Karin Lukas has been re-elected as Vicepresident of the European Committee of Social Rights. Together with Giuseppe Palmisano (President), François Vandamme (Vicepresident) and Eliane Chemla (General Rapporteur), she coordinates the activities of the Committee which monitors the implemention of social rights in 43 European states.
Persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities are among the most vulnerable groups of suspects in criminal proceedings. If they come into conflict with the law, they face a particularly high risk of not experiencing a fair trial. In many cases, their vulnerability due to their illness or disability is not identified in due time or not considered. Their procedural rights, particularly their right to information, their right to access a lawyer, and their right to medical assistance, in particular during deprivation of liberty, are often not adequately ensured.
The Handbook “Dignity at Trial”, which was elaborated during a two year pilot research project (2016-2018) assessing the implementation of the EC Recommendation on safeguards for vulnerable persons suspected or accused in criminal proceedings (2013/C 378/02) draws on broader involvement of professional stakeholders and persons with intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities who have undergone criminal proceedings.
DIGNITY at TRIAL: Enhancing procedural safeguards for suspects with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities
Rare minerals are key ingredients of industrial production. Their extraction is finite, but the demand for them rises constantly. The provision of rare minerals are high on the political agenda of the European Union and Austria. However, the extraction of such minerals is often connected with massive negative social and environmental consequences. The report "More Human Rights in the Rare Minerals Supply Chain" analyses several mechanisms of human rights protection in minerals extraction.
With a high-rank conference at the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Sciences and Arts in Brussels, the four-year EU research project FRAME celebrated its formal completion on 26 April 2017. Taking a broad approach, FRAME has analyzed the promotion of human rights in all areas of EU external and internal policies and has developed detailed policy recommendations.
Karin Lukas will talk on 28. Juni 2017 at 10:30 about "Key decisions and findings from annual conclusions by the European Committee of Social Rights which are of interest to forcibly displaced persons".
Karin Lukas, Vice-President of the European Committee of Social Rights, held a presentation on 8 March 2017 at the European Parliament. She discussed the protection of social rights in the EU and by the Social Charter and identified possible tensions. As an example, she talked about austerity measures in Greece and their impact on social rights. Watch now the video of the full panel discussion. Karin Lukas' presentation starts at 2:08.
Whilst many of us would agree that human rights are more important than corporate profits, the reality is often different; such realities as child labour and environmental destruction caused by corporate activities make this patently clear. Recognising that balancing human rights and business interests can be problematic, Corporate Accountability considers the limits of existing complaint mechanisms and examines non-judicial alternatives for conflict resolution.
