21. Expresses concern about the situation of human rights defenders and political opposition activists in Bahrain; welcomes the statement of September 2013 on Bahrain in the UNHRC, signed by all EU Member States; calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all prisoners of conscience, political activists, journalists, human rights defenders and peaceful protesters; calls for the EU Member States to work towards the adoption during the next session of the UNHRC of a resolution on the human rights situation in Bahrain, focused on the implementation of Bahrain’s commitments made during the UPR process and the recommendations, in ...[+++]cluding those concerning human rights defenders, of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, welcomed by the King of Bahrain;

3. Three measures have already been adopted: a Directive 2010/64/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings[2] in October 2010 and Directive 2012/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the right to information in criminal proceedings in May 2012[3], and Directive 2013/48/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the right of access to a lawyer in criminal proceedings and in European arrest warrant proceedings, and on the right to have a third party informed upon deprivation of liberty and to communicate with third persons ...[+++] and with consular authorities while deprived of liberty in October 2013.[4] Measures on the protection of vulnerable persons suspected or accused in criminal proceedings are presented as a package with the present initiative, together with a Directive on the strengthening of certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and of the right to be present at trial in criminal proceedings, which form part of the underlying principles of the right of fair trial.

29. Welcomes the fact that the situation in Mali is being kept under close scrutiny by the UNHRC and applauds the leadership shown by the African states that brought the issue to the attention of the UNHRC; urges the UNHRC to support the swift deployment of monitoring capacities in Mali and to request that the OHCHR continue to report on the situation in the country;

(d) the policy objectives of the EUSR for HR should include enhancing the coherence, effectiveness and visibility of EU action in the protection and promotion of human rights and democracy; the EUSR HR should work in close cooperation with the Council Working Group on Human Rights (COHOM); the EUSR for HR should be a high-level interlocutor for his/her counterparts in third countries and at international organisations, also able to engage with the UN (UNGA, UNHRC, etc.) as well as relevant regional organisations; the EUSR for HR should chair high-level human rights dialogues and lead the consultations with third countries on human rig ...[+++]hts issues;

Moreover, the procedure in which an application for international protection is examined should normally provide an applicant at least with: the right to stay pending a decision by the determining authority; access to the services of an interpreter for submitting his or her case if interviewed by the authorities; the opportunity to communicate with a representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and with organisations providing advice or counselling to applicants for international protection; the right to appropriate notification of a decision and of the reasons for that decision in fact and in law; the opportunity to consult a legal adviser or other counsellor ...[+++]; the right to be informed of his or her legal position at decisive moments in the course of the procedure, in a language which he or she understands or is reasonably supposed to understand; and, in the case of a negative decision, the right to an effective remedy before a court or a tribunal.

The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union , bearing in mind its status and scope, and the accompanying explanations, reflects the rights as they result, in particular, from the constitutional traditions and international obligations common to the Member States, the Treaty on European Union, the Community Treaties, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the social charters adopted by the Community and by the Council of Europe and the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Communities and of the European Court of Human Rights.