When: 20 October 2021

Where: Online, Austria

FRA event

Against the background of the upcoming French EU Presidency, FRA will exchange views with French civil society organisations that are part of its civil society network, the Fundamental Rights Platform (FRP) on 20 October.

The online discussion will be an opportunity to listen to the ideas and concerns of civil society organisations in France before the French Presidency of the Council of the EU begins. They will hear about the work and priorities of the Agency and the Platform. It will also be a chance to explore how civil society can make use of the results of FRA’s work.

• Support for human rights systems and defenders
• EU Charter of Fundamental Rights
• Inter-governmental human rights systems
• National human rights systems and bodies
• Civil society

Two days of stimulating discussions, over 145 different sessions, 6 locations – that was the Fundamental Rights Forum 2021 in a nutshell. With over 3,000 people joining the Forum in Vienna and online, it was the biggest human rights event in Europe this year.

It brought together people from very diverse backgrounds – the thought leaders, decision makers, civil society, artists, businesses, young people, faith and non-confessional communities and many more.

They were all united by one ambition – to build a vision of hope.

And according to Michael O’Flaherty, Director of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights and Forum Chair, they delivered.

“The human rights community is a strong community, it is a large passionate, committed and determined group of people across the world and together we can make a difference,” said Mr. O’Flaherty in his closing speech.

The many discussions and exchanges during the Forum have made him believe that there is a reason to remain hopeful.

“I have a sense that my hope for a future built on respect for human rights is entirely justified,” he added.

In his closing remarks, Director O’Flaherty identified five main takeaways:

1. WAKE UP – we need to wake up from our complacency and acknowledge that no system or organisation
2. is permanent and infallible, guaranteed to live into the ever future. The eroding of the whole system of human rights protection can happen without us even noticing it.
3. JOIN UP – we need to bring everybody who cares about human rights to engage and work with each other on our common concerns. And bring those who are normally excluded from decision making into the discussions. We have to develop a mutual literacy, a vocabulary to speak to each other.
4. WISE UP – we have to acknowledge the skills of the adversary and be equally smart. We need to improve our tools, get better at data gathering and making a business case for our claims. Smart communication is about finding new and different voices to deliver the message, as do music and drama – highly effective in delivering human rights messages.
5. CATCH UP – it is imperative that we meaningfully engage with the digital world and new technologies, especially artificial intelligence. We need to acknowledgement of the complexity at the technical levels, at the legal levels and the ethical levels.
6. LISTEN UP – we need to listen and engage the voices of young people; they need to be at heart of our discussions. This requires that we stop working for people and that we always insist on working with people. They must be our partners in our effort for the promotion and the protection of human rights.

7. Building on these takeaways, we can chart a new way together towards a better protection of fundamental rights in Europe.

   We will continue publishing information about the main outcomes from the Forum here.

Articolo:

https://www.facebook.com/difensorecivico.toscana/photos/a.1618732098215023/4412178155537056/?type=3

• Poland: challenges to the EU legal order and European values 

  Parliament will debate the recent ruling of the Polish Constitutional Tribunalwith Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

• Parliament to demand action in wake of the Pandora papers scandal 

  MEPs will lay out what must be done urgently to close loopholes that have allowed the massive tax avoidance uncovered by the Pandora papers investigation.

• Climate change: MEPs to call for ambitious outcome at COP26 

  Ahead of COP26 in Glasgow, MEPs are set to push for accelerated climate action worldwide and for the EU to remain a world leader in fighting climate change.

• Farm to fork: MEPs to approve new strategy for more sustainable food 

  Parliament will present plans on how Europe can produce healthier food while ensuring food security, a fair income for farmers and reducing agriculture’s environmental footprint.

• The rise of right-wing extremism and racism in Europe 

  Following a recent violent protest in Rome, MEPs will discuss with Council and Commission the rise of right-wing extremism and racism in Europe.

• Parliament to debate pushbacks at the EU’s external borders 

  MEPs are set to demand clarity on recent revelations of pushbacks and violence against migrants at the Croatian, Greek and Romanian borders.

• Parliament to ask for more transparent EU vaccine policies 

  MEPs will state their demand for more transparent vaccine development, purchasing and distribution in the future, and debate the EU’s global role in fighting the pandemic.

• MEPs to look ahead to October European Council 

  In a debate with the Commission and Slovenian Presidency on Wednesday morning, MEPs will outline their expectations for the 21-22 October EU summit.

• MEPs to assess the Commission’s 2022 work plan 

  Plenary will discuss the European Commission 2022 work programme on Tuesday afternoon.

• MEPs to demand minimum social standards for artists and cultural workers 

  Parliament will present proposals for improving the social and economic situatio

• MEPs to demand urgent support for European news media and audiovisual sector 

  Parliament set to voice concerns about pandemic-related revenue loss in the media sector, media freedom issues, and the disruptive impact of global online platforms.

