The European Union

The EU’s economic size, including its role as the world’s biggest aid donor,
means that the EU has considerable influence to encourage respect for and
implementation of human rights and democracy standards. The EU already
has a wide range of mechanisms at its disposal to promote human rights,
including more than 40 human rights dialogues with third countries; human
rights clauses in political and economic agreements with third countries;
sanctions; and project funding and development aid. With the entry into force
of the Treaty of Lisbon in December 2009, the EU has a range of new
structures through which it can pursue its human rights objectives. The High
Representative has also spoken forcefully of the EU’s commitment to
promoting human rights and democracy in its external action.

We want the EU to have an effective and lasting impact in promoting human

rights globally. This means that human rights must be integrated across the
whole spectrum of the EU’s foreign policy agenda. By assessing existing EU
policies and tools, ensuring greater coherence between EU instruments and
policies and increasing transparency, we believe the EU can improve its
human rights work. We therefore engaged energetically with the EU in 2010,
including through the strategic review of the EU’s external action on human
rights in October where we pushed for the EU to be more efficient and visible.

We work with the EU to make a difference to the human rights enjoyed by

people across the globe. Through focused EU’s policies and use of its levers,
the EU can exert its influence and work with third countries to help them to
respect and uphold their international human rights obligations. For example,
trade with the EU is very attractive to third countries, and provides a key lever
for the EU to encourage third countries to respect the international human
rights treaties which they have signed or ratified. Among the various trade
options within the EU, the Generalised System of Preferences Plus (GSP+)
offers incentive arrangements to vulnerable countries that have ratified and
implemented 27 conventions on human rights, labour rights, environment and
good governance principles. GSP+ privileges may be withdrawn for violations
of human rights after a full investigation, as in the case of Sri Lanka in
August.

EU member states have agreed eight sets of common human rights policies
which provide the framework or principles for lobbying and other activity by
the External Action Service and member states. These policies cover the
death penalty; torture; human rights defenders; human rights dialogues with
third countries; children’s rights; violence against women; children in armed
conflict; and international humanitarian law. Although these are not legally
binding they express the EU’s political commitment to carry out systemic and
sustained action in these specific areas. They also serve as a framework for
protecting and promoting human rights in third countries. Under this
framework, the EU has frequently spoken out on particular cases or areas of
concern and has also lobbied many governments on their human rights
records and on individual cases. Under the guidelines, the EU convened talks
with a wide range of third countries in 2010, including Tajikistan, Georgia,
Colombia, Russia and the US.

The EU has an agreed common position on Burma, enshrined in the set of

targeted restrictive measures against the military regime, which were renewed
again in a Council Decision in April. The EU issued a strong statement after
the November elections and tabled the tough and widely supported UN
resolutions on Burma in both the Human Rights Council and the General
Assembly. As local EU presidency in Rangoon, the UK also played a key role
in lobbying heavily on behalf of the EU for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

The EU has been active in highlighting Iran’s human rights record in 2010. It
has focused particularly on death penalty including the threatened execution
of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who was originally sentenced to death by
stoning for adultery. In July, the High Representative publicly condemned
executions in Iran, including the sentence of Ms Ashtiani. At the end of 2010
Ms Ashtiani still faced the possibility of execution on charges of murder. The
EU will continue to monitor closely and lobby on her case. The EU also co-
sponsored the Iran human rights resolution at the UN General Assembly
which passed with the biggest margin for eight years, with a wide range of
countries in support.

With support from several other member states, we also took a leading role in
pushing for the EU to improve its work on lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender (LGBT) rights. Working closely with other member states and
NGOs, we helped the Spanish presidency develop an LGBT “toolkit”, loosely
based on our own FCO toolkit. The EU LGBT toolkit, adopted by EU
ministers, gives practical guidance to EU diplomats in third countries on
working with international and civil society organisations and local
governments to promote and protect LGBT rights. The European Council
also agreed conclusions on child labour and on democracy in 2010, helping to
promote awareness and action on these important issues.

EU enlargement
The European Union is founded upon the values of “respect for human
dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human
rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities.” It also
stipulates that any European state that respects and is committed to
promoting these values may apply to become a member of the EU. EU
enlargement is therefore a powerful mechanism for helping to improve human
rights records in countries wishing to join the EU.

