B Explanatory
memorandum by Mr Sasi, rapporteur
1 History
of the North-South Centre
1. The European Centre for Global Interdependence and
Solidarity (“North-South Centre”) was created in 1989 and became
operational in 1990. It was established in Lisbon at the invitation
of the Portuguese Government. In fact the North-South Centre was
the outcome of a process that started in 1984, when the Parliamentary
Assembly organised the first ever parliamentary conference on the
theme of “North-South: Europe’s role” which took place at the Portuguese
Parliament in April 1984. The conference adopted the Lisbon Declaration,
expressing the idea that the fortunes of the North and the South
are strongly interlinked and that Europe, together with other developed
nations, had a crucial role to play in addressing the social and
economic problems confronting humanity. The declaration also proposed
that the Council of Europe organised a European public campaign
on North-South interdependence and solidarity. Following further
proposals by the Assembly, the Committee of Ministers agreed to
the idea and the campaign took place in the latter part of 1987 and
1988.
2. An impressive number of activities and events were organised
in virtually all the Council of Europe member states. The European
Commission and major international organisations were associated
with it. The Chairman of the Honorary Committee of the campaign
was His Majesty the King of Spain. The campaign culminated in the
Madrid Conference of parliamentarians and non-governmental organisations
on “North-South Interdependence and Solidarity” in June 1988. The
conference proposed, among other things, to set up a permanent structure
to be responsible for continuing the dialogue between North and
South in a spirit of respect for democracy and human rights in order
to guarantee fair, balanced and sustainable development for all
the world’s inhabitants. The Assembly and the Committee of Ministers
took over the idea and thus the North-South Centre was born. It
took the form of an enlarged partial agreement of the Council of
Europe. It was established in Lisbon at the invitation of the Portuguese
Government and it became operational in May 1990.
2 An innovative and
visionary idea
3. The creation of the North-South Centre at the time
was quite an innovative and visionary idea. The underlying philosophy
was that the fate of the countries in the North is intimately bound
up with the future of those in the South. Nations depend on each
other in a complex web of economic, social, cultural and ecological relations.
While this interdependence created the need for a better relationship
and co-operation with the South, it was also widely recognised that
there was still ample room for progress with regard to human rights, democracy
and social justice in that part of the world. That is why the Centre
had been given the dual task of raising public awareness of global
interdependence issues and of promoting policies of solidarity in
accordance with the objectives and fundamental values of the Council
of Europe. The other originality resides in the fact that the Centre
functions on the basis of a “quadripartite” structure involving
parliamentarians, governments, local and regional authorities and
non-governmental organisations.
4. All the partners in this four-way process take part in the
running of the North-South Centre as members of its decision-making
bodies. According to its statutes, the Centre operates under the
supervision of two organs, the Committee of Representatives of the
Members of the Centre and the Executive Council, each meeting twice
annually. The Executive Council elects a Bureau which meets four
times a year with the aim of supervising the preparation and implementation
of the North-South Centre’s work programme and of preparing the
meetings of the Executive Council. From the outset the Centre’s
work programme has concentrated (in broad terms) on education for
global citizenship, on dialogue and capacity-building for solidarity
in an interdependent world and on promoting human rights and democratic
values in the South. From a methodological point of view, the Centre
has essentially a multiplier function and acts mainly as a catalyst
in order to achieve its objectives. The Centre has also developed
an important youth dimension.
5. The North-South Centre’s relevance is as important today as
it was upon its creation. How could we address the challenges posed
by lack of economic and social development, migration flows, hunger
and poverty, lack of education and poor health, human rights violations,
war and conflict, if we are not aware of their interlinked nature?
However, after 20 years of its existence, the Centre is taking on
a role that is potentially more important than ever. In addition
to its well-established activities aimed at increasing public awareness
of interdependence issues and promoting policies of solidarity,
it is focusing to a greater extent on promoting intercultural dialogue.
The relevance of the Centre was strongly heightened by the trauma
left by 11 September 2001 and subsequent terrorist attacks in Europe.
This in turn had contributed to a greater awareness of the need
for dialogue.
6. Consequently, the Heads of State and Government at the Council
of Europe Summit of May 2005 in Warsaw made intercultural dialogue
a key priority of the Council of Europe. They committed themselves
“to a new dialogue between Europe and its neighbouring regions –
the southern Mediterranean, the Middle East and Central Asia –”,
and they “recognised the role of the North-South Centre in promoting
this dialogue, as well as its role of fostering European awareness
of intercultural and development issues”.
