Frontex Consultative Forum publishes eighth annual report

The Frontex Consultative Forum on Fundamental Rights[1] published its eighth annual report for the year 2020. The report outlines the main observations and recommendations that the Forum raised throughout the year with Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, and its Management Board to strengthen fundamental rights protection in Frontex activities and increase accountability and transparency.

The report outlines the state of play of internal and external fundamental rights safeguards at Frontex, including the Fundamental Rights Officer, monitors, reporting procedures and the complaints mechanism. It also provides recommendations about the need to further strengthen fundamental rights in Frontex activities, such as aerial surveillance, engagement with non-EU countries and return operations. The Forum also issued recommendations with regard to the mainstreaming of fundamental rights in the Agency’s training products and tools.

The Consultative Forum welcomes the recruitment of the Frontex Fundamental Rights Officer. However, the prerequisite of a solid fundamental rights monitoring system is the establishment of a due diligence procedure and the systematic deployment of the Fundamental Rights Monitors to the different operational areas.

The Consultative Forum has repeatedly expressed concerns over the delays in the implementation of the fundamental rights obligations stemming from the European Border and Coast Guard Regulation.

The Consultative Forum will continue advising Frontex on fundamental rights and encouraging the Agency to adopt a rights-compliant approach in all its activities.

The report is available here.