Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms
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Fundamental Rights |
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Protection of personal data |
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Ethical Issues |
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Fight against Violence |
Fundamental rights
Respect for the fundamental rights of all people, including people with disabilities, is an essential feature of any democracy. The Union and its Member States are therefore required to respect them. Actions may be brought before the Community courts to enforce compliance by the European institutions. The Union may impose suitable political and economic sanctions on Member States that seriously and systematically flout fundamental rights. A State that is applying to join the Union will not be admitted if it does not guarantee enjoyment of these rights.
The Treaty also provides for fundamental social rights, both in its preamble and in a specific chapter. The Union’s aim is to promote these rights through its policies.
Everyone is entitled to apply to a court to ensure that Union law is enforced. This may be either a national court or a Community court depending on the matter in question.
Any Union citizen and any natural or legal person residing or with a registered office in the Union may address complaints to the European Ombudsman concerning instances of maladministration by a Union institution.
The Union may take decisions specifically designed to combat discrimination based on sex, race or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. This rule does not amount to a direct ban on discrimination but provides the Union with the possibility to act. It is now very difficult to accept the legitimacy of a Community provision that might allow discrimination.
Respect for human rights, and the promotion and safeguarding of such rights, is also a cornerstone of European co-operation and an essential factor in relations between the European Union and non-member countries. Accordingly, the European Union promotes the development and consolidation of democracy and the rule of law and universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms by making every agreement an instrument of a broad political, social and economic development approach. In particular, the Commission uses the financial instruments of Chapter B7-70 of the Community budget (European initiative for democracy and the protection of human rights) to support the consolidation of the rule of law, the transition to democracy and civil society in the developing countries, central Europe and the former Soviet Union.
Protection of personal data
The Parliament and Council Directive 95/46/EC of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data aims to harmonise national laws on processing personal data and protect the rights and freedoms of the persons concerned, in particular their right to privacy. Health and disability related data are in particular covered by the Directive.
The Directive aims to protect the rights and freedoms of persons with respect to the processing of personal data by laying down guidelines determining when this processing is lawful. The guidelines relate to data quality; making data processing legitimate; special categories of processing; information to be given to the data subject; the data subject's right of access to data; the data subject's right to object to data processing; confidentiality and security of processing; notification of processing to a supervisory authority.
The Member States have to determine more precisely, within the limits of the guidelines mentioned by the Directive, the conditions under which the processing of personal data is lawful and provides for judicial remedies and sanctions for any breach of a person's rights. For sensitive data such as those which are disability related, additional safeguards should be in place, such as a requirement that the data subject gives his/her explicit consent for the processing.
Ethical issues
New reproductive technologies and genetic research raise fundamental concerns concerning the place of disabled people in our society. In particular, the risk of misuses of prenatal diagnosis (eugenics, selection of sex or other characteristics for non-medical reasons) and the risk of disclosure or misuse of genetic information also raises ethical questions. Therefore, it is vital to set out an ethical framework for how these scientific advances can be used positively without undermining the rights of people with disabilities.
Biotechnology is also a vital sector of European research and industry and a source of large amounts of legislation: directives on the use of genetically modified organisms, proposed directives on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions, etc. This legislation cannot ignore the ethical dimension. This was what prompted the European Commission on 20 November 1991 to set up a Group of Advisers on the Ethical Implications of Biotechnology. In its 1991 communication to the European Parliament and Council 'Promoting the competitive environment for industrial activities based on biotechnology within the Community' (SEC(91) 629 final), the Commission emphasised the need for ethical discussions on the development of biotechnology.
The group's terms of reference are to advise the Commission, in the exercise of its powers, on the ethical aspects of biotechnology and to ensure that the general public is kept properly informed. In addition, in order to expand dialogue with representatives of the various interest groups and parties concerned with ethical issues, the group organises debates on a regular basis. Since November 1991, the Group has adopted ten opinions. Of particular relevance are the opinions issued by the Group concerning the ethical implications of the gene therapy and the technique of prenatal diagnosis.
Through the ELSA approach, the European Union also promotes research on fundamental and applied values in biomedicine, embryo and foetus protection, personal data protection, resource allocation in health care, data bases and ethics committees. ELSA is a common research sub-area for the three specific programmes in the field of Life Sciences and Technologies Biotechnology (BIOTECH), Biomedicine and Health (BIOMED), Agriculture and Fisheries (FAIR). The ELSA area is aimed at analysing the ethical and social issues raised by specific applications of biotechnology as well as biomedicine and health research in view of their being taken into account in public policy deliberations. It seeks to promote a rational and balanced pluralistic dialogue between key players. A multidisciplinary approach is indeed promoted, in which a dialogue is established between scientists, doctors, philosophers, theologians, lawyers, social scientists, animal protectionists, consumer and patient groups, industry, etc.. This ELSA approach will be extended to all RTD programmes under the 5th Framework Programme (1998-2002).
Fight against violence and sexual
exploitation
The Commission is responsible for the implementation of some programmes or budget lines, mainly in the fields covered by the "third pillar" such as STOP (incentive and exchange programme for persons responsible for combating trade in human beings and the sexual exploitation of children) and DAPHNE (measures to fight against violence towards children, young persons and women (line B3-4109)).
The DAPHNE initiative offers financial support to non-governmental and voluntary organisations active in the fight against violence towards children, young persons and women. The DAPHNE Initiative has an annual credit (3 million ECU in 1997 and 1998 and 5 million in 1999) available to help these NGOs and voluntary organisations to: establish or reinforce networks at European level amongst themselves and with public authorities to promote measures aimed at protecting and preventing violence towards children, young persons and women run pilot projects of an innovatory nature in support of these aims support awareness-raising measures and training against violence assist training and exchanges carry out studies and research disseminate information and "best practices" through conferences, seminars, publications and publicity campaigns prevent violence and to protect children, young persons and women from all kinds of violence, including domestic violence, trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation and other abuse to assist victims of such violence to recover and reintegrate into their families and into society and the workplace. Building on the initiative, the Commission has proposed on 20 May 1998 a five-year Community action programme (Daphne programme - 2000 to 2004) with a budget of ECU 25 million.