3 Contrasting results
7. When the North-South Centre was set up by the Committee
of Ministers in November 1989 as an enlarged partial agreement ten
member states joined it immediately.
Note Several other Council of Europe member states
became members the following years: Finland, Liechtenstein, Sweden,
Switzerland and Turkey, bringing the membership to 15 in 1993 when
the Committee of Ministers adopted Resolution (93) 51 confirming the
continued operation of the Centre. Regrettably, Turkey withdrew
its membership in 1994. Until 2001 the Centre’s membership grew
to 20 after the accession of Greece, Slovenia, the Holy See, Ireland,
Iceland, and Germany. From the outset the European Commission supported
the Centre with a grant equivalent to roughly one third of the budget.
However, as from 2004, because of a change of the pertaining regulations
the Commission withdrew this grant. Needless to say that this caused
great problems for the Centre whose work programme and staffing
had to be adjusted substantially to this new situation.
8. The Assembly’s report of July 2003 (
Doc. 9879, rapporteur Mr. Claude Frey) found the Centre’s financial situation
unsatisfactory, owing in particular to a too small membership and
to a too great dependency on voluntary contributions. Since the
Centre could never count for certain on the payment of these contributions, the
planning of activities was accordingly difficult, no matter how
necessary and welcome these contributions were. Mr. Frey’s report
called for a number of reforms regarding the objectives, functioning
and working methods, while reiterating its backing for the Centre
and calling on all Council of Europe member states, which had not
yet done so, to join the institution. At about the same time two
internal audits revealed a number of shortcomings with regard to
its functioning. They also stressed the need for its enlargement.
In the period from 2005 to 2007 the amount of voluntary contributions
diminished considerably which led to a strong reduction in activities.
The Centre was further weakened by the sudden departure of Italy
in 2006 and even further by the departure of France in 2007, two
major contributors to its budget. For all these reasons, the period
2003 to 2007 may be considered as a “crisis” period of the North-South
Centre.
9. As any crisis, the one experienced by the Centre gave also
rise to new opportunities and challenges that had to be met. Thanks
to unrelenting efforts by all those who were convinced of the indispensable
nature of the Centre as a credible and unique institution at the
European level to foster public awareness of global interdependence
issues and the need for solidarity, the Centre took a fresh start
by adopting a new strategy in defining its political and strategic
priorities.
10. I would like to pay tribute in this context to the outgoing
Chairman of the Executive Council, Claude Frey (at the end of March
2009), and the new management put in place at the end of 2007, as
well as all those who continued supporting it, even in difficult
times. Thanks to all of them and to the continuing support by the remaining
member states, the Centre took a new turn for the better. New guidelines
for future action were proposed in a strategy document on its future
drawn up by the new Executive Director and debated and approved
by the Executive Council and subsequently the Committee of Representatives
of the member states in spring 2008. This document – which was based
on a series of in-depth consultations with the member states and
other stakeholders – set out an ambitious but realistic roadmap
for the Centre’s future role and activities between 2008 and 2010.
Thus, the Centre received a new vitality and new bound credibility.
4 Consolidation as
the basis for a new impetus
11. Under the new strategy the North-South Centre’s priorities
reflect the Council of Europe’s political priorities, as well as
the specific priorities of its member states and other stakeholders.
The political and strategic priorities are defined, inter alia,
by the attachment to peace and equal dignity of peoples and cultures, and
by the assertion of the universal, indivisible and interdependent
nature of human rights. As for the Centre’s action, the strategy
underlines the importance of sharing experiences, expertise and
good practices in the areas of democracy, good governance and the
rule of law. Furthermore it stresses the imperative of intercultural
dialogue, and the necessity of preserving and enhancing cultural
diversity in a context of globalisation.
12. The Centre is giving priority for its activities to the Euro-Mediterranean
region and to dialogue and co-operation between Europe and Africa.
Through its North-South Centre, the Council of Europe thus contributes to
two major political processes initiated and implemented by the European
Union, the joint Europe-Africa Strategy and the Mediterranean Union,
from which, without the Centre, the Council of Europe would be totally absent.
