Overcoming the socio-economic crisis sparked by the Covid-19 pandemic
Recommendation 2205
(2021)
Author(s):
Parliamentary Assembly
Origin
Assembly
debate on 22 June 2021 (18th sitting) (see Doc. 15310 and addendum, report of the Committee on Social Affairs, Health and
Sustainable Development, rapporteur: Mr Andrej Hunko; and Doc. 15322, opinion of the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination,
rapporteur: Ms Elvira Kovács). Text adopted
by the Assembly on 22 June 2021 (18th sitting).
1. The Parliamentary
Assembly refers to its Resolution
2384 (2021) “Overcoming the socio-economic crisis sparked by the
Covid-19 pandemic” and underscores the need for member States to
honour their commitments under the European Social Charter (the
Charter, ETS No. 35 and (revised) ETS No. 163) by investing more
in the effective implementation of social rights. They can do so
by expanding their budgetary capacity and public investment programmes,
as well as by ensuring targeted support to private enterprises,
where necessary, in exchange for the latter’s commitment to fully
upholding socio-economic rights, maintaining and developing employment
opportunities, contributing to the achievement of the United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals and engaging in greening (rather than
greenwashing) their activities.
2. The pandemic context has highlighted the relevance of the
European Social Charter as a benchmark for human development. As
the Charter celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, the Assembly
pays tribute to the ability of this living instrument to gradually
embrace new socio-economic developments in member States. It welcomes
that the United Nations has, in the last ten years, recognised a
series of new rights as fundamental human rights and believes that
they should also be reflected in the European Social Charter.
3. The Assembly thus recommends that the Committee of Ministers:
3.1 mandate the European Committee
of Social Rights to study the feasibility of adding new rights to the
catalogue of rights already protected by the Charter and of expanding
the reach of existing rights to all persons living under the jurisdiction
of States parties;
3.2 call on the four countries which have not yet ratified
the Protocol amending the European Social Charter (ETS No. 142,
“Turin Protocol”) to do so as soon as possible and, regarding the
election of the members of the European Committee of Social Rights
by the Assembly, to ensure, in the absence of rapid progress, that
the Assembly can fully discharge its appointed function in the Charter’s
monitoring mechanism by adopting a unanimous decision to that effect;
3.3 call on all member States to sign, ratify and fully implement
as many provisions of the European Social Charter and its protocols
as possible and to accept in particular the system of collective complaints
provided for under the Additional Protocol to the European Social
Charter (ETS No. 158).
