The Fundamental Rights Report of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) for the year 2023 offers an insightful reflection on the progress made and the areas where human rights protection fell short within the EU during 2022.
A significant portion of the report focuses on the fundamental rights implications resulting from the aggression in Ukraine and the challenges that emerged as a consequence. One positive aspect highlighted is the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive, which granted access to vital resources such as employment, housing, social assistance, education, and healthcare. However, it is worth noting that a majority of those who sought refuge were women and girls, many of whom faced additional responsibilities caring for children or elderly relatives. This underscores the necessity for targeted support measures, including the following:
a) Ensuring the availability of affordable, safe, and suitable housing, particularly for women and children. b) Facilitating access to suitable employment opportunities that align with individuals’ skills and qualifications, while protecting against exploitation. c) Promoting the integration of children into regular schools and providing swift access to childcare facilities. d) Providing comprehensive support for women who have experienced sexual violence and exploitation.
FRA Director Michael O’Flaherty emphasizes that “women and girls are innocent victims of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine” and highlights the temporary protection offered by EU countries. However, he emphasizes the ongoing conflict necessitates longer-term solutions that give specific attention to women.
The report also addresses other key fundamental rights issues that arose in 2022, including:
a) Escalating child poverty: The pandemic and increasing energy costs pushed nearly one in four children into a state of poverty. The EU and national governments are urged to fulfill their commitments under the European Child Guarantee, which was initiated in 2022, and allocate funds to alleviate child poverty, particularly among disadvantaged households such as single-parent, Roma, and migrant families.
b) Prevalence of hate: Hate crimes and hate speech, particularly online, remained a significant concern in 2022, partly fueled by Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. However, only half of the EU countries had developed national anti-racism action plans. The report calls for more countries to establish such plans and implement concrete local and regional measures to combat racism effectively.
c) Safeguarding rights amidst technological advancements: As the deployment of artificial intelligence and digital services continues to expand, ensuring effective protection of fundamental rights is becoming increasingly critical. The EU Digital Services Act enacted in 2022 acknowledged the necessity for robust rights protection, and adherence to its principles during implementation is essential. Furthermore, EU legislators must strive to establish similar robust safeguards within the proposed EU’s AI Act.
The report provides a comprehensive summary and analysis of major human rights developments in the EU during 2022. It also presents proposals for action, encompassing various areas such as the utilization of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights by Member States, promotion of equality and non-discrimination, combating racism and related forms of intolerance, inclusion and equality for the Roma community, asylum, borders, and migration policies, safeguarding privacy and data protection in the information society, promoting child rights, ensuring access to justice, and implementing the United Nations’ Disability Convention (CRPD).
This Friday afternoon, theplenary session of the European Parliamentaddressed the issue of the EU involvement in the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU. The participants included Commissioner Věra Jourová and Members of the European Parliament (MEPs).
Věra Jourová speaks at a debate on implementation of EU guidelines on FoRB
Commissioner Jourová, who is responsible for values and transparency, presented the views and actions of the Commission in this regard, highlighting the importance of respecting and promoting religious freedom. She emphasized that the EU is committed to protecting the rights of individuals to practice their religion freely and without discrimination. MEPs from various political groups took part in the debate and shared their perspectives on the issue. The most critical ones for the lack of proper action were MEP György Hölvényi and MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen.
Others emphasized the importance of dialogue and cooperation in promoting religious freedom both within the EU and externally. They highlighted the need to engage with religious communities and civil society organizations to address religious discrimination and intolerance.
György Hölvényi: “since 2021, people have been killed or kidnapped in 40 countries of the world because of their faith”
The free exercise of religion is primarily a human rights issue. Unfortunately, as the majority of EU decision-makers do not recognize the importance of this fundamental right for individuals and society, stated György Hölvényi, Christian Democrat MEP in the European Parliament’s debate on Thursday, organized on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the EU Guidelines on Freedom of Religion or Belief.
The vice-president of KDNP Hungary and Member of the European Parliament, reminded, various reports, scientific researches and field experiences show that we live in a time of unprecedented religious intolerance globally. About 84% of the world’s population identifies with some religious community. Meanwhile, since 2021, people have been killed or kidnapped in 40 countries of the world because of their faith. We have to underline that the most persecuted religion in the world today is Christianity. During the last year, according to international surveys, 5,621 Christians were killed because of their faith, 90% of the murders took place in Nigeria.
According to the EPP Group’s politician, the EU is struggling with a serious credibility problem: despite the dramatic situation, the protection of religious freedom is still not fully part of the EU’s external action. Despite the increasing persecution, the European Commission, for example, hesitated for three years to re-appoint the EU Special Envoy responsible for religious freedom outside the EU.
Real milestones are needed in the dialogue with religious communities active in the EU and in third countries. Although the legal framework is in place, no structural dialogue actually takes place before substantive EU decisions are made. MEP György Hölvényi pointed out that the joint action against increasing religious intolerance around the world cannot be delayed any longer.
Bert-Jan Ruissen: “EU actions on religious freedom must finally get off the ground“
The SGP wants the EU to finally take real action on religious freedom. The EU guidelines on freedom of religion have been in existence for 10 years now but have barely been put into practice.
“That we have these guidelines is of course a good thing. But I have serious doubts about the implementation there,” Bert-Jan Ruissen (SGP) said Thursday in an MEP debate he had requested.
In 10 years, the European Commission has never presented the promised reports or held consultations. The position of EU Envoy for Religious Freedom remained vacant for 3 years and support has always been very minimal.
“More really needs to be done, because religious persecution is only increasing worldwide,” Ruissen said. “Look at a country like Nigeria, where 50,000 Christians have been killed in the last 20 years because of their faith. Or look at the Indian state of Manipur where many churches have been destroyed and Christians killed this spring.”
On Thursday, the SGP therefore made three concrete requests to the European Commission:
1) Come up with a solid implementation report of the guidelines in the short term.
2) Give the EU Envoy for Religious Freedom a permanent mandate and provide additional staff so that he can do his job properly.
3) Come up with proposals to designate June 24, the date on which the guidelines were adopted, as the European Day for Combating Religious Persecution.
“We cannot leave the oppressed Church with millions of believers out in the cold,” Ruissen concluded. “I hope and pray that it does not drag on for another 10 years!”
The 18th European Congress of Psychology convened in Brighton between 3 and 6 July 2023. The overall theme was ‘Uniting communities for a sustainable world’. The British Psychological Society (BPS), through its Challenging Histories Group, hosted a symposium exploring the legacies of eugenics in psychology, past and present.
The symposium included a talk from Professor Marius Turda, Oxford Brookes University, on the relationship between eugenics, psychology, and dehumanisation. This was followed by two other papers, one by Nazlin Bhimani (UCL Institute of Education) who focused on the legacy of eugenic in British education, and the other, by Lisa Edwards, whose family had lived experience of institutions of mental care in Britain such as the Rainhill Asylum.
“This is first time that a symposium on eugenics took place at an international congress of psychology and the BPS Challenging Histories Group has been instrumental in making it happen,” Prof Marius Turda told The European Times.
The exhibition laid out that “eugenics aims to ‘improve’ the genetic ‘quality’ of the human population through the control of reproduction and, at its extremes, through the elimination of those considered by eugenicists to be ‘inferior’.”
Eugenics developed initially in Britain and the United States in the nineteenth century, but it became a globally influential movement by the 1920s. Eugenicists targeted people belonging to religious, ethnic, and sexual minorities, and those living with disabilities, leading to their institutional confinement and sterilization. In Nazi Germany, eugenic ideas of race improvement contributed directly to mass murder and the Holocaust.