Last but not least, working for the future, the Centre concentrates
on education and involves young people. In this connection, I must
underline the importance of the Three Year Joint Management Agreement on
Global Education and Youth Co-operation, providing also for joint
financing, signed between the European Commission and the Centre
in November 2008.
13. These priorities are not only the priorities of our own societies
but also reflect the idea that the Council of Europe’s concerns
for human rights and democracy do not stop at Europe’s borders.
The North-South Centre assumes its role as the Council of Europe’s
“window to the world”. By adopting these priorities, the Centre’s
work is better focused and increases its effectiveness. In practical
terms, these priorities have led the Centre to adopt a work programme
and schedule of activities that can be divided into three main lines
of action: education and youth, intercultural dialogue and human
rights and democracy, to which its permanent features such as the
Lisbon Forum on Human Rights and the North-South Prize award ceremonies
strongly contribute.
14. Throughout 2008 and 2009, the North-South Centre strengthened
also its role as the Council of Europe’s major tool for dialogue
with neighbouring countries, as defined by the Warsaw Summit Action
Plan. This was done by the adoption by the Committee of Ministers
of the Council of Europe’s White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue
in May 2008 and the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding between
the Council of Europe and the Alliance of Civilizations in September
2008 and the Centre’s participation and co-ordinating role in the new
initiative “Restore Trust, Rebuild Bridges” launched by the Alliance
in Istanbul in April 2009.
15. Another important development was the conclusion of a co-operation
agreement between the Centre and the Congress of Local and Regional
Authorities in December 2008, following the example of the one concluded
between the Centre and the Parliamentary Assembly in January 2005.
These agreements, as well as other existing and new forms of co-operation
with international organisations or institutions of direct relevance
to the Centre, have increased the usefulness, coherence and efficiency
of its action.
Note
16. Further positive developments were marked by the accession
of Montenegro on 1 March 2008, followed by that of Serbia on 1 March
2009 and by the already referred to reintegration of Italy with
effect from 15 March 2009.
Note A further
gratifying
development has been the accession of Morocco on 1 July 2009 (as
the first non-European country to join the Centre, which is likely
to open new enlargement prospects). The Centre has at present 21
member states (nevertheless its highest number ever), two of them
being non-member states of the Council of Europe.
5 Activities of the
North-South Centre
17. In this chapter I shall report on the main activities
of the North-South Centre by giving some examples and details. However
it should be realised that it would be impossible to present a complete
overview of the Centre’s work in the context of this report. For
those interested, I refer to the annual work programmes and other
reports of the Centre. Suffice it here to observe that the work
programme is ambitious and comprehensive. Given the small budget
of the institution, the work is substantial and bears witness to
the Centre’s efficiency.
18. The North-South Centre’s work programme is based on the new
strategy set out by its statutory bodies in spring 2008. Under this
strategy, the Centre will develop activities that are in line with
the Council of Europe’s political priorities in general, as well
as with specific priorities of its member states or other stakeholders.
In this connection, I must especially mention again the 2005 Council
of Europe Warsaw Summit, as well as the Faro Declaration on the
Council of Europe Strategy for Developing Intercultural Dialogue
adopted in October 2005, and the United Nations General Assembly
Resolutions in 2006 and 2008, which all expressly referred to the role
of the North-South Centre as a key Council of Europe instrument
for dialogue and co-operation with the neighbouring regions of Europe.
19. The firm political determination of the Warsaw Summit, to
refocus the Organisation on its fundamental mission of promoting
democracy, human rights and the rule of law, had an obvious repercussion
on the Centre’s main mission. The North-South Centre will reflect
therefore more clearly and consistently the political priorities
of the Council of Europe. This gives the Centre at the same time
a particular political significance compared to other institutions
in that it can draw on the unique experience of the Council of Europe
in guiding the democratic transition process after the fall of the
Berlin wall.
20. The strategic document on the future of the North-South Centre
(document NSC/EC (2008) 3 of 12 March 2008) presented a clear and
coherent vision of the specific assets of the Centre as well as
its priorities for the future: Education and Youth, the Intercultural
Dialogue, Human Rights and Democracy. The orientations defined in
this document (and accompanying concept papers) allowed the Centre
to develop its potential as a privileged instrument of the Council
of Europe in the Euro-Mediterranean and Euro-African regions, building
on the current strategic initiatives of the Council of Europe, as
laid down in the White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue, but also
in the context of the European Union and of the United Nations.
21. At the same time, in order to increase its effectiveness and
to benefit of new synergies, the Centre has concluded the co-operation
agreements already mentioned with the Parliamentary Assembly and
the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities as well as the joint
management agreement with the European Commission designed to promote
global education in the new European Union member states and Euro-African
youth co-operation. This project will be pursued for a period of
three years (2009-2011) with a total amount of approximately €1 300 000,
of which the European Commission is providing €900 000 and the Centre
€400 000.
22. Another positive development was the addition of a new Euro-African
dimension to the existing European Commission/Council of Europe
youth partnership. In this context, the North-South Centre was entrusted
with the implementation of this dimension as from 2009 on the basis
of a 200.000 Euros envelope. This will materialize in three training
courses for the year 2009, one aimed at youth leaders, a long-term
training course for youth trainers and a training course for African
Diaspora youth leaders and youth groups. Furthermore, under the
“Union for the Mediterranean” process, it became a founding member
of the Euro-Mediterranean University (EMUNI), created in 2008 and
it is contributing to the “Mediterranean Cultural Assembly” process,
launched in November 2008 by the French European Union Presidency.
23. The Centre also strengthened its relations with the European
Union Committee of Regions and the European NGO Confederation for
Relief and Development, Concord. Last but not least, the Centre
established mutually beneficial co-operation with various major
actors in the field of global education, and restored productive
relations with the Global Education Network Europe (GENE), which
historically is an emanation of the Centre.
6 Education and youth
24. The North-South Centre has set up an impressive programme
of activities in the fields of education and youth. The general
objective of the Centre’s work in this field is to raise awareness
of issues of global interdependence and solidarity through education
and youth activities. An important aspect is the promotion of relations
and human contacts between Europe, the southern Mediterranean and
Africa.
25. More specifically, the Centre’s objective is to support the
development and enhancement of strategies and capacity-building
for global education, targeting institutions and practitioners in
the field of global education in the formal and non-formal sectors.
The work of the North-South Centre is based on the conviction that
global education is a holistic education that opens people’s eyes
to the realities of the world, and awakens them to bring about a
world of greater justice, equity, and human rights for all. With
this in view, global education encompasses development education,
human rights education, education for sustainability, education
for peace and conflict prevention and intercultural education, all
of which represent the global dimensions of education for democratic
citizenship. The Centre’s work falls within the scope of the United
Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014)
aimed at contributing to the achievement of the Millennium Development
Goals.
26. In the past the Centre’s work has mainly been guided by the
Maastricht Global Education Declaration of 2002 – a European strategy
framework for improving and increasing global education – which
defines a number of priorities, such as defining and understanding
global education in an inclusive fashion, supporting national action
plans and structures for global education, developing networking
strategies at all levels and supporting “peer review programmes”.
This declaration has provided the basis for a consultative process
that should lead to the adoption of a recommendation supporting
global education in the member states of the Council of Europe by
the Committee of Ministers in 2010. The formal decision to launch
this process was taken within the Steering Committee on Education
(CDED) of the Council of Europe in March 2008.
27. Apart from such fundamental work as defining and understanding
global education, another set of activities aims at strengthening
global education in the new European Union member states, a programme started
in 2004 with the financial support of the Netherlands. With the
support of the European Commission, the Centre is implementing a
new programme (2009-2011) targeted at the member states that have
recently joined the European Union, using the earlier programme
as a model to develop and strengthen global education in Central
and Eastern Europe. Other actions by the Centre to promote global
education in Europe are the organisation of the annual Global Education
Week and the World Aware Education Award ceremony. Through this
award, the Centre’s objective is to promote a vision that every
young person in Europe should have access to education for global
citizenship and human rights.
28. As regards co-operation in the field of youth, the objective
of the Centre’s youth training and capacity-building programme is
to empower and recognize young people’s potential for development
and change and to promote and increase their role in global and
inter-regional development. This includes awareness-raising, global
education and intercultural learning and dialogue. The Centre has
direct working relationships with representatives of youth structures
in Europe and other parts of the world – with governmental and non-governmental
organisations working with youth in a North-South context – and
facilitates the exchange of experiences and the development of a
common approach between different players. The Africa-Europe Youth Summit,
organised by the Centre in 2007, was a crucial moment to strengthen
the ties between young people in Africa and Europe.
