The GNCHR at the ENNHRI Fundamental Rights Impact Assessments (FRIAs) for Artificial Intelligence Webinar

The European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI) organized a webinar on Thursday April 10, 2025 on the occasion of the publication of the Statement entitled “ENNHRI calls on the European Commission to ensure effective Fundamental Rights Impact Assessments (FRIAs) under the EU AI Act”. The GNCHR was represented by the GNCHR Human Rights Advisor, Dr. Christos Tsevas, as a member of the ENNHRI Artificial Intelligence Working Group, presenting certain recommendations of the Statement. 

Effective FRIAs for AI should reflect a fundamental rights-based approach. To achieve this, ENNHRI recommends that the Commission should:

1. Include meaningful public consultation in the development of the template questionnaire
2. Develop guidance on conducting FRIAs to complement and apply the template questionnaire required by the AI Act under Article 27(5).
3. Require that individuals or teams performing FRIAs have relevant fundamental rights expertise, or request relevant assistance.
4. Underline that the primary purpose of FRIAs should be the prevention of fundamental rights violations.
5. Require that the methodology and benchmarks for assessment are grounded in human rights standards.
6. Promote policy coherence with existing international standards and other EU regulations.
7. Require meaningful transparency and effective remedy.
8. Recommend that FRIAs address collective and societal-level harms.
9. Require meaningful stakeholder engagement throughout the FRIA process.
10. Ensure the FRIA process is understood as iterative, covering the entire AI lifecycle.

 

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