The European Union and Human Rights NGOs meet at the 12th EU-NGO Forum on Human Rights on 12-13 July 2010 in Brussels. This year’s annual event brought together representatives of EU institutions, Member States, international human rights experts and 100 civil society participants to exchange views and experiences on the topic of "EU Human Rights Instruments and the Lisbon Treaty: state of play and the way forward". Lisbon Treaty strengthens EU’s commitment to human rights and confirms the promotion and protection of human rights as a key element of EU’s external action.
Workshops focused around four topics:
- EU human rights instruments in the fight against the death penalty
- The role of the European Union in the promotion and protection of economic, social and cultural rights
- EU relations with regional human rights organisations such as the Council of Europe, the OSCE, the African Union and ASEAN
- Consistency between the EU’s internal and external human rights policies.
The conclusions and recommendations of the Forum will be published in a report and presented to the EU’s Council working group party on human rights (COHOM).
Background
The annual EU-NGO Forum on Human Rights has been organised since 1999 in order to develop dialogue and common understanding between the EU institutions and human rights NGOs. The previous Forums have focused on thematic human rights policy issues, such as violence against children (2009), discrimination against women (2008) and economic, social and cultural rights (2007).
Apart from conducting regular dialogue with civil society on human rights, the EU supports NGO projects around the world through its European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR). In 2008-2009, the EU has co-funded 900 EIDHR projects in 100 countries with €235 million.
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