49.

Recalls, therefore, all its resolutions, debates and findings from missions in 2009 on fundamental-rights issues, which have shown that there are many outstanding issues and specific cases of violation of fundamental rights, which require urgent concrete steps, mid-term strategies and long-term solutions, as well as follow-up by EU institutions; such as: — protecting the four fundamental freedoms as the basic EU achievements, with specific attention to the freedom of movement of EU citizens, — securing the rights of all persons present in the EU territory, irrespective of citizenship, — ensuring legal certainty and the existence of appropriate checks and balances of a sound democratic system, — guaranteeing the protection of personal data and privacy, including the collection, processing, transfer and storage of financial and personal data, both within and outside the EU, in accordance with the principles of purpose, necessity and proportionality and the rights of rectification and appeal, and promoting the right balance between individual freedoms and collective security, which is being challenged by new forms of terrorism and organised crime, — combating trafficking of human beings – especially women and children – since this constitutes a form of slavery; notes that, despite EU and national legislation and policy commitments over many years, several hundred thousand people are estimated to be trafficked into the EU or within the EU area annually, and highlights the need for greater urgency in tackling this crime, including through the new proposed EU Directive, which includes the suggested appointment of national rapporteurs to monitor the implementation of anti-trafficking policy at national level, — protecting the rights of refugees and migrants, ensuring that EU management of migration flows and negotiations on readmission agreements with third countries do not put such individuals at risk of human rights violations, — protecting the rights of victims of violence, crime, war and human rights violations, a policy area in which EU-wide legislation is required, without redirecting attention and resources that go into prevention, combating criminals and terrorists and into addressing root causes; highlights the EU public consultation on improving the rights of victims of crime and violence launched in early 2010 and looks forward to the Commission’s follow-up proposal of practical measures to support victims throughout the justice process; recalls the Member State initiative for a European protection order with a view to increasing the protection granted to victims who move between EU Member States but urges legal clarification of its provisions, — developing EU strategy on the rights of the child through practical measures to combat child abuse, sexual exploitation and child pornography, to promote safer use of the internet and to eliminate child labour and child poverty, bearing in mind the estimate that 10-20 % of children in Europe will be sexually assaulted during their childhood, that research shows child victims portrayed in pornography are getting younger and that current global economic circumstances threaten to push more children into the workforce and/or poverty, — promoting EU asylum and immigration policies in accordance with the values and principles set out in the treaties, the Charter and the ECHR, — developing an EU strategy on the rights of disabled people, who still suffer from discrimination in their social, professional and cultural lives, — prohibiting and eliminating all forms of discrimination, based on Article 21 of the Charter, in all areas of life, including ethnic profiling, while taking into account the established legal responsibilities and competences, — protecting language diversity, as a cultural heritage of Europe, including minority languages, — prohibiting the sanctioning of the use of a language different from the official language of a Member State, — combating poverty and social exclusion, — drawing up an action-oriented EU-level strategy to foster the inclusion of Roma and mainstreaming the issue in European, national, regional and local policy implementation, and establishing cooperation between Member States and the EU, — setting up an EU-wide framework on procedural rights for suspects in criminal proceedings, — guaranteeing and promoting freedom of the press in the European Union, which is deteriorating year after year, the most noteworthy facts being the concentration of the media, the pressure exerted on journalists and their work and the suing of journalists for no real or serious reason, — evaluating the existing EU readmission agreements and assessing the fundamental rights impact of the EU policy on readmission agreements, — promoting the social inclusion of the more vulnerable people through education and positive action, including those in prison, or former prisoners, and those serving alternative sentences, in addition to any other measures which foster their social rehabilitation, — the right to education for all, — protecting migrants, particularly asylum-seekers; — encouraging civil society to promote a transparent and regular debate on fundamental rights, to ensure that they are protected as broadly as possible, — combating all forms of racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism, — promoting greater interfaith and intercultural understanding, with a view to improving the European integration process, — protecting the rights of irregular migrants in the EU, — protecting the freedom of expression and the freedom, independence and pluralism of all media and press, and the free flow of information, — protecting freedom of thought, conscience and religion from any violations, as this is a fundamental right enshrined in Article 10 of the Charter, which includes the freedom to manifest religion or belief in public or in private;