17.6.2020

The EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) has published its annual report on the protection of fundamental rights in the EU Member States. The Fundamental Rights Report 2020 explores the main developments of 2019 in the following areas: equality and non-discrimination; racism and related intolerance; Roma equality and inclusion; asylum, borders and migration; information society, privacy and data protection; rights of the child; access to justice; and implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Some of the key challenges identified in the report are fundamental rights at borders, child poverty, and fundamental rights considerations in the use of artificial intelligence (AI). In a separate focus section, the report highlights the EU Fundamental Rights Charter, which has been legally binding on the EU Member States for 10 years. Nationally, the awareness and use of the Charter remain limited. However, national courts are increasingly making use of the Charter.

The Institute for Human Rights at Åbo Akademi University, together with the Faculty of Law at the University of Turku, currently form the national focal point of FRA’s multidisciplinary research network, FRANET. The researchers at the Institute for Human Rights and the University of Turku have contributed to the Fundamental Rights Report 2020 by providing relevant data to FRA on fundamental rights issues in Finland in 2019. The Finnish country report is also available on-line on the FRA website.