The EU human rights and democratisation policy

Abstract

The promise of the Lisbon Treaty to put human rights, democracy, and the rule of law at the centre of all external action led to renew the EU’s efforts to frame an effective response to the challenges that human rights and democracy face worldwide. A Strategic Framework and Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy was adopted in June 2012 followed by a second Action Plan for 2015–2019. The Action Plans looked to increase the coherence and complementarity of all the tools that support human rights and democracy across the world. This chapter first analyses the objectives and priorities that guide the EU human rights and democratisation policy and the specific tools and instruments developed by the EU to implement them. Then it sheds light on the opportunities and challenges posed by the human rights and democratisation policy using as an example some of the questions raised in the relations between the EU and Egypt, a country under the European Neighbourhood Policy. This case shows that to effectively promote and defend human rights and democracy would mean first of all integrating consistently their promotion in the different EU policies involved in a region such as development, migration, security, counter-terrorism, women’s rights and gender equality, enlargement, and trade. The chapter concludes that the EU should strive to keep its commitment and not to conceal its values in order to be a leading actor in the field of human rights.