The Role of EU Delegations in EU Human Rights Policy

The EU Delegations are playing a more important role in political analysis and policy shaping, thanks to their leadership in drafting the new Human Rights Country Strategies, are better able to carry out human rights diplomacy, thanks to their improved standing through the Lisbon Treaty changes, are strengthening the Delegations’ structures to deal with human rights in third countries, and are improving their outreach and contacts on the ground. However, there is space for improvements by making the Delegations’ performance less varied and dependent on the good will of individuals, by revising cooperation mechanisms between the diverse institutional actors involved in human rights, both in Brussels and on the ground, by integrating human rights in general EU policy, and by giving the Delegations more powers to carry out policy and diplomacy with greater autonomy.