategic and has a clear sense of what is in priority. We commented that the 2007 consultation conducted by the FRA offered useful guidance as to the views of Platform members in respect to the functioning of the Platform. Key issues here include the suggestions that:
- The Platform should incorporate a permanent structure, including a panel of civil society and other stakeholders to be established in order to ensure the overall effectiveness of the Platform on an ongoing basis; - There is an (inter alia) need for resources to enable (for example); administrative support for wide dissemination of relevant materials, website maintenance, planning and organising meetings, circulation of paperwork etc - A FR Platform representative should have observer status at meetings of the Management Board and the Scientific Committee.