Published by: Roland Schmidt

Authors: Julia Kozma, Manfred Nowak and Roland Schmidt

Indicators and Monitoring Systems as Preventive Tools for Ensuring Peace and Security and Respect for Human Rights in External Policy-Making of the EU

Proceedings of the COST Workshop “Human Rights, Peace and Security in EU Foreign Policy”
Neuer Wissenschaftlicher Verlag, 2009

Inspired by the establishment of an EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), the Association of Human Rights Institutes (AHRI) held its annual conference in Vienna in 2006. The conference took place in the framework of the EU COST programme “Human Rights, Peace and Security in EU Foreign Policy”. Numerous international human rights experts participated and discussions centred on the FRA’s mandate and its role in EU external policy-making, as well as the utility of indicators in the monitoring of compliance with human rights obligations. This book comprises selected contributions to the conference.

Main topics include a critical analysis of the FRA’s aims and tasks, as well as its relationship with the Council of Europe’s human rights system; challenges to human rights related data collection and the development of an effective EU-wide monitoring system; national human rights action plans and the use of indicators for the improvement of external human rights policy; the importance of a common understanding of human rights for effective human rights protection in peace operations; and the influence of the mass media on the participation of EU countries in peace operations.