Regarding the three countries of the Maghreb, the Committee
of Ministers would like to underline in particular that:
a Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia maintain
regular relations with the North-South Centre as it appears in the appended
opinion of its Executive Council dated 31 March 2008. There have
in particular been exchanges on democracy and citizenship, on the
role of women, on questions relating to migration or cultural identity
in the Mediterranean area;
b Tunisia has acceded to four Council of Europe treaties;
Morocco has signed one and has been invited to accede to five other
treaties open to non-member states; to date Algeria has not acceded
to any Council of Europe treaty. Non-member states’ legal undertakings
under Council of Europe treaties promote fruitful interaction between
third states and member states, and should progressively lead to
a wider scope for co-operation;
c Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia joined the Venice Commission,
and can now fully co-operate with it. An example of this was the
Conference on “Constitutional Interpretation” organised in co-operation
with the Constitutional Court of Algeria, together with a preparatory
meeting for the World Conference on Constitutional Justice (Cape
Town, 22-24 January 2009). Co-operation also takes place through
the Union of Arab Constitutional Courts and Councils, of which the
Constitutional Councils of the Maghreb countries are members. The
Venice Commission has established a co-operation programme with
the Union, which comprises seminars, contributions of the Arab courts
to the Commission’s CODICES database, as well as translations of
basic texts in the field of constitutional justice;
d the Committee of Ministers affirmed its strong commitment
to intercultural dialogue based on the promotion of human rights,
democracy and the rule of law, in particular at the recent launch
of the “White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue”. This is the basis
on which the Committee of Ministers promotes co‑operation with other
organisations active in intercultural dialogue, including its religious
dimension, through the signature and implementation of agreements
with UNESCO, the “Alliance of Civilisations” initiative, the Anna
Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures,
as well as other regional organisations, such as the Arab League
Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (ALECSO). Specific
project-level co-operation is also undertaken with other organisations
of which Maghreb countries are members, on the basis of Council
of Europe values and standards;
e in the view of the Committee of Ministers, however, conducting
or participating in inter-religious dialogue does not fall within
the competence of executive authorities, who are bound by the principles
of the freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Article 9 of
the European Convention of Human Rights) and the obligation of neutrality
towards the different religious and philosophical convictions.
