EU ANNUAL REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY IN THE WORLD 2020 Photo front page © UNESCO EU ANNUAL REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY IN THE WORLD 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD BY JOSEP BORRELL ....................................................................05 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 08 EU SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ......................... 10 01. PROTECTING AND EMPOWERING INDIVIDUALS ............................16 1.1 Protecting people, eliminating inequalities, discrimination and exclusion .............................................................................16 > The death penalty ........................................................................................................16 > Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment ..........................................................................................................................19 > Human rights defenders ......................................................................................... 24 > Tackling multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination ...................30 > Freedom of religion or belief ..................................................................................33 > Human rights of persons belonging to minorities...................................... 38 > Gender equality, sexual orientation and gender identity, eliminating sexual and gender-based violence and continued commitment to sexual and reproductive health and rights as per the New European Consensus on Development.............................40 > Rights of the child .......................................................................................................59 > Migration and mobility – migrants, refugees and asylum seekers .......... 64 1.2 Empowering people .......................................................................................73 > Empowering women .................................................................................................73 > Empowering children and youth ..........................................................................75 > Rights of persons with disabilities ......................................................................77 > Human rights of older persons ............................................................................80 > Rights of indigenous peoples ............................................................................... 82 1.3 Promoting fundamental freedoms and strengthening civic and political space ...................................................................................................85 > Freedom of expression .............................................................................................85 > Safety of journalists ..................................................................................................88 > The environment, climate change and human rights .................................91 > Economic, social and cultural rights ..................................................................96 > Labour rights ...............................................................................................................102 1.5 Supporting the rule of law and the fair administration of justice ........................................................................................................... 108 > Human rights and counter-terrorism ............................................................. 108 > The International Criminal Court ........................................................................110 1.6 Closing the accountability gap, fighting impunity and supporting transitional justice ................................................................................................... 114 02. BUILDING RESILIENT, INCLUSIVE AND DEMOCRATIC SOCIETIES ............................................................................................................120 2.1 Enhancing democratic, accountable and transparent institutions .................................................................... 120 2.2 Promoting responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making .......................................................................................... 125 2.3 Supporting independent and pluralistic media, access to information and the fight against disinformation ......................... 127 2.4 Reinforcing a human rights and participative approach to conflict prevention and crisis resolution ........................................... 134 03. PROMOTING A GLOBAL SYSTEM FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY ..........................................................................................146 3.1 Multilateral cooperation .............................................................................146 3.2 Regional partnerships.................................................................................153 > The EU in the Council of Europe ..........................................................................153 > The EU in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.......................................................................................................................156 > The EU and the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation .............................158 > The EU and the African Union ..............................................................................158 3.3 Bilateral cooperation ...................................................................................159 3.4 Civil society and national human rights institutions .....................162 3.5 Business sector ..............................................................................................170 3.6 Compliance with international human rights and international humanitarian law ................................................................................................174 04. NEW TECHNOLOGIES: HARNESSING OPPORTUNITIES AND ADDRESSING CHALLENGES .....................................................................178 4.1 Capacity building and effective monitoring ......................................178 4.2 Promoting human rights and democracy in the use of digital technologies, including artificial intelligence ................................. 181 05. DELIVERING BY WORKING TOGETHER .............................................189 5.1 Public diplomacy and strategic communication ..............................189 FOREWORD BY JOSEP BORRELL 2020 was undoubtedly a challenging year. The COVID-19 global pandemic not only put our health and lives at risk, but also exacerbated economic and social inequalities, led to an increase in domestic violence and hampered © European Union © European the right to education for many children. We witnessed the shrinking of civic space, the Josep BORRELL flourishing of disinformation and authoritarian High Representative trends growing. of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and In these unprecedented times, the EU continued Security Policy to stand up for human rights and democracy and to respond to new challenges, including to protect the rights of vulnerable communities. The EUSR for Human Rights, Eamon Gilmore, focused particular attention during 2020 on efforts to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus in places of detention around the world. One of the highest profile EU actions in 2020 against human rights violations and abuses was the establishment of a dedicated EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime. This decision was not taken lightly but based firstly on the firm conviction that the EU could and should do more and secondly, on our experience, which has shown that words are not always enough. With this new sanctions regime, we sent a clear message that human rights abuses will not be tolerated, no matter where they happen. The EU also adopted its new Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy (2020-2024) – a roadmap of actionable priorities–placing human rights front and centre in its external action. But the EU is not only Brussels. EU Delegations have been at the forefront of human rights promotion and protection. In Sierra Leone and many other countries applying the death penalty, the EU Delegations together with partners advocated for the abolition of the death penalty and ensured access to legal representation and effective right to appeal for prisoners on death row. When in May 2020 Sudan decided to outlaw female’s genital mutilation, the EU supported Khartoum to implement this bold and historic step towards the realisation of women’s and girls’ rights, including through the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Sudan. In Colombia, the EU conducted a public diplomacy campaign to address the problem of sexism and supported the government in its national strategy against machismo. In Thailand, the EU-funded project ‘Ship to Shore Rights’ helped the government to combat forced labour in the fishing and seafood industries. Through the Human Rights Defenders Mechanism ProtectDefenders.eu, the EU helped 450 human rights defenders to combat digital threats. These are some of the examples of the EU action outlined in this report. Multilateralism is the only effective format to deal with global challenges. Around the globe the EU continues to invest in effective multilateral cooperation including at the UN-level. The EU strongly supports the International Criminal Court and promotes