Human Rights and the External Relations of the European Community: An Analysis of Doctrine and Practice

Since the early 1990s, human rights have gained increasing importance in the external policies of the European Union (EU) and, in particular, the European Community (EC), the primary focus of this paper. While the precise delimitation of the EC's external human rights competences is still controversial, an analysis of the existing primary sources of Community law (Founding Treaties and case law) and their extension by the Treaty of Amsterdam seems to confirm the emergence of human rights as a 'transversal' Community objective. Moreover, the EC has developed an abundant practice of including human rights aspects in its international agreements (by means of so-called 'human rights clauses'), unilateral trade preference schemes (via 'special incentive arrangements' or 'conditionality requirements') and technical or financial assistance programmes ('human rights clauses' and the 'European Initiative for democracy and the protection of human rights'). From a conceptual perspective, the EC's human rights policy seems governed by the principles of universality and indivisibility. However, the specific weight to be attributed to economic, social or minority rights, the EC's capacity to adhere to international human rights conventions and the interplay between 'First Pillar' (EC) and 'Second Pillar' (CFSP/EU) activities all await future clarification.