• Climate change: MEPs to call for binding methane emissions reduction targets 

  On Wednesday, Parliament will debate an EU strategy to reduce methane emissions, and vote on a resolution proposing measures to reach EU climate goals and improve air quality.

• Tunisia: MEPs to demand inclusive dialogue to overcome political crisis 

  Tunisia’s democratic system is at risk given its lack of separation of powers, MEPs are set to warn in a debate on Tuesday.

• EU-Taiwan relations: MEPs to push for stronger partnership 

  Parliament is set to call for closer relations with Taiwan, while issuing a warning about the continued tensions across the Taiwan Strait.

• New rules to better protect road accident victims 

  Parliament will vote on updated motor insurance rules to ensure better protection and equal treatment of EU citizens involved in accidents or when insuring their vehicles.

• 2022 EU budget: MEPs to adopt position ahead of negotiations with member states 

  Parliament is set to vote on Wednesday (results Thursday) for a budget that boosts the pandemic recovery process and lays the foundations for a more resilient EU.

• Parliament set to demand freezing of part of Frontex budget 

  MEPs, voting on Thursday to sign-off the expenses of Frontex, the EU Border and Coast Guard Agency for 2019, are likely to want to withhold part of its 2022 budget.

• MEPs: Social policy key to Eurozone economic recovery 

  In a debate on Monday and vote on Tuesday, MEPs are set to highlight the importance of social policies in the Euro area and in the EU’s recovery and resilience plans.

  • Other topics on the agenda 

    Other topics for debate and vote include the following

his Thursday 14 October 2021, the Daphne Caruana Prize for Journalism was awarded to the journalists from the Pegasus Project coordinated by the Forbidden Stories Consortium.

The award ceremony held in the Press Centre of the European Parliament was opened by the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli.

From 22 June to 1st September 2021, more than 200 journalists from the 27 EU countries submitted their media stories to a panel of judges.

Representing the 29 members of the European jury, the Secretary General of the International Federation of Journalists, Anthony Bellanger, presented the 20.000 EUR prize money to the representatives of the consortium, Sandrine Rigaud and Laurent Richard.

About the winner

Forbidden Stories is a consortium of journalists whose mission is to continue the investigations of murdered, imprisoned or threatened journalists.

Since its inception in 2017, Forbidden Stories and its partners have pursued the work of Daphne Caruana Galizia, but also of journalists murdered for their investigations into environmental crimes or Mexican cartels.

With more than 30 partner news organizations around the world and nearly 100 journalists, Forbidden Stories relies on a network that believes strongly in collaborative journalism. For its work, Forbidden Stories has won prestigious awards around the world, including the European Press Prize and the Georges Polk Award.

About the winning story

Pegasus: The new global weapon for silencing journalists • Forbidden Stories

Short summary of the winning story:

An unprecedented leak of more than 50,000 phone numbers selected for surveillance by the customers of the Israeli company NSO Group shows how this technology has been systematically abused for years. The Forbidden Stories consortium and Amnesty International had access to records of phone numbers selected by NSO clients in more than 50 countries since 2016.

Journalists from the Pegasus Project – more than 80 reporters from 17 media organizations in 10 countries coordinated by Forbidden Stories with the technical support of Amnesty International’s Security Lab – sifted through these records of phone numbers and were able to take a peak behind the curtain of this surveillance weapon, which had never been possible to this extent before.

The Forbidden Stories consortium discovered that, contrary to what NSO Group has claimed for many years, including in a recent transparency report, this spyware has been widely misused. The leaked data showed that at least 180 journalists have been selected as targets in countries like India, Mexico, Hungary, Morocco and France, among others. Potential targets also include human rights defenders, academics, businesspeople, lawyers, doctors, union leaders, diplomats, politicians and several heads of states.

For more information about the Pegasus project:

Pegasus: The new global weapon for silencing journalists • Forbidden Stories

About the Prize

The Daphne Caruana Prize was initiated by a decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament in December 2019 as a tribute to Daphne Caruana Galizia, a Maltese anti-corruption investigative journalist and blogger who was killed in a car bomb attack in 2017.

The Prize is rewarded on a yearly basis (on the 16 October, the date Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated) to outstanding journalism that promotes or defends the core principles and values of the European Union such as human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law, and human rights. This is the first year the prize has been awarded.

The Prize was opened to professional journalists and teams of professional journalists of any nationality to submit in-depth pieces that have been published or broadcast by media based in one of the 27 European Union member states. The aim is to support and highlight the importance of professional journalism in safeguarding freedom, equality and opportunity.

The independent jury was composed of representatives of the press and civil society from the 27 European member states and representatives of the main European Associations of Journalism.

The prize and the €20 000 prize money demonstrates the European Parliament’s strong support for investigative journalism and the importance of free press.