FRA released its 2019 Fundamental Rights Report

The 2019 Fundamental Rights Report has been released by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights. The report reflects on the developments and shortfalls of human rights protection in the EU over the past year. HRLC conducted research for the UK component of the report, which contains proposals for action covering:

• the EU’s Fundamental Rights Charter and its use by Member States;
• equality and non-discrimination;
• racism, xenophobia and related intolerance;
• Roma integration;
• asylum, borders and migration;
• information society, privacy and data protection;
• child rights; access to justice;
• and implementing the UN’s disability convention.

The results show that many people across the EU risk being left behind, as growing intolerance and attacks on people’s fundamental rights continue to erode the considerable progress achieved to date. Key issues identified include:

• Racial discrimination and harassment remain commonplace throughout the European Union. For example, 1 in 5 black people and nearly 3 in 10 Jews experience harassment. All EU Member States should therefore develop national action plans to fight racism and racial discrimination. They should also take a tougher stance against hate crime and hate speech through effective recording, investigating, prosecuting and trying alleged incidents.
• Refugee integration progressed despite diverse hurdles. However, almost 4 in 10 Europeans consider migration as problematic and almost half overestimate the size of irregular migration. Member States need to act now to stop such abuse, and to ensure asylum and return procedures respect EU asylum law and people’s human rights.
• Child poverty rates in the EU improved slightly but still 1 in 4 children are at risk of poverty. This means that, in one of the richest regions of the world, there are children who go to bed hungry and live in poor conditions with their health and education suffering. For children with foreign parents, it is as high as 4 in 10. Children from an ethnic minority continue to be marginalised. For example, 15% of Roma children experience segregated education. The EU and its Member States should therefore ring-fence funding for measures to reduce child poverty. They should also enhance efforts to address discrimination of minority children to boost social inclusion and their integration.

 “Fundamental rights alarm bells are ringing across the EU as inequalities, harassment and prejudices continue to grow,” said FRA Director Michael O’Flaherty. “We need robust responses outlining how rights benefit us all and provide the answers to the inequalities that are holding us back from a fair and just society where everyone can prosper.”