Human Rights Law and Evidence-Based Policy: The Impact of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency

Description

The EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) was established to provide evidence-based policy advice to EU institutions and Member States. By blending social science research with traditional normative work, it aims to influence human rights policy processes through new ways of framing empirical realities. The contributors to this volume critically examine the experience of the Agency in its first decade, exploring FRA’s historical, political and legal foundations and its evolving record across major strands of EU fundamental rights. Central themes arising from these chapters include consideration of how the Agency manages the tension between a mandate to advise and the more traditional approach of human rights bodies to ‘monitor’, and how its research impacts the delicate equilibrium between these two contesting roles. FRA's experience as the first ‘embedded’ human rights agency is also highlighted, suggesting a role for alternative and less oppositional orientations for human rights research. While authors observe the benefits of the technocratic approach to human rights research that is a hallmark of FRA’s evidence-based policy advice, they also note its constraints. FRA’s policy work requires a continued awareness of political realities in Brussels, Member States, and civil society. Consequently, the complex process of determining the Agency’s research agenda reflects the strategic priorities of key actors. This is an important factor in the Agency’s role in the EU human rights landscape. This pioneering position of the Agency should invite reflection on new forms of institutionalized human rights research for the future. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents Foreword List of editors and contributors Introduction Aims of this collection The contributors The structure and logic of the volume PART I: FRA and its policy environment 1. The genesis of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency: why a think tank rather than a monitoring body Introduction Building a new ‘Human Rights Agency’ to succeed to the EU Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) Defining the mandate of the Agency: the initial debate Conclusion 2. A new agency, and so what? Giving flesh and blood to FRA’s founding Regulation Introduction The agency and its mandate Bodies of the agency Working on the substance EU agencies Conclusion 3. Hand in hand for a better protection of human rights in Europe: the relationship between the Council of Europe and FRA Overcoming initial mistrust Together on the same road Perspectives for the future Conclusion 4. FRA’s policy impact and future posture: lessons from the perspective of the European Commission Introduction The innovative nature of the FRA’s work FRA’s added value to the work of the Commission FRA’s work – refined and improved for the future 5.Human rights communicators: FRA’s evolving voice on research, rights and policy Introduction Communicating through an established human rights narrative Communicating across an enlarged Europe Communicating from an embedded institution Communicating using evidence-based research Communicating with changing technology Communicating to polarized audiences Communicating as ‘human rights communicators’ Conclusion 6. Exploring the political role of FRA: mandate, resources and opportunities Introduction Mandate Resources Opportunities Concluding remarks PART II: Researching applied rights 7. FRA as a meeting place of law and social sciences The origins of the philosophy of the ‘law turning outwards’ The rapprochement of disciplines and the added value of FRA The way a head 8. A reflection on the quality of FRA’s research and methodology Types of FRA research The challenge of collecting and analyzing data where statistical standards are lacking Quality of research FRA challenges in research methodology Conclusions 9. Equality and inclusion: designing research to reconcile rights, ideas and policy practices at FRA Linking up fundamental rights with inclusion in the EU FRA’s work on social inclusion The gap between ideals and policy practices The cultural dimension Conclusion 10. FRA’s efforts to combat hatred, xenophobia and racism A robust European legal framework The role of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency Conclusion 11. Promoting equality: FRA’s work on Roma Introduction The international processes on Roma rights FRA and evidence on Roma exclusion Discussion on the role of FRA 12. Violence against women: policy impact and FRA’s evidencebased research Introduction The flagship: the EU-wide survey on violence against women FRA and EU policy on violence against women Applicability of the FRA’s research within other human rights mechanisms Challenges and potential future tasks 13. Borders and migration control: FRA’s research at protection black spots The FRA mandate on migration and borders Border control and access for third-country nationals to the EU territory Extraterritorial migration control and the principle of non-refoulement Limitations and potentials: FRA mandate and scope of EU competence 14. Embedded EU research on refugee protection: FRA’s work on asylum and irregular migration Introduction FRA and other international and regional actors in asylum FRA’s multiple approaches to asylum research in the crisis Conclusion PART III: Overcoming constraints 15. FRA’s response to the current human rights challenges The human rights environment ten years ago The world in turmoil? So far, so bad? FRA at the heart of a crisis-ridden Europe? 16. Upholding the rule of law in the EU: what role for FRA? The rule of law as a foundational and common value The rule of law in the FRA’s mandate The marginal involvement of the FRA in the EU’s rule of law mechanisms A new role for the FRA Concluding remarks 17. Concluding reflections on human rights law and evidence-based policy FRA’s mandate Institutional embeddedness FRA’s technocratic approach The research agenda Regionalism and diversity Conclusion Index