29. Over the years, various training programmes have been on offer
by the Centre for North-South and Euro-Mediterranean youth co-operation,
as well as Africa-Europe and Euro-Asian training courses. These
activities have led to the already referred forms of partnership
with the European Commission: (i) the Partnership Agreement on Euro-Mediterranean
youth co-operation in the field of training between the European Commission
and the Council of Europe, which celebrated its ten years of existence
in 2008, and the addition of a new Euro-African dimension to this
partnership in 2009 managed by the North-South Centre, and (ii)
the Joint Management Agreement with the European Commission in the
field of global education and youth work in the context of Europe-Africa
co-operation.
30. The University on Youth and Development takes place every
year and brings together representatives from youth organisations
and movements from all over the world in the Euro-Latin-American
Youth Centre in Mollina, Spain. The University’s theme is annually
proposed and selected in the framework of the Millennium Development
Goals. The University is co-ordinated by the Centre and jointly
organised with the Spanish government, the European Youth Forum,
the Spanish Youth Council and the Latin-American Youth Forum. On average
the University brings together around 300 young participants from
all over the world.
7 Intercultural dialogue
31. As I already set out earlier, the North-South Centre’s
work to promote intercultural dialogue is based on the political
priorities defined by the Council of Europe’s Third Summit and its
strategy for the development of intercultural dialogue adopted in
Faro (Portugal) in October 2005, which led to the adoption of a
White Paper on intercultural dialogue. The design and implementation
of the Centre’s activities in this field are directly inspired by
this paper. The Centre has set up an Intercultural Dialogue Programme
as a privileged framework for debates, exchanges and consolidation
of the dialogue between the two sides of the Mediterranean, in the Maghreb
and Mashrek in particular, and between Europe and African countries
engaged in democratic transition.
32. For this purpose, the Centre has engaged itself in co-operation
activities with other international organisations such as the Arab
League, the African Union, the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations,
and the Anna Lindh Foundation. Under its “Transmed” programme, the
Centre has initiated a series of activities among which I may single
out those concerning equality between women and men in developing
countries, the question of migration and co-development, migration
and intercultural dialogue, and the role of media in the fight against
stereotypes and as a tool in intercultural dialogue. Building on
past experience, the North-South Centre brings expertise and contacts
to the tripartite process launched in Rhodes in June 2008 in the
form of an Assembly/Knesset/Palestinian Council interparliamentary
forum.
33. In January 2008, the Assembly adopted Resolution 1598 and
Recommendation 1825 on strengthening co-operation with the Maghreb
countries. In these texts, the three Maghreb countries, Algeria,
Morocco and Tunisia are encouraged to join the North-South Centre.
Consequently, the then Chairman of the Centre, Mr. Claude Frey,
paid visits to these countries which have led to concrete results.
In April 2008, the “Encounters of Tangier” were co-organised by
the Centre and the French association “Espace alternatif”. This
meeting focused on issues of migration and intercultural dialogue
in the Euro-Mediterranean space and resulted in a recommendation
to establish a platform on Euro-Mediterranean Dialogue, composed,
inter alia, of representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly and
the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.
34. The Centre was also involved in organising two other major
events: “the Euro-Arab days for mutual understanding” in Tunis,
and the “Conference on constitutional interpretation” in Alger both
in October 2008. The former event was organised together with the
Council of Europe and the Arab League Educational, Cultural and
Scientific Organisation (ALECSO) and the latter with the Algerian
Constitutional Council and the European Commission for Democracy
through Law (“the Venice Commission”).
35. Against this background, the accession of Morocco on 1 July
2009 is a first and promising result. This is likely to open the
way to other accessions from countries by the southern shore of
the Mediterranean, in line with the Assembly’s own efforts (
Resolution 1680 (2009), on the establishment of a “Partner for Democracy” status
with the Parliamentary Assembly).
8 Human rights and
democracy
36. The holding of the annual Lisbon Forum on Human Rights
is a longstanding activity of the North-South Centre. The Forum
– which has been held since 1994 – is a platform for dialogue and
sharing experiences, expertise and good practices between Europe
and the other continents, especially the Middle East, Africa and the
countries on the south side of the Mediterranean. It focuses on
issues at the core of the mandate of the Council of Europe: human
rights, democracy and the rule of law.
