Article 2 Scope

promotion and enhancement of participatory and representative democracy, including parliamentary democracy, and the processes of democratisation, mainly through civil society organisations, inter alia in:

1. i))

   promoting freedom of association and assembly, unhindered movement of persons, freedom of opinion and expression, including artistic and cultural expression, independent media, unimpeded access to information, and measures to combat administrative obstacles to the exercise of these freedoms, including the fight against censorship;

2. ii))

   strengthening the rule of law, promoting the independence of the judiciary, encouraging and evaluating legal and institutional reforms, and promoting access to justice;

3. iii))

   promoting and strengthening the International Criminal Court, ad hoc international criminal tribunals and the processes of transitional justice and truth and reconciliation mechanisms;

4. iv))

   supporting reforms to achieve effective and transparent democratic accountability and oversight, including that of the security and justice sectors, and encouraging measures against corruption;

5. v))

   promoting political pluralism and democratic political representation, and encouraging political participation by citizens, in particular marginalised groups, in democratic reform processes at local, regional and national level;

6. vi))

   promoting the equal participation of men and women in social, economic and political life, and supporting equality of opportunity, and the participation and political representation of women;

7. vii))

   supporting measures to facilitate the peaceful conciliation of group interests, including support for confidence-building measures relating to human rights and democratisation.

the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human rights and other international and regional instruments concerning civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, mainly through civil society organisations, relating to inter alia:

1. i))

   the abolition of the death penalty, prevention of torture, ill-treatment and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, and the rehabilitation of victims of torture;

2. ii))

   support for, protection of, and assistance to human rights defenders, in terms of Article 1 of the UN Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms;

3. iii))

   the fight against racism and xenophobia, and discrimination based on any ground including sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation;

4. iv))

   the rights of indigenous peoples and the rights of persons belonging to minorities and ethnic groups;

5. v))

   the rights of women as proclaimed in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and its Optional Protocols, including measures to combat female genital mutilation, forced marriages, crimes of honour, trafficking, and any other form of violence against women;

6. vi))

   the rights of the child, as proclaimed in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols, including the fight against child labour, child trafficking and child prostitution, and the recruitment and use of child soldiers;

7. vii))

   the rights of persons with disabilities;

8. viii))

   the promotion of core labour standards and corporate social responsibility;

9. ix))

   education, training and monitoring in the area of human rights and democracy, and in the area covered by paragraph 1(a)(vii);

10. x))

    support for local, regional, national or international civil society organisations involved in the protection, promotion or defence of human rights and in measures referred to in paragraph 1(a)(vii);

the strengthening of the international framework for the protection of human rights, justice, the rule of law and the promotion of democracy, in particular by

1. i))

   providing support for international and regional instruments concerning human rights, justice, the rule of law and democracy;

2. ii))

   fostering cooperation of civil society with international and regional intergovernmental organisations, and supporting civil society activities aimed at promoting and monitoring the implementation of international and regional instruments concerning human rights, justice, the rule of law and democracy;

3. iii))

   promoting observance of international humanitarian law;

building confidence in and enhancing the reliability and transparency of democratic electoral processes, in particular

1. i))

   through deployment of European Union Election Observation Missions;

2. ii))

   through other measures of monitoring electoral processes;

3. iii))

   by contributing to developing electoral observation capacity of civil society organisations at regional and local level, and supporting their initiatives to enhance participation in, and the follow-up to, the electoral process

4. iv))

   by supporting measures aimed at implementing recommendations of European Union Election Observation Missions, in particular through civil society organisations.