ReliefWeb

1. Introduction

Against a background of instability and conflicts in the Middle East and parts of Asia and Africa, the ensuing migration crisis and recurring terrorist attacks against civilians, 2015 has been a year of extraordinary challenges for the European Union and the international community at large. ISIL/Da'esh extended its reach to parts of Syria and Iraq, producing mass atrocities and human rights attacks, targeting minority groups in particular. Serious human rights violations and a worrying trend of harassment and attacks on activists and on civil society were witnessed in many other parts of the world.

In 2015, the EU adopted the new EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy (2015-2019)1 which outlines the EU priorities and strategy for the next 5 years. The purpose of this Action Plan is to continue implementing the 2012 Strategic Framework for Human Rights and Democracy2, with sufficient flexibility to respond to new challenges. It also aims to better address issues through focused actions and the systematic and coordinated use of all EU instruments, notably EU guidelines, toolkits and other agreed positions, and the various external financing instruments, in particular the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights. The Action Plan was drawn up on the basis of the Joint Communication 'Keeping Human Rights at the heart of the EU Agenda'3 presented by the High Representative and the European Commission.

At the multilateral level, the EU continued to be a vocal advocate of the universal promotion and protection of human rights, working in particular through the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Human Rights Council, but also UN specialised agencies such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO). In these contexts, the EU promoted its thematic and country priorities and collaborated with countries from all regions in the pursuit of its objectives. The EU also supported the mainstreaming of human rights across the work of the United Nations (UN) more broadly, and promoted a human rights-based approach to the sustainable development goals, adopted through the 2030 Agenda in September 2015. In February, the Council adopted conclusions on the EU's priorities at the UN human rights fora4. The EU continued to use an annual strategic work plan, burden sharing arrangements with the EU Member States and targeted outreach to make its participation in these fora more effective. The EU also cooperated closely with the United Nations' Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).