Prof Marius Turda explained that “Victorian polymath, Francis Galton, was the first person to promote eugenics concepts within psychology as well as being a major figure in the development of the field as a scientific discipline. His influence on American and British psychologists such as James McKeen Cattell, Lewis Terman, Granville Stanley Hall, William McDougall, Charles Spearman and Cyril Burt was significant.”
“My aim was to put Galton’s legacy into its historical context, and to offer a discussion of how psychology and psychologists contributed to the eugenic dehumanisation of individuals with mental disabilities. My strategy was to encourage psychologists to come to terms with the discrimination and abuse promoted by eugenics, not least because the memories of this abuse are very much alive today,” Prof Marius Turda told The European Times.
Prof Marius Turda was delivering a talk onthe relationship between eugenics, psychology, and dehumanisation. The Exhibition he curated was also featured in the journal of the British Psychological Society. Photo credit: THIX Photo.
Eugenics and Psychology
The focus on the legacies of eugenics at the European Congress of Psychology was timely and welcomed. It’s important not the least considering that scientific disciplines such as psychology had been an important ground on which such arguments circulated and received acceptance. Yet, for years this had not been confronted or even perceived. The problematic history of eugenics as well as its still lingering existence in present time language and in some cases, practices are seen in arguments about heredity, social selection, and intelligence.
The scientific expertise provided by psychologists was used to stigmatise, marginalise and ultimately dehumanise those whose lives they controlled and supervised. These individuals who were seen as representing a different, and less- able, humanity was to be institutionalised in ‘special schools’ and ‘colonies’ and subjected to specific educational programmes.
Ideally now we should build a platform for sustained institutional reflection and seeded discussion amongst psychologists, with far reaching implications for the discipline itself, professor Marius Turda indicated.
As the scientific community witnessed the resurgence of essentializing eugenic rhetoric in 2020, following the murder of George Floyd and then with the onset of Covid-19 pandemic, it is clear that we must develop new ways of thinking and practicing psychology, if we are to meet the shared challenges we face, individually and collectively as well as nationally and globally.
Photo credit: Dr Roz Collings
Archives Manager of the British Psychological Society (BPS), Sophie O’Reilly told “We’re very excited to present this symposium at the European Congress of Psychology on a topic which still has wide ranging repercussions today. As well as giving a historical account of the relationship between psychology and eugenics, the story of a family’s lived experience of over a century of institutionalisation and stigmatisation will be vital to highlighting these repercussions.”
“Psychology has some dark histories, ones that may not have been challenged before,” Dr Roz Collings, Chair of the British Psychological Society’s Ethics Committee remarked.
Dr Roz Collings pointed out that, “This thought provoking and inspiring symposium allowed individuals their eyes and begin questioning. The symposium was well attended with healthy discussions and questions highlighting the inquisitive and curious mind of psychologists from around the world.”
She further added that “It is important to reflect, rather than forget, and to continue moving forwards in psychology to challenge any difficult futures that may lie ahead. This symposium allowed the space for many to do just that.”
Another attendee, professor John Oates, Chair of the British Psychological Society’s Media Ethics Advisory Group, and member of the BPS Ethics Committee, explained: ‘As part of our work in investigating troubling features of the work of past psychologists, the British Psychological Society Challenging Histories Group was pleased to have been able to work closely with Prof Turda to organise this symposium.”
Professor John Oates added, “It was gratifying not only to have a good-sized audience, but also to have an audience that engaged with our presentations and our calls to action. Our hope is that we have started a ripple of conversation that will spread and help to counter the enduring legacy of eugenic ideology which still infects public and private discourses.”
Defend human rights
Tony Wainwright, a clinical psychologist and a member of the BPS Climate Environment Action Coordinating Group, reflected in this way: “It was both a great pleasure and at the same time shocking to participate in the symposium on ‘The Legacy of Eugenics Past and Present’.”
“The shock was from being reminded of psychology’s past involvement in the formation of pernicious ideologies underlying racism and discrimination. Our language retains echoes of mental classifications – now used as insults – “moron”, “idiot”,” Tony Wainwright clarified.
