A/HRC/50/31 67. The Special Rapporteur notes the publication of the findings of the European Parliament Frontex scrutiny working group in July 2021,125 which found that “several reliable actors … consistently reported about fundamental rights violations at the border in a number of member States, but that Frontex generally disregarded these reports [and] also failed to adequately respond to internal observations about certain cases of probable fundamental rights violations in member States which were raised”. It also concluded that Frontex “did not prevent these violations, nor reduced the risk of future fundamental rights violations”. The Special Rapporteur notes progress made in reforming and expanding the agency’s Fundamental Rights Office, which monitors the compliance of Frontex with its human rights obligations and advises it on human rights. He notes, however, that to date the Office has not yet fully recruited the 40 fundamental rights monitors who should have been in place since December 2020.126 3. Independent border monitoring mechanisms 68. The Special Rapporteur takes note of some progress made in developing independent border monitoring mechanisms at the regional and national levels. At the national level, there exist some border monitoring mechanisms and more are in the making. 127 He wishes to underline that national human rights institutions and NGOs, often as part of their work to prevent torture, have already developed significant expertise and practice in human rights monitoring, including monitoring methodology.128 They have an important role in facilitating the cooperation of State and non-State actors and ensuring transparency. The Office of the Public Defender of Georgia, the national authority for the rights of persons detained or deprived of their liberty in Italy, the Commissioner for Human Rights of Poland, and the Human Rights Ombudsman of Slovenia have, for example, carried out long-term monitoring on the basis of established methodology.129 National human rights institutions in Croatia, France, Greece, Serbia and Slovenia have reported the coordinated publication of their national reports on the rights of migrants at borders; such border monitoring by national human rights institutions is essential for guaranteeing those rights in practice.130 69. In the context of the ongoing negotiations on the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, the Special Rapporteur welcomes any support from European Union member States in favour of the establishment of strong and independent national monitoring mechanisms on the human rights of migrants. Such mechanisms should have a wide geographical and procedural application that goes beyond the screening process.131 It would also be crucial for European Union member States to explore means to ensure such mechanisms are truly independent and have a clear mandate to receive complaints, to investigate alleged violations – recognizing the indispensable role of State institutions in the investigation – and to report publicly on their findings.132 In addition, efforts should be made to identify practical solutions aimed at avoiding the fragmentation and improving the collaboration of various monitoring bodies at the national, regional and international levels. 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 16 See https://www.europarl.europa.eu/cmsdata/238156/14072021%20Final% 20Report%20FSWG_en.pdf. Regulation (EU) 2019/1896 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 November 2019, arts. 109–110. See submissions by Croatia and International Rescue Committee. See Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, “Border police monitoring in the OSCE region: A discussion of the need and basis for human rights monitoring of border police practices”, May 2021. See submissions by Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, the Human Rights Ombudsman of Slovenia, the Office of the Public Defender of Georgia and World Organisation against Torture (OMCT). See European Network of National Human Rights Institutions, http://ennhri.org/rights-at-borders/. See OHCHR, UNHCR and European Network of National Human Rights Institutions, “Ten points to guide the establishment of an independent and effective national border monitoring mechanism in Greece”, available at https://europe.ohchr.org/EN/Stories/Pages/National-border-monitoringmechanism.aspx. See OHCHR, “Joint Consultation on Independent National Monitoring Mechanisms proposed in the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum”.