On the 18th of December, 2000, the European Union established the Charter for Fundamental Rights. In marking the 25th anniversary of the Charter, the Commission noted that it was written to uphold the founding values of the Union: dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law, and respect for human rights. Blomeyer & Sanz also marks this 25th anniversary, as these are the core values which inform our research and evaluation work, both within Europe and beyond. As our vision & mission states, “Human-rights inspired values are at the core of what we do, whether we are working with civil society, regional, or international organisations. We believe that all of our partners have a key role in promoting these values through their respective missions.”
As 2025 comes to a close, we particularly reflect on the ways in which we have prioritised these values in the work that we have done this year. In terms of respect for the human dignity of every person, we recently concluded a study for the Danish Institute Against Torture – Dignity on the “International Accountability Platform for Belarus,” which was well received for its potential to impact future work on human dignity. Team members have done evaluations and attended trainings regarding the topics of freedom and democracy, including the intersection of the field of evaluation with policy making. The area of equality has been an intersectional theme across various evaluations, as well as a focus of evaluations of projects aimed at helping specific vulnerable populations. One such evaluation is of Roma Inclusion projects in Central Europe implemented by the Villum Foundation. We’ve also had a strong focus on helping organisations via evaluation services in the area of rule of law, such as projects in Poland and Central Asia implemented by the OSCE/ODIHR. Relatedly, our evaluations have considered human rights in the context of emerging AI tools and the ethical considerations of using such tools in the care sector.
This 25th anniversary of the Charter is a good moment for reflection of the ways in which human rights have become increasingly respected, and the ways in which various institutions and NGOs continue to ensure that this holds true. Blomeyer & Sanz looks forward to further contributing via its research and evaluation services to the upholding of fundamental rights within and outside the European Union.