06/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - New human rights impact assessment guidelines. On Thursday 2 July, DG Trade at the European Commission published its new guidelines for analysing the impact of free trade and/or investment agreements on human rights in the EU and partner countries, as part of the impact assessment framework for trade-related policies (the document is available at the following address: http://goo.gl/81Cjkg ). These guidelines are based on the commitments contained within the 2012 strategic framework and action plan for human rights and democracy. The human rights impact analysis will be carried out during the impact assessments, sustainability impact assessments or ex post evaluations. These guidelines will complete the second edition of the Sustainability Impact Assessment Handbook, for which a public consultation is currently underway until 14 August next. (EH)