Strengthening democracy through participatory and deliberative processes
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 25 June 2024 (17th sitting) (see Doc. 16001, report of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy,
rapporteur: Mr George Papandreou). Text
adopted by the Assembly on 25 June 2024 (17th sitting).
1. The Parliamentary Assembly believes
that participatory and deliberative democracy processes can contribute
to revitalising and strengthening democracy by harnessing citizens’
collective wisdom and giving them the capacity to directly influence
decisions that affect their lives.
2. Democracy is intrinsically interdependent with human rights
and the rule of law. It is thus the only political model compatible
with the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5). Regrettably
however, democracy is backsliding in Europe and worldwide. This
erosion of democratic standards manifests itself in the weakening
of the separation and balance of powers, with parliaments being
sidelined and the independence of the judiciary decreasing, in favour
of a greater role for the executive. Civic space is shrinking due
to restrictions on the freedoms of assembly and association, and
freedom of the media is declining.
3. Democratic backsliding, in turn, fuels the mistrust of citizens
towards public authorities and their disillusion with traditional
political parties, thus contributing to the downward trend in electoral
turnouts that is becoming a common feature among European countries,
undermining the foundations of representative democracy. Against
this background, political discourse has become populist, divisive
and aggressive, paving the way for the rise of extremist parties
and in some instances leading to hate speech and physical violence. Malignant
actors interfere with democratic processes to increase polarisation
and provoke destabilisation.
4. At the same time, European societies are facing unprecedented
challenges of global magnitude. Geopolitical rifts, frozen and armed
conflicts, financial and economic shocks, widening inequalities,
issues related to immigration and national identity, the environmental
and climate crises, the digital revolution and the rise of artificial
intelligence are all contributing to an increased and widespread
sense of uncertainty among Europeans.
5. Innovative methods need to be explored in order to safeguard
democracy and ensure that democratic backsliding is countered and
reversed. Participatory and deliberative democracy processes can
contribute to rekindling citizens’ trust in public authorities and
strengthening their political engagement, including their participation
in decision-making processes, in complementarity with representative
institutions. Citizens should be given an active role in the political
debate, beyond and more frequently than in the context of elections,
and all segments of society should be involved, including those
who are all too often underrepresented.
6. The Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe
have confirmed, in their Reykjavik Declaration “United around our
values”, the resolve of member States to counter democratic backsliding,
by adopting the Reykjavik Principles for Democracy and committing
to their implementation. The very first principle indicates that
member States will “actively enable and encourage democratic participation
at national, regional and local levels through free and fair elections.
As appropriate, forms of participatory democracy, including deliberative
democracy, may be encouraged”.
7. Different levels of citizens’ engagement can be envisioned,
from simple information sessions and consultations to focus groups,
participatory platforms and ultimately the establishment of deliberative
bodies, such as citizens’ assemblies. These processes are not mutually
exclusive and can be adopted in combination with one another. They
allow citizens to express their needs, submit their ideas and even
co-participate in the decision- and policy-making process. Social
media, artificial intelligence and digital tools, if used properly
and transparently, can further boost the potential of participatory
and deliberative democracy.
8. The Assembly has already called for the adoption of participatory
and deliberative democracy processes by Council of Europe member
States, through
Resolution
1746 (2010) “Democracy in Europe: crisis and perspectives”,
Resolution 2397 (2021) and
Recommendation 2212 (2021) “More
participatory democracy to tackle climate change”, and
Resolution 2437 (2022) “Safeguarding
and promoting genuine democracy in Europe”, and it reiterates the
considerations and recommendations contained therein.
9. Furthermore, the Assembly recalls that the Council of Europe
is actively contributing to the development of standards related
to participatory and deliberative democracy, and to their promotion
through technical co-operation activities at national, regional
and local levels. In particular, the Committee of Ministers adopted Recommendation
CM/Rec(2023)6 on deliberative democracy, the first international
standard in this field, which invites member States to consider
deliberative processes and suggests the principles of deliberative democracy
that should be applied when implementing them. Welcoming these efforts,
the Assembly calls on member and observer States of the Council
of Europe to:
9.1 adopt participatory
and deliberative democracy processes at national, regional and local
levels, in accordance with Recommendation CM/Rec(2023)6, and ensure
respect for the following principles in their design and implementation:
9.1.1 “availability of a legal framework,
9.1.2 clarity of mandate and design,
9.1.3 fair representation,
9.1.4 enabled and informed participation,
9.1.5 competent facilitation,
9.1.6 accountability,
9.1.7 oversight and good governance,
9.1.8 evaluation and learning”;
9.2 participate actively in the work of the Steering Committee
on Democracy, including the development of parameters to facilitate
the application and implementation of the Reykjavik Principles for
Democracy and the drafting of an implementation review report on
Recommendation CM/Rec(2023)6 and/or a handbook presenting a collection
of best practices;
9.3 take advantage of the expertise of the Council of Europe
in the area of the relevant technical co-operation for the practical
implementation of participatory and deliberative democracy processes, stepping
up with financial resources if needed.
10. In addition, the Assembly invites the member and observer
States of the Council of Europe, as well as States whose parliaments
enjoy observer or partner for democracy status or hold another status
with the Assembly, to consider the following measures:
10.1 promoting the use of participatory
and deliberative democracy processes at all levels by creating an
enabling environment, in particular by ensuring that adequate financial
and human resources are available, and that sufficient time is foreseen
for their proper design, implementation, follow-up and evaluation;
10.2 encouraging experimentation with innovative participatory
and deliberative methodologies within the framework of relevant
legislation, regulations and budget allocations, including the necessary mechanisms
for monitoring, evaluation and development of lessons learned;
10.3 ensuring that social media, digital platforms and artificial
intelligence tools used to facilitate participatory and deliberative
democracy processes are employed in a manner that is respectful
of the principles of human rights, democracy and the rule of law,
and is inclusive, transparent and safe from unwanted interference
and cyberattacks; and that they are not manipulated through algorithms
or biased by misinformation and disinformation that could affect
the final results, also taking into account the provisions contained
in the Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence
and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law;
10.4 foreseeing the establishment of permanent multilevel “schools”
on participatory democracy, inspired by the ones already created
by the Council of Europe, to ensure that civil servants and facilitators
involved in participatory and deliberative democracy processes can
access specialised training opportunities and are provided with
a platform for the exchange of best practices and lessons learned;
10.5 ensuring that the opinions or recommendations resulting
from participatory and deliberative democracy processes are duly
taken into account by the decision makers, that they are openly
debated and that clear explanations are provided in cases where
they are not followed;
10.6 institutionalising participatory and deliberative democracy
processes at all levels, adopting the necessary legislation or regulations
and allocating the appropriate financial and human resources, in order
to create permanent and fully legitimate citizens’ bodies that can
operate side by side with executive and legislative bodies;
10.7 exploring the possibility of collaborating at a transnational
level in order to pilot and implement multicountry or cross-border
participatory and deliberative democracy exercises.
11. Citizens should be properly equipped and prepared to be actively
engaged through participatory and deliberative democracy processes.
The Assembly therefore invites member and observer States to design
and include elements of education for democratic citizenship and
human rights education in the curricula for formal education at
pre-primary, primary and secondary school levels, as well as in
general and vocational education and higher education, to ensure
that all Europeans are aware of their rights and duties as citizens,
and to strengthen participatory culture among them, in line with
the provisions of the Council of Europe Charter on Education for
Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education (Recommendation
CM/Rec(2010)7) and following the guidance of the Reference Framework
of Competences for Democratic Culture.