He added, “The lived experience of her family that one of the speakers, Lisa Edwards, brought to the session showed how this was not an academic matter but had tragic consequences.”
Tony Wainwright finally noted, “The pleasure came from hoping that remembering our past will engage people in contemporary action as this legacy lives on. We are in a time when human rights are under threat in many parts of the world, and hopefully, symposia like this will reinforce our efforts to defend human rights wherever we can.”
On the occasion of the congress the BPS also featured parts of the exhibition ‘We are not Alone: Legacies of Eugenics’, curated by Professor Marius Turda. Panels of the exhibition can be viewed here:
Slower biological aging: People who live near green spaces were 2.5 years younger biologically.
Northwestern scientists have conducted a new study to see if living near green spaces, like parks and areas with many plants, can affect how our bodies age and contribute to overall healthy aging.
Exposure to green spaces were associated with slower biological aging, according to a Northwestern Medicine report. People who lived near more green spaces were biologically 2.5 years younger, on average, than those who live near less greenness. Image credit: Kelly Sikkema via Unsplash, free license
According to a Northwestern Medicine report, more green spaces were associated with slower biological aging. People who lived near more green spaces were biologically 2.5 years younger, on average, than those who live near less greenness.
However, the benefits of green spaces were not equal, as scientists found variations in race, sex and socioeconomic status.
“When we think about staying healthy as we get older, we usually focus on things like eating well, exercising and getting enough sleep,” said Kyeezu Kim, first author on the study and a postdoctoral scholar in preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
“However, our research shows that the environment we live in, specifically our community and access to green spaces, is also important for staying healthy as we age.”
Staying in nature – illustrative photo. Image credit: Emma Simpson via Unsplash, free license
The study is the first to investigate the effect of long-term exposure (about 20 years of exposure) on urban green space and biological aging, specifically using DNA methylation-based epigenetic age.
DNA methylation-based epigenetic age refers to chemical changes in DNA that may influence various age-related health outcomes. Epigenetic age is a biomarker of aging associated with age-related disease and all-cause mortality.
The investigators discovered variations in the benefits of green spaces for biological aging based on race, sex and socioeconomic status.
The study involved more than 900 individuals residing in four cities across the U.S.: Birmingham, Ala.; Chicago; Minneapolis; and Oakland, Calif. This sample represents a subset of a larger-scale cohort study conducted in the U.S., the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA).
City aerial view. Image credit: Chung Kevin via Pxhere, CC0 Public Domain
Researchers evaluated the 20-year exposure to surrounding green spaces using satellite imaging, which allowed them to quantify the overall vegetation (greenness proportion) as well as the presence of major parks near the participants’ residences. To assess participants’ biological age, scientists analyzed their blood DNA methylation.
“Our study highlights that the natural environment, like green space, affects your health at a molecular level (changes in DNA methylation), which was detectable in blood,” said senior author Dr. Lifang Hou, professor of preventive medicine at Feinberg.
“Our research team has extensively investigated the molecular-level changes associated with various age-related health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, cognitive function and mortality. This particular study contributes to our understanding of how the natural environment influences these health outcomes.”
The disparities observed in the study based on race, sex and socioeconomic status underscore the importance of conducting future research to investigate the role of social determinants of health in relation to the surrounding environment and healthy aging, Hou said.
“We believe our findings have significant implications for urban planning in terms of expanding green infrastructure to promote public health and reduce health disparities,” Kim said.
“The continuous decline in water quality due to increased salinity levels in its composition is alarming. This situation significantly impacts vulnerable groups, such as children and adolescents, pregnant women and people suffering from chronic diseases,” they said in a statement.
Although health authorities have urged vulnerable groups to purchase bottled water, “this may create a risk of de facto water privatisation for human consumption,” they warned.
“We recognise the government’s efforts to reduce water taxes. However, measures must be deepened to ensure that all people can access the water necessary for life,” the experts said.
While the government has recommended reducing household water consumption, they said these restrictions do not apply to large-scale consumers, such as industries using water for production.
