Ombudsman’s Office takes part in meeting organised by the Council of Europe on economic and social rights

The Ombudsman’s Office took part in the 14th Meeting of the CoE-FRA-ENNHRI-EQUINET Collaborative Platform on Economic and Social Rights, organised by the Council of Europe in Vilnius on 1 July.

The event was attended by more than 30 representatives of national human rights and equality promotion institutions and focussed on young people’s access to social and economic rights at a time of rising living costs. Strategies against poverty and social exclusion, challenges in access to employment and mechanisms for greater political participation by young people were some of the topics under discussion.

On the eve of the High Level Conference on the European Social Charter, held under the auspices of the Council of Europe, the participating organisations also adopted a joint declaration reaffirming their commitment to protecting and implementing the social rights guaranteed under the Charter. The joint declaration highlights the importance of social rights in ensuring the well-being and dignity of all people and emphasises the need for renewed efforts to protect and advance the realisation of these rights.

The COE-FRA-ENNHRI-EQUINET Collaborative Platform on Social and Economic Rights was launched in October 2015 as a joint initiative of the Council of Europe (COE), the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI) and the European Network of Equality Organisations (EQUINET). Its main objective is to support national human rights and equality institutions in strengthening the implementation of international instruments related to social and economic rights and, at the same time, to find answers to the challenges surrounding fundamental rights in Europe.

Luísa Falcão de Campos, an advisor who is part of ENNHRI’s working group on economic, social and cultural rights, represented the Ombudsman’s Office at this meeting.