Just days before the elections, the Federal Institute for Human Rights (FIHR) has issued a stark warning that fundamental rights and basic democratic principles are under threat in Belgium.
In its annual report for 2023, published on Thursday, the FIHR noted a negative trend in the respect for human rights in Belgium, paired with a continuous weakening of the rule of law.
In particular, the independent human rights organisation identified an increasing marginalisation of the judiciary in Belgium, as well as threats against human rights defenders and weaknesses in the right to information.
The rule of law is based on the idea that all people, institutions and entities in a country, including the Belgian State itself, are accountable to the same laws - and nobody is "above the law". It also outlines that laws should be publicly available, equally enforced, independently adjudicated, and consistent with international human rights norms and standards.
Launching the report, FIHR director Martien Schotsmans said that in Belgium "we are facing a risk of erosion of the rule of law", and that "certain fundamental rights and basic democratic principles sometimes seem to be called into question".
Three core issues
In terms of the judiciary, the report notes that the courts are short of financing and staff, and this is leading to longer proceedings, larger workloads for staff, lower quality decisions handed down and less confidence of citizens in the judicial system.
In some ongoing cases, litigants are summoned to hearings scheduled for 2040 or 2041, and in the past 15 years Belgium has not been able to provide statistics on the average length of proceedings.
A Brussels court in session. Credit: Belga / Nicolas Maeterlinck
The FIHR adds that the lack of resourcing in the judiciary means that law enforcement is increasingly left to administrative legislation and the executive, which do not uphold human rights in the same way as a court system.
The report also highlights that the civic space available for human rights defenders is shrinking, making it more difficult for them to carry out their work. A study by the FIHR found that 55% of human rights defenders in Belgium have been confronted with aggression and intimidation in the past two years.
Finally, the FIHR also voiced concern about the right to information in Belgium, both in terms of freedom of the press and the right to access administrative documents.
It highlighted that legislation around accessing administrative documents remains complex, there are numerous exceptions that can be invoked to refuse releasing a document, and the federal commission for access to administrative documents has no binding powers.
The FIHR urged Belgian authorities to take the rule of law "more seriously", and said that solving problems identified in the report would require structural changes, significant investment of time and resources, and a co-ordinated and transparent strategy.