Uphold human rights
The experts added that the over-exploitation of water, particularly by some industries, is an underlying issue in the overall problem.
“Uruguay must put human consumption at the forefront, as indicated by international human rights standards,” they said.
Experts have been warning for years that the expansion of concessions to water-intensive industries was leading to water pollution and shortages in the country.
“Water for human consumption represents barely five per cent of the total supply of drinking water. Consequently, failure to prioritise its use is unacceptable,” they said.
They recalled that the human right to water implies that supply must be accessible, free of pollutants and managed sustainably,
“Businesses, including state-owned enterprises, have a responsibility to respect human rights at all times, and States have an obligation to ensure the protection of this right by guaranteeing universal access to safe drinking water, even during emergencies,” they added.
About UN rights experts
The five experts who issued the statement were appointed by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
They include Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, and the members of the Working Group on Business and Human Rights.
Experts appointed by the Council serve in their individual capacity. They are not UN staff and are not paid for their work.
“Deporting migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers without conducting an individual and objective risk assessment of their exposure to human rights violations, including torture and enforced disappearance upon return, is refoulement.”
The principle of non-refoulement, enshrined in the Convention against Torture and other international human rights treaties, guarantees specific protection against all forms of expulsion, regardless of nationality or migration status.
“Immigration detention should be an exceptional measure of last resort, used only for adults, for the shortest period of time and for a legitimate purpose,” the experts said. “It also appears that the authorities are specifically targeting Eritreans, a practice that constitutes discrimination.”
According to data from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), as of the end of May, there were around 165,000 Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers in Ethiopia, having fled violence and hardship in their country.
The human rights experts said that several cases of separation were reported following the mass deportations, with parents forced back to Eritrea and children left behind in Ethiopia.
The Human Rights Council-appointed experts also called on Eritrean officials to ensure those forcibly deported are protected, amid report of serious rights violations against them, including torture, ill-treatment, enforced disappearance, trafficking and arbitrary detention.
“We urge the Eritrean authorities to provide information on their fate and whereabouts and to ensure that they can have access to their relatives, lawyers or anyone of their choice,” the experts said, calling on refugee protection organizations in Ethiopia to engage with the Ethiopian authorities to support access to the asylum system and relevant documentation for those on the move.
The experts are mandated to monitor and report on specific thematic issues or country situations and work on a voluntary basis. They serve in their individual capacity; are not UN staff and do not receive a salary.
That’s the message from UNAIDS, the UN agency dedicated to ending the epidemic, which said on Thursday that truly eradicating it boils down to a “political and financial choice”.
The agency’s Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, said that today’s leaders have the opportunity to save millions of lives and be “remembered by future generations” as those who put a stop to the world’s deadliest pandemic.
“They could save millions of lives and protect the health of everyone. They could show what leadership can do”, she said.
According to a new UNAIDS report, Botswana, Eswatini, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe have already achieved what is known as the “95-95-95” targets: 95 per cent of the people who are living with HIV know their status, 95 per cent of those who know that they are living with HIV are on lifesaving antiretroviral treatment, and 95 per cent of people in treatment are virally suppressed.
Steady progress
Progress has been strongest in the countries and regions that have spent most on tackling HIV/AIDS such as in eastern and southern Africa, where new HIV infections have been reduced by 57 per cent since 2010.
Following support and investment to end AIDS among children, 82 per cent of pregnant and breastfeeding women living with HIV globally were able to access antiretroviral treatment last year – up from 46 per cent in 2010.
New infections among children have fallen by 58 per cent during the same period, the lowest number since the 1980s, UNAIDS reported.
Progress has also been bolstered by ensuring legal and policy frameworks do not undermine human rights, but rather enable and protect them. Countries have continued to rollback harmful laws. In the past two years, Antigua and Barbuda, the Cook Islands, Barbados, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Singapore, have all decriminalized same-sex relations.
