Prishtina, 2 August 2022 – The European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI) has published its annual report on the rule of law in Europe, revealing a further deterioration of the rule of law across Europe compared to last year.

In this report, 40 European countries have contributed, emphasizing the challenges of the rule of law in their countries and the actions of the National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI) for protection and addressing recommendations for state authorities and European policymakers. The Ombudsperson institution has been a member of ENNHRI since 2013 and has contributed to this report.

Key findings include reports from ENNHRI members revealing a deterioration of the enabling environment for human rights defenders and civil society space in general in several EU countries.

The report states that in some countries National Human Rights Institutions face attacks and threats to their independence, there is lack of cooperation from national authorities and they face insufficient financial and human resources. NHRI also identified the deterioration of operating conditions for civil society organizations (CSOs) and human rights defenders. The report also highlights persistent obstacles to access to justice, related to levels of corruption and inadequate protection of whistleblowers. NHRI reported in particular a significant decline in media freedom, pluralism in the media market and the safety of journalists.

In relation to these issues, NHRI has outlined a number of key recommendations for European and national policymakers. They include:

• Ensure that the NHRI operates independently and effectively in accordance with the Paris Principles and an enabling environment for NHRI, in accordance with the Recommendation 2021/1 of the Council of Europe on the NHRI, with a strong mandate, adequate resources and cooperation.
• Provide a support framework for human rights defenders that also ensures participation, funding, and protection of them and CSOs from attacks, including strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP lawsuits).
• Increasing checks and balances, including through more effective judicial reviews, consultations and human rights impact assessments, engaging the NHRI in these processes.
• Ensuring fair appointments and the proper administration of justice, as well as improving access to justice, including for vulnerable groups.
• Ensuring freedom of expression, access to information and protection of journalists and media from attacks and abuse of laws or legal harassment, for example, SLAPP lawsuits.
• Strengthening frameworks for preventing and fighting corruption, including stronger anti-corruption bodies and effective whistleblower protection.
• Ensuring legality, proportionality and democratic oversight of the COVID-19 measures, including conducting human rights impact assessments – in collaboration with NHRI, CSOs and Human Rights Defenders – paying particular attention to the situation of vulnerable and marginalized groups.
• Ensuring the timely and effective implementation of regional court decisions, namely the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the EU Court of Justice, as well as the implementation of recommendations from national human rights institutions.

Download the full report and the executive summary.