The Commissioner points out that austerity measures have undermined
human rights in several ways: "National decisions on austerity measures
and international rescue packages have lacked transparency, public
participation and democratic accountability. In some cases, onerous
conditionalities have prevented governments from investing in essential
social protection, health and education programmes. When the EU as a
central actor in the crisis makes decisions about economic governance in
member states and when the Troika sets conditions for rescue packages
and loan agreements, the impact on human rights should be better taken into account."
"The economic crisis has had dire consequences on vulnerable groups, in
particular on children and young persons. Youth unemployment in Europe
has reached record levels, with millions of young people unemployed with
scarred futures. Cuts in child and family benefits, health care and
education have also added a strain on millions of families. An
increasing number of children are dropping out of school to find
employment and support their families, risking life-long setbacks in
educational achievement, and providing the conditions for job insecurity
coupled with the re-emergence of child labour and exploitation."
The Commissioner stresses the urgent need to reinvigorate the European
social model based on the foundations of human dignity,
intergenerational solidarity and access to justice for all. "Governments
should focus on reducing youth and long-term unemployment as a priority
and on upholding social protection floors for basic income and health
care during the crisis. Effective access to justice for all must be
guaranteed during economic downturns by maintaining the judiciary and the legal
aid system." Furthermore, governments should carry out systematic human
rights and equality impact assessments of social and economic policies
and budgets, especially as regards vulnerable groups of people.
"Positive measures in favour of disadvantaged groups, including people
with disabilities, Roma and women, are needed to address
disproportionate and compound effects of the crisis and austerity
measures."
Finally, the Commissioner highlights the essential
role ombudsmen, human rights institutions and equality bodies play in
identifying human rights compliant responses to the crisis and
protecting people in need. Demand for services of these national human
rights structures has increased, while many institutions have
simultaneously experienced budget and staff cuts, the closure of
regional offices or mergers into less focused structures. "Governments
should strengthen the effectiveness of these structures to handle
complaints about social and economic rights while seeking their
independent advice in decision making about austerity measures and
budgets to better gauge their impact on human rights and equality."
No comments:
Post a Comment