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Ombudswoman Šimonović Einwalter spoke at international conference
National institutions for human rights, such as the Ombudsman institution in Croatia, play a key role in realizing the fundamental rights of citizens and in promoting EU values: fundamental rights, democracy and the rule of law.
This role was recognized and further strengthened with the help of the project “Supporting National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) in monitoring fundamental rights and the fundamental rights aspects of the rule of law “.
The goal of the project was to advance the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, one of the fundamental documents in the field of human rights protection and the rule of law in the EU. We participated in the project as partners of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), together with NHRIs from Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Latvia, Poland and Cyprus, as well as the European Network of National Institutions for Human Rights (ENNHRI).
The project was completed with an international conference on February 21 and 22, 2024. in Brussels. Ombudswoman Tena Šimonović Einwalter spoke in the first panel on the topic “Role of NHRIs in promoting the application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights “.
“National human rights institutions play an important role in encouraging the implementation of the Charter in our countries, as highlighted in the EU strategy to strength the implementation of the Charter, which recognizes us as those who reduce the “gap” between the rights of citizens and the responsibility of the state. Through our broad mandate, we use the Charter in numerous activities – when monitoring the state of human rights and reporting to the Croatian Parliament, in dealing with complaints, in the education and training on human rights that we conduct and in raising awareness on human rights”, said Ombudswoman Šimonović Einwalter.
She also reminded that the enabling space for the NHRIs is an important benchmark of rule of law in the reports of the European Commission, as well as the goal of the Commission’s recommendations to member states. Thus, in the fourth annual report on the rule of law, one of the recommendations to the Republic of Croatia is to further improve the implementation of recommendations and respond more systematically to the Ombudswoman’s requests for information.
The Ombudswoman compared the situation with equality bodies, which in Croatia is also one of the mandates of our institution, reminding that two directives will soon enter into force that will determine the standards for their work. “Standards at the European level are very important for the position of independent institutions in the member states,” emphasized the Ombudswoman.
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Source: The Office of the Ombudswoman of the Republic of Croatia
