Invitation to webinar: draft EU Directive on HRD Mobility 17.12.2024

The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) promotes a webinar on 17.12.2024 (3:00-5:00 PM CET) organised by Aramita to present the draft EU Directive on HRD mobility focusing on the conditions of entry and residence of third-countries Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) in the European Union.

The draft directives try to find a solution to the current EU short-stay visa policy and provide a robust legislative framework across all EU Member States in order to facilitate the access and the long-stay for HRDs within the EU because guaranteeing the HRDs mobility means enhancing their protection.

It is based on the earlier recommendations of the Human Rights Defenders in EU Visa Policy by the CEELI Institute, on the study requested by the European Parliament's subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI) “Enhancing the protection of human rights defenders” and on the report the EU Members entry, stay and support practices and has seen the participation of several researchers with a great expertise in the field.

The directives will be presented and explained by the co-authors, Annalisa Meloni and Vasiliki Apatzidou during the webinar. This event has also the purpose to involve the civil society and to collect feedback from legal experts as well as from the activist community until January 2025 in order to assemble a directive truly effective and inform the next stages of advocacy.

Key highlights of the directive:

• Establishes comprehensive conditions for the entry and residence of third-country HRDs and their families in the EU.
• Defines admission criteria, including certification by trusted third parties or EU delegations.
• Grants HRDs rights to work, study, and access social services.
• Incorporates simplified family reunification procedures.
• Ensures procedural safeguards for transparent applications and protection from deportation.
• Specifies conditions for refusal or withdrawal of authorizations, safeguarding public policy and security.
• Provides financial support to enable HRDs to continue their human rights work.
• Facilitates short- and long-term mobility across EU Member States.
• Recognizes qualifications and supports integration through educational and employment opportunities.
• Mandates regular reporting by Member States on HRD authorizations.

Register here to obtain the webinar link: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/9d14637d-ddf8-4eb8-ab81-3b9e9623d56d@a3fde9d6-7f76-43c6-9045-fdf6d0e88384