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Commissioner for Administration and Protection of Human Rights, Maria Stylianou-Lottidi, today welcomed the launch of the Training Workshop on promoting the implementation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights by public authorities, on the theme: "From the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights: implementation and challenges".
In particular, the workshop aims to remind us that, since the beginning of the legal protection of human rights in 1948 with the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 75 years later, the protection of human rights has now become binding with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which since 2009 has become a legally binding text and has the same legal value as the EU Treaties.
Today's conference takes place in the context of the honorary selection of the Institution of the Commissioner for Administration of the Republic of Cyprus as the National Human Rights Authority (NHRI), among other European countries, for participation in the regional Project "Supporting National Human Rights Authorities in monitoring the implementation of fundamental rights and fundamental rights-related aspects of the Rule of Law", which is funded exclusively through EEA and Norway Grants.
It aims to promote a better understanding of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and its scope by public officials and public authorities in general.
In line with the content of the Charter, Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down Common Provisions introduced for the first time the obligation for Member States to ensure that all programmes supported by Union funds covered by the Common Provisions Regulation have effective mechanisms in place to ensure that they comply with the Charter.
To this end, the Council of Ministers has entrusted the Commissioner for Administration, as part of his responsibilities as the National Human Rights Authority and as the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Body, with responsibility for monitoring the compatibility of co-funded projects with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. In particular, the Commissioner supervises and monitors co-funded projects/programmes supported by EU Development Funds to ensure that they are in full compliance with the provisions of the Charter before they are awarded or published. The funding of a project/programme is not possible if, following the Commissioner's investigation, it is found to be incompatible with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
In her welcome address, Mrs. Lottidi pointed out that despite the existence of a relevant protective institutional framework of human rights, restrictions or even violations in the enjoyment of human rights are often observed in practice at many levels. In particular, the difficult economic conditions of recent years, the ongoing conflicts or persecution conditions that force people to leave their countries of origin are just some of the factors that have negatively affected the effective enjoyment of human rights and urgently call for the implementation of their protection under national and international law, particularly humanitarian law.
Regarding the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, Ms. Lottidi noted that it is considered a modern As set out in Article 51 of the Charter, it is always binding on the EU and binding on Member States only when they "apply Union law."
Finally, Ms. Lottidi underlined the paramount importance that the EU credits the National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) for the implementation of the Charter, which is why she acknowledged their role in checking the compatibility of each Member State's co-financed projects with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
After the Commissioner's address, the Minister of Justice and Public Order, Ms Anna Koukkidi-Prokopiou, also welcomed the opening of the Workshop.
This was followed by a presentation of the Project for the support of National Human Rights Authorities, its objectives and deliverables by Academic Ms Katerina Kalaitzaki.
In particular, Ms. Kalaizaki presented the stages of implementation of the project, which include: the preparation of studies and reports with recommendations and recommendations, training seminars for officials of the Office of the Commissioner for Administration and other public officials, lawyers and judges, as well as an information and awareness-raising campaign for the Cypriot society on the existence of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the specific fundamental rights it protects and the ways in which it can, in practice, "make a difference" in the lives of citizens.
At the end of the welcoming remarks and presentation, the full-day training seminar for public officials followed, focusing on enhancing participants' knowledge on respect for fundamental rights and compliance with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in the implementation of projects/programmes supported by the EU Development Funds.
It should also be noted that, at the beginning of the training workshop, a short audiovisual material (spotlight) prepared by the Commissioner's Office was shown as part of the awareness-raising campaign to inform the public about the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and its importance.
(ASP/Th)
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