The number of people on antiretroviral treatment worldwide rose nearly fourfold, from 7.7 million in 2010 to 29.8 million in 2022.
A life a minute
But there is still a long way to go to meet the aspiration of ending AIDS by 2030. AIDS claimed a life every minute last year, said the UN agency, and some 9.2 million people still miss out on treatment, including 660,000 children living with HIV.
Women and girls continue to suffer disproportionately, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Around 4,000 young women and girls became infected with HIV each week in 2022.
Getting sufficient funding to meet the challenge is also proving hard, with an overall decline last year from both domestic and international sources. Funding amounted to $20.8 billion, far short of the $29.3 billion needed by 2025.
Cautious optimism
“We are hopeful but it is not the relaxed optimism that might come if all was heading as it should be”, said Ms. Byanyima. “It is, instead, a hope rooted in seeing the opportunity for success, an opportunity that is dependent on action”.
“The facts and figures shared in this report do not show that as a world we are already on the path, they show that we can be. The way is clear.”
The fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and powerful Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, originates from the collapse of a 2022 power-sharing agreement between the two, that has impacted millions of civilians and triggered a humanitarian crisis.
One of the chief concerns is lack of civilian access to food. The current security and logistics challenges have reduced food security for millions across the country.
By improving food production and safeguarding agrifood systems, FAO, with assistance from the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the agency is hoping to provide greater food security now and in the longer term.
FAO plans to reach five million people across seventeen states with 10,000 tonnes of sorghum, millet, groundnut, and sesame seeds. The campaign will enable vulnerable farmers to plant up to three million tonnes of cereals between November and December this year, meeting the cereal requirements of around thirteen to nineteen million people.
Since 3 May, the World Food Programme (WFP) has been continuing emergency food operations after being forced to temporarily halt them due to the deteriorating security situation. The continued violence and access restrictions by the warring parties have made it extremely difficult for WFP to scale up its assistance in the region, however.
Support ‘paramount’
So far, FAO has delivered 3.3 tonnes of seeds to eight states and begun distributing them to farmers.
The agency has also raised nearly $20 million towards its $95.4 million goal of reaching fifteen million people with life-saving interventions including providing access to food, farming equipment, and restocking and protecting livestock herds.
Additionally, WFP has successfully provided food and nutrition assistance to over 1.4 million people across fourteen states since resuming operations in May, despite the continued fighting in the region.
Nearly 500,000 people have received WFP assistance in some of the hardest-to-reach areas of restive Darfur.
“The need for swift agricultural support in Sudan is paramount,” said FAO Representative in Sudan Hongjie Yang.
“Our goal is to navigate the complex security and logistical challenges to continue to reach farmers in the country with this time-sensitive assistance.”
The victims, who included members of the Masalit ethnic community, were allegedly killed last month by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militia, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said, citing credible information.
Local people were forced to dispose of the bodies in a mass grave outside the regional capital, El-Geneina , denying those killed a decent burial in one of the city’s cemeteries.
Mr. Türk condemned the killings in the strongest terms and called for those responsible to be held to account.
The RSF and the Sudanese army have been locked in fierce fighting since mid-April. Thousands have been killed and injured, and nearly three million people are displaced both within and outside the country.
At least 37 of the bodies were buried on 20 June in the roughly one-metre-deep mass grave in an open area called Al-Turab Al Ahmar, or Red Soil in English.
Another 50 bodies were buried there the following day, including those of seven women and seven children.
Those buried were killed by the RSF and their allied militia during the period 13 to 21 June in the districts of Al-Madaress and Al-Jamarek, located in El-Geneina, according to credible information gathered by OHCHR.
Many were victims of the violence that followed the killing of the Governor of West Darfur, Khamis Abbaker, on 14 June, shortly after he was taken into custody by the RSF. Others had died from untreated injuries.
Disrespecting the dead
The UN rights chief said he was “appalled by the callous and disrespectful way the dead, along with their families and communities, were treated.”
