The human rights policy of the Barcelona Process

Abstract

After five years of the Barcelona Declaration (November 1995), this dissertation aims to find out "what has been done" and "what can be done in the future" in the human rights dimension of the implementation of the Declaration. The Barcelona Process could not offer any concrete project for human rights in the Mediterranean region although the Declaration consists strong commitments of the participants. This lack of achievement emerges from the reluctance of Mediterranean countries in human rights discussion and the European Union's concentration on economic issues with the assumption of that economic liberalisation may bring democracy to the region. In order to ensure the observance of human rights in Mediterranean countries, the European Union should use current instruments without discussing the cultural features of those countries.