The Government is a strong supporter of EU enlargement, and is committed

to supporting the membership aspirations of any European country that meets
these criteria, and its right to progress towards membership on the basis of its
own merits. We will encourage the EU to conclude accession negotiations
only when we are confident that a candidate country is able to meet the
political, economic and legal obligations of membership. These include the
protection of human rights. Furthermore, we will be active in determining how
the membership criteria are met, for example, by setting benchmarks which
tackle important issues at an early stage in the process. We will also work
within the EU to influence the allocation of EU pre-accession assistance to
ensure that aspirant countries tackle effectively and at an early stage those
issues that matter most to us, including human rights violations.

In 2010 we provided technical support to human rights reform in candidate

and pre-candidate countries in order to help these countries meet EU
standards. We worked with the government of Croatia to improve court
administration by introducing modern case management techniques to reduce
the backlog of cases and improve the quality of court service. We also
supported the Croatian government’s introduction of a national probation
system to reduce prison populations and improve offender community
reintegration. We will undertake similar future projects under the auspices of
the EU twinning mechanism to introduce a probation service in Croatia and to
strengthen their capacity to manage a sexual offender database.

We lobbied hard to achieve comprehensive benchmarks under Chapter 23 of

Croatia’s accession negotiations dealing with the judiciary and fundamental
rights. As a result of this, Croatia is taking steps to ensure it has an
independent and efficient judicial system. For example, the government has
adopted new legislation that strengthens judicial independence and the case
backlog has been further reduced. Croatia is strengthening its fight against
corruption at all levels, as demonstrated by the indictment in December of
former Prime Minister Sanader on corruption charges. Croatia is improving
the handling of domestic war crimes trials, strengthening protection for
minorities, and settling outstanding refugee return issues. The revised
constitution now explicitly lists all 22 national minorities and the government’s
self-imposed 2008 benchmark for the provision of 1,400 accommodation units
for refugees under its housing care programme has been met. We also
helped to ensure that full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal
for the former Yugoslavia is a requirement for closure of this chapter.

Although Croatia is making progress on human rights issues, work remains to

be done. The EU will continue to monitor these areas in 2011 and in March
will produce a report on Croatia’s progress under Chapter 23. We will
continue to support and monitor this progress and will ensure that Croatia is
upholding EU human rights standards and has met the requirements of the
chapter, before agreeing to its closure.

In Serbia, where minorities remain under-represented in public institutions

and public companies, we funded several election-related and capacity-
building projects to strengthen Bosniak and Albanian minority rights. Among
other achievements, these projects have led to the setting up of an Albanian
national minority council and a multi-ethnic local government in Bujanovac in
southern Serbia and more balanced representation of Albanians in state- and
local-level institutions. In 2011 we will continue to communicate the
achievements of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
of which many Serbs still have limited understanding; support the work of the
Regional Council for Reconciliation; and strengthen protection for LGBT and
ethnic minority rights.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina we promoted human rights in a range of areas,

including improving access to justice and reconciliation; helping ensure that
war crimes cases are dealt with impartially and effectively; improving prison
management in line with European best practice; supporting the identification
of missing persons; supporting the promotion of human rights; strengthening
civil society organisations and their role in policy dialogue; and strengthening
independent and investigative media. Specific projects included enhancing
the effectiveness of the State Prosecutor’s Office on Srebrenica-related war
crimes and supporting the International Commission on Missing Persons. We
worked closely with EU member states, including on implementing the EU’s
Human Rights Defenders Strategy and designing a local strategy to combat
violence against women.

In 2011, we will focus on improving the ability of Bosnia and Herzegovina

institutions to implement legislation and tackle human rights violations more
effectively.  This includes implementation of the 2008 National War Crimes
Strategy and the State Law on Missing Persons, as well as building the
capacity of the Bosnia and Herzegovina justice and security institutions.  We
will support the Bosnia and Herzegovina authorities’ work to ensure an
efficient and sustainable system for processing war crimes cases before the
State Court and State Prosecutor’s Office, particularly focusing on crimes
committed in Srebrenica area.

Despite the adoption of a human rights strategy and action plan in 2009,
Kosovo made limited overall progress during 2010. However, progress was
made on the return and re-integration of minority communities in Kosovo, a
subject on which we worked closely with the government of Kosovo. April
saw the completion of a UK-funded project, managed and implemented by the
UN Development Programme, which enabled nine Kosovo-Serb families to
return to the village of Softaj/Softovic. We also funded an income generation
project for returnees from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities and
supported the strengthening of the rule of law in Kosovo through the
secondment of expert staff to the EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo
(EULEX), including two judges, three prosecutors and the head of the
organised crime unit.

