For the first time, ENNHRI has made a submission contributing to consultations for the 2020 European Commission Enlargement Package. ENNHRI members from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia submitted their perspectives on developments in 2019 on the situation of fundamental rights and enabling environments in their respective countries.

At the invitation of the European Commission, the 6 institutions from Candidate and Potential Candidate countries provided written contributions on major fundamental rights developments, with a special focus on the functioning of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), civil society space and the situation of Human Rights Defenders. This information complements the institutions’ annual reports on the human rights situation on the ground, which are shared with their national parliaments.

Moreover, experts from ENNHRI and NHRIs of Albania and North Macedonia will participate in a consultation meeting on fundamental rights with the European Commission on 4 February in Brussels to further advance the assessment on the human rights situation in their respective countries. Important issues, such as freedom of expression, children’s rights, LGBTI rights, prison and torture, and the rights of persons with disabilities, will be addressed.

ENNHRI welcomes this opportunity to contribute to the Enlargement Package. European NHRIs’ involvement in the consultation process on fundamental rights, alongside civil society actors and Human Rights Defenders, shows the significance of their position and contribution as independent, state-mandated bodies. This adds to ENNHRI’s continued efforts aimed at strengthening the recognition of NHRIs as key partners for the EU and its institutions.

» Download ENNHRI’s submission to the European Commission

* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSC 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence