The European Initiative for Democracy and Human
Rights
The European Union recognises the importance of the contributions made by international, regional and non-governmental organisations to civil society and to the development of a democracy that upholds political, economic and social rights. It values both the expertise, which many organisations working to implement human rights possess as well as their visibly high impact in the field of human rights.
One of the most noteworthy measures to give substance to this commitment has been the European Parliament’s 1994 initiative to bring a series of budget headings specifically dealing with the promotion of human rights together in a chapter of their own entitled the ‘European Initiative for Democracy and the Protection of Human Rights’. The Phare and Tacis Democracy programmes were incorporated into the European initiative in 1998.
Council Regulations on the development and consolidation of democracy and the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms under Articles 235 and 130 were adopted on 29 April 1999 and provide a legal basis for all human rights and democratisation activities under Chapter B7-70 of the EU budget .
In 1997/1998, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Commission initiated a vast programme of research in the field of human rights co-ordinated by the European University Institute in Florence in in co-operation with a Comité des Sages made up of leading human rights experts and political figures. This led to the adoption of a Human Rights Agenda for the EU for the Year 2000 in October 1998.
BUDGET LINES UNDER CHAPTER B7-70
The European Community has developed a comprehensive set of measures for responding to different aspects of human rights and democracy. The breakdown of these measures are along thematic and geographical lines.
B7-700 Support for democracy for countries of Central and Eastern
Europe and in the Republics formerly part of Yugoslavia
B7-701 Support for democracy in the independent states of the former Soviet
Union and Mongolia.
B7-7020 Human rights and democracy in developing countries, especially ACP
countries
B7-7021 Human Rights and democracy in the countries of Southern Africa
B7-7022 Special programme for democracy and good governance in Nigeria
B7-703 Democratisation process in Latin America
B7-704 Subsidies for certain activities of organisations pursuing human rights
objectives
B7-705 MEDA Programme for Democracy and Human Rights
B7-706 Support for the activities of International Criminal Tribunals and
to the setting-up of a permanent International Criminal Court
B7-707 Human rights in Asian countries
B7-709 Support for, and supervision of, electoral processes
Please note that a new common service of the European Commission was established in 1998. The so-called ‘Joint RELEX service for the management of Community aid to non-member countries (SCR)’ is, in particular, responsible for the follow-up of projects approved under the above mentioned budget lines.
Information on the financing procedures relating to this Chapter’s budget lines for 1999 can be found at the following address:
http://ec.europa.eu/scr/tender/index.htm