In 2011 we will continue to support Kosovan efforts to improve the human

rights situation; for example, by working with the Kosovan Ministry of
Communities and Returns on a returns project in the historic town of Prizren.
This is the first urban returns project in Kosovo and it will reconstruct homes
for 10 returning Kosovo-Serb families and refurbish homes for up to a further
10 families.

In Macedonia in 2010 we addressed the lack of a legal and institutional

framework within the prison management system by supporting the
introduction of the UK’s Offender Assessment System to Macedonian prison
staff and a feasibility study on the applicability of a probation service in
Macedonia. Both initiatives were designed to reduce the load on
overcrowded prisons and improve prison management. We also worked with
the Macedonian Young Lawyers Association to strengthen judicial practice in
the fight against corruption and organised crime, through a project to enhance
the efficiency of the Macedonian judiciary that will ensure free and efficient
access to justice services.
We supported the multi-ethnic fabric of Macedonia through continued
insistence on the full implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement. We
encourage all political parties to adhere to its spirit, in particular in the areas
of: language, education, decentralisation of budgets, interethnic relations and
religion. The UK’s public administration effectiveness project enables more
transparent and effective management within the civil service, including on
recruitment of minorities under the provisions of the Framework Agreement.

Our work in Albania has focused on transparency, democracy and equality.

We have funded a high-level mentoring project which works closely with
judges to improve the efficiency and transparency of the Albanian Supreme
Court. We also pushed for a settlement to the long-standing political impasse
between the government and the opposition. In addition, we worked with the
British Council to promote diversity and equality in Albania. The London 2012
Diversity Champion David Morris visited Albania in 2010, and the Embassy
will again support the British Council’s “Inclusion Week” in April 2011. Our
support has helped the Inclusion Week to achieve a markedly higher profile
for disability issues in Albania, as demonstrated by an unprecedented public
rally of disabled people’s groups in Tirana as well as action from the Tirana
authorities to improve wheelchair access across the city.

We continued to support Turkey’s EU accession process and strongly

encouraged them to make progress with their reform agenda. The September
Constitutional Reform referendum was a positive step and demonstrated wide
support for judicial and military reform. We will continue to emphasise to the
Turkish government the importance of swift and effective implementation of
the reform package.

Turkey has made progress in certain areas of human rights, but there is more
work to be done before it meets EU standards, particularly on freedom of
expression and the rights of ethnic and religious minorities. We support
Turkey’s efforts to address these issues and in 2010 we agreed to fund the
largest ever number of human rights projects across the widest ever range of
issues in Turkey, including on LGBT, children, women and disability, and
helping refugees and asylum seekers better understand their rights and
access legal remedies. The year 2011 promises to be an important year for
Turkey. Several key pieces of legislation have been drafted and will pass
through the Turkish parliament, including on anti-discrimination, data
protection and human rights. There is a parliamentary election in June, and
should the current government retain power it has announced it will draft a
new constitution. This would give renewed impetus to Turkey’s reform
programme. We will continue to encourage the government of Turkey to
make progress towards EU standards.

The European Neighbourhood Policy

The European Neighbourhood Policy is the EU’s main framework for
engaging with the 16 countries which share its borders to the east and south.
Human rights and democracy are a central part of the policy. EU funding to
support reform in the neighbourhood is approximately €12 billion for 2007–
2013.

Each year, the EU and partner countries agree action plans which detail
reforms in democratisation, human rights and the rule of law. Progress under
each action plan is monitored through sub-committees. Progress reports are
published annually.

The second round of the EU–Armenia human rights dialogue took place on 7
December. This provided an opportunity for the EU to reiterate to Armenia
the importance of human rights as an essential element for Armenia’s
development into a fully democratic society.

On 15 June the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media commented

that amendments to the law on television and radio broadcasting in Armenia
were not sufficient to improve media pluralism. The EU encouraged the
Armenian government and legislators to continue to work closely with civil
society, the Council of Europe and OSCE experts to ensure that its
broadcasting law promotes media freedom and is in line with international
standards.

In March, the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
issued its report on the conduct of the trials that took place in the aftermath of
the March 2008 post-election violence in Yerevan. The report revealed
shortcomings in Armenia's justice system and made a number of
recommendations. It is important that the Armenian government implements
these recommendations as part of its judicial reform programme.