37. The Forum has been enriched since 2006 by partnerships with
the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission),
the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights and the United
Nations Alliance of Civilizations. The Lisbon Forum, held in October
2008, was devoted to the principle of the universality of human
rights and its implementation at interregional and regional level,
in relation with the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights. On the basis of this forum a new work programme
was adopted for the coming years, focusing on certain issues that
attract particular debate and or raise specific difficulties, differences
or divergences. Thus the 2009 Lisbon Forum will focus on “Creating
a culture of human rights through education”.
38. In the field of human rights and good governance, the co-operation
between the North-South Centre and the Venice Commission seems to
me particularly important and promising. The two institutions have
already fruitfully co-operated in organising, together with the
African Institute of South Africa, a Forum on Human Rights and Conflict
Resolution in March 2008. The North-South Centre also contributed
to the first World Conference on Constitutional Justice, hosted
by the Constitutional Court of South Africa in Cape Town in January
2009.
39. The North-South Prize award ceremony is one of the highlights
of the North-South Centre. The Prize has been awarded annually since
1995 to two persons, one from the North and one from the South,
for their outstanding and exceptional merits in the field of human
rights in a North-South context. The Prize ceremony takes place
in the Portuguese Parliament with the participation of the President
of the Republic of Portugal, the President of the Parliamentary
Assembly, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe and other
high-ranking personalities. The 2008 North-South Prize went to Her
Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan and to the United Nations High Representative
for the Alliance of Civilizations, former President of Portugal
Jorge Sampaio. The list of past awardees includes well-known personalities,
but also persons, less well known to the public at large, who had
achieved outstanding results in advancing the cause of the poor.
The North-South Prize ceremony is a most important aspect of the
Centre’s role in advancing human rights and deserves much better
attention in all the Council of Europe member states and beyond.
This event gives also a high visibility to the Council of Europe
as a whole.
9 Conclusions
40. The above overview of the objectives, activities
and achievements of the North-South Centre demonstrate clearly its
unique vocation in creating a better world in line with the fundamental
values of the Council of Europe. This is a great challenge that
the Centre has taken up. At the same time it must also be admitted
that the Centre has not always received the support it deserves.
For a variety of reasons it has passed a difficult period followed
by a revival. The implementation of the new strategy, adopted by
the Centre early 2008, offers a fresh and promising perspective
for its future development. I rarely saw an organisation that achieved
so much with so little means. It is high time that the Council of
Council of Europe member states show greater solidarity in financing
the Centre whose budget in all circumstances remains extremely modest compared
with other international organisations of comparable dimensions.
41. It is essential that the Centre’s action reflect the concerns
and interests of its member states and other stakeholders. The Warsaw
Summit defined the Centre as a major tool for dialogue. On its side,
the Assembly has encouraged on several occasions the North-South
Centre to promote the values of the Council outside its borders.
A logical step would be that all Council of Europe member states
would therefore join the Centre so as to enable it to carry out
its mandate. Only 19 of the 47 member states of the Council of Europe
have joined the Centre to date. It is high time that those among
them, which have not yet done so, will join without delay. I also
hope that other non-member states of the Council of Europe will
follow the example of Morocco, in line with the Assembly’s
Resolution 1598 (2008) on strengthening co-operation with the Maghreb countries
and
Resolution 1680 (2009) on the establishment of a “partner for democracy” status
with the Parliamentary Assembly.
42. The implementation by the Centre of the new strategy, the
conclusion of new partnerships with other international organisations
and institutions and the enlargement with new member states in a
relatively short span of time augur well for the Centre’s future.
However, the utmost vigilance is required in order to be able to continue
this positive trend and adequate financial means should be made
available to the Centre so that it can carry out its mandate. It
will also be necessary to adapt the existing statutory resolution
in order to take into account these new needs and developments.
A number of the present provisions do no longer correspond to the
real situation. The main idea would be to propose that the Committee
of Ministers should transform the North-South Centre from a partial
to an enlarged agreement. This would not only guarantee stability
and secure funding to the Centre but also preserve its functional
and budgetary autonomy while keeping the door open to non-Council
of Europe member states.