“There must be a prompt, thorough and independent investigation into the killings, and those responsible must be held to account,” he said.
Mr. Türk called on the RSF and other parties to the conflict to allow and facilitate searches for the dead, their collection and evacuation, in line with international law and regardless of ethnicity or other distinction.
Bodies lying in the streets
OHCHR said witnesses report that local mediation efforts for access to and burial of the dead have generally taken too long, leaving many bodies lying in the streets for days.
The family of a Masalit dignitary who was killed on or around 9 June by the RSF and their allies, reportedly had to wait 13 days before being allowed to collect the body.
Witnesses told staff that in cases where the RSF have allowed the collection of the dead, following mediation with Arab and other community leaders, they have refused to allow those injured to be taken to hospitals for medical treatment.
Ensure injured receive care
“The RSF’s leadership and their allied militia as well as all parties to an armed conflict are required to ensure that the dead are properly handled, and their dignity protected,” Mr. Türk said.
Furthermore, international humanitarian and international human rights law require all warring parties to ensure the injured receive medical care.
The High Commissioner called on the RSF leadership immediately and unequivocally to condemn and stop the killing of people, and to end violence and hate speech based on ethnicity.
In January 2023, President Metsola mandated the Quaestors to work on proposals to reinforce Parliament’s anti-harassment policies. Building on the recommendations of the Quaestors, the Bureau decided on 10 July to establish a mediation service and gave its political backing to the introduction of mandatory training for Members. The Bureau also agreed to improve the existing procedure of the Advisory Committee dealing with harassment complaints concerning Members.
President Metsola underlined
“Places of work must be safe and dignified. Improving and incentivising anti-harassment policies in the Parliament was always a priority for me. It forms part of my objective to reform the European Parliament to make it more efficient, transparent and fairer. And this reform has the potential to deliver. It pays special attention to measures that will better protect victims, it speeds up the processes and it focuses on prevention, through training and mediation”.
The decision establishes a mediation service to support Members and staff in resolving difficult relational situations and to maintain a positive and collaborative working environment, where conflicts are prevented or solved at an early stage. The established mediation service will act independently and be based on the universal principles of mediation: confidentiality, voluntariness, informality and self-determination.
Mandatory training for Members
In order to provide 360-degree support to Members, training on “How to create a good and well-functioning team”, consisting of five different modules, should be mandatory for Members and offered at the beginning and throughout their mandate as of next spring.
The content of the modules will cover the recruitment of assistants, successful team management, including conflict prevention and early conflict resolution, administrative and financial aspects of parliamentary assistance as well as harassment prevention.
Revision of the functioning of the Advisory Committee
A number of modifications were agreed to improve the existing rules codifying established best practices, aligning with recent case law and taking into account suggestions from the representatives of the Parliamentary assistants. For instance, the new rules aim to streamline and shorten procedures, putting in place additional options to protect complainants and support measures for the remainder of the complainant’s contract, when a case of harassment has been established.
A new restricted format of hearing is also agreed upon if needed in sensitive situations, such as complaints of sexual harassment. The modifications also supports strengthening the complainants’ and the Members’ obligation to cooperate with the committee, while maintaining the confidentiality of all their procedures in order to protect all parties’ privacy.
In addition to the proposals summarised above, the Bureau supported the principle of introducing an amicable termination of contract between a Member and their accredited parliamentary assistant.
All the measures agreed will be finalised in the coming meetings and accompanied by several awareness-raising campaigns.
Next steps
The Mediation service approved will be in place in the best possible timeframe. The existing training on harassment prevention will continue to be offered to the Members while the new mandatory training on “How to create a good and well-functioning team” for Members will be developed to be offered as of spring 2024, at the beginning of next term and through the legislature. The Constitutional Affairs Committee will work on this in order to incorporate this agreement into Parliament’s existing rules. In addition, additional staff will be allocated to the relevant service to ensure the necessary administrative support to the implementation of the decisions taken to strengthen Integrity, Independence and Accountability in the Institution.