Although Armenia has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination against Women and its principles are addressed in the
constitution, women continue to suffer significant discrimination in economic
and political life. On 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of
Violence against Women, the EU announced the launch of 10 new human
rights and democracy projects including one that aims to reduce gender-
based domestic violence in Armenia.

In Azerbaijan, EU member states continued to express concern about the

restrictions to freedom of assembly, including in the run-up to the November
parliamentary elections. The High Representative shared the concern of the
OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights that the conduct
of the elections was insufficient to constitute “meaningful progress in the
democratic development of the country” and called on the Azerbaijani
authorities to address these shortcomings. In November the EU welcomed
the release of the youth activist bloggers Emin Milli and Adnan Hajizada, but
expressed concern over Azerbaijan’s reluctance to implement the European
Court for Human Rights’ judgment on Eynulla Fatullayev’s conviction for
alleged terrorism.

Association Agreement negotiations between the EU and Armenia and

Azerbaijan were launched in July. The first EU–Azerbaijan Sub-committee on
Justice, Freedom, Security and Human Rights and Democracy took place
between 30 November and 1 December.
In Egypt, progress on human rights and democracy has been an important
principle of the EU–Egypt Action Plan. The plan, which was adopted in 2007,
sets out priorities in the areas of strengthening democracy, judicial reform,
freedom of association and expression and the rights of women. However, in
2010 only limited progress was made in these areas. The state of
emergency, instituted in 1981, was renewed in 2010 and continued to present
a major obstacle to the full implementation of Egypt’s human rights
obligations, with provisions for administrative detention and curtailing the right
to assembly a particular concern. No amendments were made to the election
law in advance of the 2010 elections and the EU’s offer of technical
assistance in this area was not taken up.

On 12 May 2010, the High Representative made a statement in response to

Egypt’s decision to extend the state of emergency and encouraged the
Egyptian government to take the steps needed to adopt an anti-terrorism law
fully compliant with international human rights standards. Following the
flawed elections in November and December, the High Representative
released a statement on 6 December in which she raised her concerns about
reports of irregularities, as well as arrests of opposition activists.

We are working closely with the High Representative and EU partners to put
together a plan for long-term economic and institutional assistance to assist
Egypt’s orderly and peaceful transition to a civilian-led democratic
government, through free and fair elections.

In 2010 the government of Georgia approved constitutional changes reducing

the power of the president in favour of parliament, and started negotiations
with the opposition on further electoral reform. The Public Defender’s Office
received increased government funding despite widespread cuts elsewhere,
and continues to provide independent and critical advice. The government
also created human rights monitoring and protection units in various state
ministries. The local elections on 30 May marked evident progress towards
meeting OSCE commitments and other international standards. But the
OSCE mission and observers from individual EU member states noted
persistent shortcomings, notably in the legal framework.

Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations provide the EU and its member states with
a strong lever to promote reform, including in the field of human rights. A key
area of support has been in the justice sector, with a focus on the rule of law
and criminal justice reform. Other areas of EU activity include work to
promote media independence, electoral reform and participative democracy.
An EU–Georgia human rights dialogue takes place bi-annually, providing a
forum to discuss trends and individual cases. But whilst some progress has
been made, there were continuing concerns over media freedom, electoral
reform, judicial independence, religious freedoms, prison conditions, and the
rights of internally displaced persons and minorities.

Continued political instability presented an obstacle to progress on human

rights in Moldova. Abuse of police powers remains a problem. Restrictions
on the freedom of assembly still exist and, although gender equality is
enshrined in law, women still frequently face discrimination. The rights of
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons continue to face severe
challenges and a peaceful demonstration supporting the adoption of anti-
discrimination laws was prevented from taking place in Chisinau city centre by
a court ruling in April. There were, however, some positive developments in
2010. Moldova ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In January,
Moldova commenced negotiations on an EU Association Agreement, in the
framework of the Eastern Partnership. The EU Association Agreement
includes human rights requirements. The Moldovan government has no de
facto control over the Transnistria region, where the human rights record of
the separatist regime is particularly poor.

Despite considerable advances in the protection of human rights over recent

years in Morocco, the progress of reform slowed in 2010. We are particularly
concerned about media freedoms and the closure of a number of independent
publications. We continued to support Morocco’s progress towards ratifying
the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and hope to see this
take place soon.