43. This would seem to me a logical step given the importance
the Council of Europe member states declared to attach to the North-South
Centre on many occasions. This was again the case in the Faro Declaration
on the Council of Europe Strategy for Developing Intercultural Dialogue
of 2005, which recalled that the Warsaw Summit had recognised the
role of the Centre in promoting intercultural dialogue “together with
its mission of fostering European awareness of intercultural and
development issues”, and invited “states that do not yet take part
in the Centre’s activities to consider doing so”. The White Paper
on Intercultural Dialogue was explicit in saying that: “The Council
of Europe recognises the contribution of the “North-South Centre”
and its essential role. It brings together not only governments
but also parliamentarians, local and regional authorities and civil
society. Its programme priorities are global education, youth, human
rights, democratic governance and intercultural dialogue. The Centre
adds an important dimension to the international efforts aimed at
the promotion of intercultural learning, understanding and political
dialogue within and between the different continents”, and “The
“North-South Centre” has developed into an important place of dialogue between
cultures and a bridge between Europe and its neighbouring regions”.
It would therefore only be logical for the Council of Europe member
states to jointly decide to support the Centre’s work by joining
the institution
44. Against this background, the main changes proposed to the
draft statutory resolution are as follows:
44.1 the name of the Centre (“European Centre for Global Interdependence
and Solidarity”) should be left unchanged, as well as its more commonly-known
abbreviation “North-South Centre”;
44.2 to bring the Centre’s aims in line with its new responsibilities
emerging from the Warsaw Summit documents, a new aim should be added,
which could be worded as follows: “and to promote universally shared
human values by fostering dialogue and co-operation between Europe
and the Mediterranean region and Africa and the rest of the world.”;
44.3 the process leading to a new Statutory Resolution is also
an occasion to strengthen the status of the Centre, both within
the Council of Europe and in its relations with the outside world:
the Centre could be referred to as an “institution” of the Council
of Europe (rather than an “establishment”);
44.4 some provision should be added in article 1.2 on the Centre’s
role as an interface between the Council of Europe and non European
countries, for example: “to provide a framework for dialogue and co-operation
between the Council of Europe and non European countries or regions,
in particular through education, youth co-operation and intercultural
dialogue”;
44.5 the invitation to the European Community to join the Centre
(article 3.3) should be replaced by a similar invitation made to
the European Union;
44.6 some changes should be made in the composition of the
Executive Council : a larger place should be given to the member
states (for example 10 or even 12 seats if all Council of Europe
member states would participate), divide the four seats for local
and regional authorities between the Council of Europe’s Congress
and the European Union’s Committee of the Regions (along the lines
of the sharing of the parliamentary seats between the Parliamentary
Assembly and the European Parliament) and delete the participation
of personalities from the South (we should secure instead the participation
of at least two Southern countries among the 10 to 12 member states);
44.7 the “quadrilogue” nature of the Centre should be preserved
and the respective powers of the Executive Council and the Committee
of Member states should in my opinion not be changed;
44.8 the reference to the Consultative Assembly of the Centre
in article 8 should be deleted, as it has proved to be inoperative
and has long since not been convened;
44.9 the new resolution could be shortened so as to increase
its clarity (a number of existing paragraphs could find their place
in the draft rules of procedure of the Executive Council to be drawn
up in parallel with the new statutory resolution). This should be
kept in mind in future discussions to be held both within the Committee
of Ministers and the North-South Centre’s Executive Council;
44.10 finally, the adoption of a new statutory resolution by
the Committee of Ministers should be the culminating point of a
comprehensive consultative as proposed in the draft recommendation.
45. The table in the Appendix shows what could be the impact of
changing the North-South Centre from an enlarged partial agreement
to an enlarged agreement as far as the member states’ contributions
are concerned. It is based upon a global envelope of the contributions
of member states (€1.2 million) and follows the model of the Venice
Commission.
46. The North-South Centre will very soon celebrate its 20th anniversary,
between November 2009 (November 1989 was the date of the Centre’s
creation by a decision of the Committee of Ministers in Strasbourg)
and spring 2010 (to mark the fact that it will then be 20 years
since the first meeting of the Centre’s Executive Council was held
in Lisbon). I very much hope that this event will be as joyful as
possible. The best present one could give to the Centre on that
occasion would be the adoption of a new statutory resolution providing
for its enlargement to all Council of Europe member states that
have not yet joined by then.
