Regulation (EC) No 1889/2006 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

TITLE I U.K. OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE

Article 1 U.K. Objectives

1. This Regulation establishes a European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights under which the Community shall provide assistance, within the framework of the Community's policy on development cooperation, and economic, financial and technical cooperation with third countries, consistent with the European Union's foreign policy as a whole, contributing to the development and consolidation of democracy and the rule of law, and of respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms.

2. Such assistance shall aim in particular at

(a) enhancing the respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international and regional human rights instruments, and promoting and consolidating democracy and democratic reform in third countries, mainly through support for civil society organisations, providing support and solidarity to human rights defenders and victims of repression and abuse, and strengthening civil society active in the field of human rights and democracy promotion;

(b) supporting and strengthening the international and regional framework for the protection, promotion and monitoring of human rights, the promotion of democracy and the rule of law, and reinforcing an active role for civil society within these frameworks;

(c) building confidence in and enhancing the reliability of electoral processes, in particular through election observation missions, and through support for local civil society organisations involved in these processes.

Article 2 U.K. Scope

1. Having regard to Articles 1 and 3, Community assistance shall relate to the following fields:

(a) promotion and enhancement of participatory and representative democracy, including parliamentary democracy, and the processes of democratisation, mainly through civil society organisations, inter alia in:

i)

promoting freedom of association and assembly, unhindered movement of persons, freedom of opinion and expression, including artistic and cultural expression, independent media, unimpeded access to information, and measures to combat administrative obstacles to the exercise of these freedoms, including the fight against censorship;

ii)

strengthening the rule of law, promoting the independence of the judiciary, encouraging and evaluating legal and institutional reforms, and promoting access to justice;

iii)

promoting and strengthening the International Criminal Court, ad hoc international criminal tribunals and the processes of transitional justice and truth and reconciliation mechanisms;

iv)

supporting reforms to achieve effective and transparent democratic accountability and oversight, including that of the security and justice sectors, and encouraging measures against corruption;

v)

promoting political pluralism and democratic political representation, and encouraging political participation by citizens, in particular marginalised groups, in democratic reform processes at local, regional and national level;

vi)

promoting the equal participation of men and women in social, economic and political life, and supporting equality of opportunity, and the participation and political representation of women;

vii)

supporting measures to facilitate the peaceful conciliation of group interests, including support for confidence-building measures relating to human rights and democratisation.

(b) the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human rights and other international and regional instruments concerning civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, mainly through civil society organisations, relating to inter alia:

i)

the abolition of the death penalty, prevention of torture, ill-treatment and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, and the rehabilitation of victims of torture;

ii)

support for, protection of, and assistance to human rights defenders, in terms of Article 1 of the UN Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms;

iii)

the fight against racism and xenophobia, and discrimination based on any ground including sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation;

iv)

the rights of indigenous peoples and the rights of persons belonging to minorities and ethnic groups;

v)

the rights of women as proclaimed in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and its Optional Protocols, including measures to combat female genital mutilation, forced marriages, crimes of honour, trafficking, and any other form of violence against women;

vi)

the rights of the child, as proclaimed in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols, including the fight against child labour, child trafficking and child prostitution, and the recruitment and use of child soldiers;

vii)

the rights of persons with disabilities;

viii)

the promotion of core labour standards and corporate social responsibility;

ix)

education, training and monitoring in the area of human rights and democracy, and in the area covered by paragraph 1(a)(vii);

x)

support for local, regional, national or international civil society organisations involved in the protection, promotion or defence of human rights and in measures referred to in paragraph 1(a)(vii);

(c) the strengthening of the international framework for the protection of human rights, justice, the rule of law and the promotion of democracy, in particular by

i)

providing support for international and regional instruments concerning human rights, justice, the rule of law and democracy;

ii)

fostering cooperation of civil society with international and regional intergovernmental organisations, and supporting civil society activities aimed at promoting and monitoring the implementation of international and regional instruments concerning human rights, justice, the rule of law and democracy;

iii)

promoting observance of international humanitarian law;

(d) building confidence in and enhancing the reliability and transparency of democratic electoral processes, in particular

i)

through deployment of European Union Election Observation Missions;

ii)

through other measures of monitoring electoral processes;

iii)

by contributing to developing electoral observation capacity of civil society organisations at regional and local level, and supporting their initiatives to enhance participation in, and the follow-up to, the electoral process

iv)

by supporting measures aimed at implementing recommendations of European Union Election Observation Missions, in particular through civil society organisations.

2. The promotion and protection of gender equality, the rights of the child, rights of indigenous peoples, rights of persons with disabilities, and principles such as empowerment, participation, non-discrimination of vulnerable groups and accountability shall be taken into account whenever relevant by all assistance measures referred to in this Regulation.

3. The assistance measures referred to in this Regulation shall be implemented in the territory of third countries or shall be directly related to situations arising in third countries, or shall be directly related to global or regional actions.

Article 3 U.K. Complementarity and Coherence of Community Assistance

1. Community assistance under this Regulation shall be consistent with the framework of the Community's policy on development cooperation and with the European Union's foreign policy as a whole, and complementary to that provided for under related Community instruments for external assistance and the Partnership Agreement between the Members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, on the other part. Complementary Community assistance under this Regulation shall be provided to reinforce action under the related external assistance instruments.

2. The Commission shall ensure that measures adopted under this Regulation are consistent with the Community's overall strategic policy framework and in particular with the objectives of the above instruments, as well as with other relevant Community measures.

3. In order to enhance the effectiveness and consistency of Community and Member States assistance measures, the Commission shall ensure close coordination between its own activities and those of the Member States, both at decision-making level and on the ground. Coordination shall involve regular consultations and frequent exchanges of relevant information, including with other donors, during the different phases of the assistance cycle, in particular at field level.

4. The Commission shall inform and have regular exchanges of views with the European Parliament.

5. The Commission shall seek regular exchanges of information with civil society, at all levels, including in third countries.