Support is available to all NHRIs in Council of Europe Member States, who face threats in relation to their work on social rights.
Council of Europe, Department of Social Rights of the Directorate of General Human Rights and Rule of Law
Which NHRIs can request support?
Brief presentation
The Department of Social Rights of the Directorate General Human Rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe provides secretariat support to the two treaty bodies, the European Committee of Social Rights and the Governmental Committee, in the implementation of the European Social Charter. Additionally, the Department implements technical assistance projects aiming at enhancing the protection and promotion of social and economic rights in Member States.
The application of the Charter by States Parties is examined by the European Committee of Social Rights through two monitoring procedures: the collective complaints procedure and the reporting procedure. Under the latter, since 2023, States Parties may be invited to submit an ad hoc report on new or critical issues of a broad or transversal nature or with a pan-European dimension. The subject and timing of ad hoc reports shall be decided jointly by the European Committee of Social Rights and the Governmental Committee. In examining the ad hoc reports, the European Committee of Social Rights will not make country-specific legal assessments but will provide a general overview of the situation and make recommendations.
Scope of the action
The Department of Social Rights can implement co-operation projects that support NHRIs, including those under threat or working in a challenging environment. Projects can include in-country monitoring missions, study visits and other direct technical support, under the scope of the Department’s activities.
Support to NHRIs under threat
☐ Public support
☐ Private and diplomatic engagement
☐ Policy recommendations
☐ Legal opinions
☑ In-country missions
☑ Funding and direct support
☐ Other actions
Contacts
NHRIs can contact the Department of Social Rights by emailing:
Examples of support
Further Enhancement of Social and Economic Rights in Georgia
In the framework of the project “Further Enhancement of Social and Economic Rights in Georgia”, the Public Defender of Georgia has gained substantial experience in monitoring social rights through the submission of high-quality annual alternative reports to the European Committee of Social Rights. The Office of the Public Defender has been invited by the Council of Europe on a number of occasions to share its experience with other institutions. Given the current political situation in Georgia at the time of writing, and the role of the Public Defender in monitoring respect for human rights and freedoms in Georgia, the project has adapted its work to prioritise support to the institution and civil society organisations.
Enhanced social protection in Ukraine
Within the co-operation project “Enhanced social protection in Ukraine”, significant support is provided to the Ukrainian NHRI. With the logistical and methodological support of the project, several in-country monitoring missions were organised for the staff of the NHRI to monitor and document provision and protection of different social rights, specifically in war affected regions of Ukraine. A direct technical support was provided to the NHRI (namely its Division of Social Rights) in the form of laptops and other necessary equipment to allow more mobility and flexible working conditions.
Broader engagement with NHRIs, beyond threats
The Department of Social Rights is engaged with NHRIs in the framework of the COE-FRA-ENNHRI-EQUINET Collaborative Platform on social and economic rights. The main objective of the Platform is to assist national bodies to increase the effectiveness of the implementation of human rights standards on social and economic rights and contribute to finding responses to fundamental rights challenges in Europe.
The Platform has addressed a number of issues enshrined in the European Social Charter, such as housing, poverty and social exclusions, the rights to work, digitalisation and social rights, the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on social rights of young people etc. It provides capacity building activities for NHRIs and brings out the important role of NHRIs in monitoring the respect of states’ human rights commitments. In this context, the Department has published a Guide on how NHRIs and Equality Bodies can engage with the European Committee of Social Rights, including through the collective complaints and reporting procedures.
More specifically, the Department of Social Rights provides targeted support to NHRIs through its cooperation projects in Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The aim of the activities provided to NHRIs is to increase the institutions’ knowledge of the European Social Charter and to strengthen their capacity to monitor the observance of social rights.
For instance, the project “Enhancing employment rights in the Republic of Moldova” supported the Ombudsperson Institution of the Republic of Moldova to improve its understanding of the Charter system and reporting procedures under the Charter through a series of workshops. As a result, the Ombudsperson Institution provided comments on the State’s ad hoc report on the cost-of-living crisis. In addition, the institution’s staff improved their skills in monitoring labour rights through several workshops and the development of a dedicated manual.
Relevant sources and materials
