Assessing the functioning of the partnership for democracy
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 25 April 2023 (11th sitting) (see Doc. 15740, report of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy,
rapporteur: Ms Ria Oomen-Ruijten). Text
adopted by the Assembly on 25 April 2023 (11th sitting).
1. In June 2009, the Parliamentary
Assembly adopted
Resolution
1680 (2009) “Establishment of a ‘partner for democracy’
status with the Parliamentary Assembly”, in which it reaffirmed
its strong commitment to developing co-operation with neighbouring
regions as a means of consolidating democratic transformations and
promoting stability, good governance, respect for human rights and
the rule of law. The new status was introduced in the Rules of Procedure
of the Assembly by
Resolution
1698 (2009) in November 2009 as a new Rule 60 (now Rule
64) and entered into force in January 2010.
2. The Assembly recalls that granting of partner for democracy
status is conditional on a political commitment, on the part of
the candidate parliament, to embrace the values of the Council of
Europe, which are pluralist and gender parity-based democracy, the
rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The granting of this status constitutes a recognition by the Assembly
of the democratic aspirations of parliaments requesting or already
enjoying that status. The partnership is a dynamic tool aimed at
promoting parliamentary democracy, facilitating democratic transformations
in partner countries and assisting partner parliaments in strengthening
democratic institutions, good governance and the rule of law.
3. The Assembly further recalls
Resolution 1818 (2011) “Request
for Partner for Democracy status with the Parliamentary Assembly
submitted by the Parliament of Morocco”, whereby it stated that
progress in taking forward reforms is the prime aim of the partnership
for democracy and should constitute the benchmark for assessing
its efficiency.
4. The Parliaments of Jordan, Kyrgyzstan and Morocco, as well
as the Palestinian National Council, have obtained partner for democracy
status. The Assembly has considered specific reports on the evaluation
of the partnership for democracy in respect of these parliaments
and has reviewed progress made in achieving the aims of the partnership.
5. The Assembly believes that, overall, the partnership has reached
its statutory goal of establishing structured and values-based co-operation
with parliaments of neighbouring countries willing to develop closer relations
with the Assembly. It has contributed, though to varying degrees,
to the strengthening of the role of parliaments in consolidating
democratic transformations and promoting stability, good governance,
respect for human rights and the rule of law. It has also offered
to partner parliamentarians an opportunity to participate, on an
institutionalised basis, in the European political debate.
6. Based on this experience, the Assembly deems it appropriate
to consider ways to improve the functioning of the partnership with
a view to making it more meaningful and effective for both the Assembly
and the partners.
7. The Assembly resolves that the following rights shall be granted
to partner for democracy delegations in addition to those foreseen
by Rule 64:
7.1 the chairpersons
of partner for democracy delegations shall have the right to participate
in the meetings of the Standing Committee;
7.2 members of partner for democracy delegations shall have
the right to put spontaneous oral questions to guest speakers in
plenary sittings of the Assembly and in meetings of the Standing Committee;
7.3 partner for democracy delegations shall have the right
to designate their members to work in Assembly committees and sub-committees
(including ad hoc sub-committees) open to them. The names of such
designated members should appear on the lists of committees and
sub-committees under the heading “partners for democracy” and added
to the number of committee members designated by the delegations
of member States in accordance with Rule 44.1;
7.4 members of partner for democracy delegations shall have
the right to be appointed as full members in various networks set
up in the Assembly.
8. The Assembly further resolves that some additional rights
may be granted to partner for democracy delegations which have shown
outstanding results in achieving the goals of the partnership and
participate fully in the work of the Assembly and its committees.
Such additional rights for the delegations and their members may
include:
8.1 the right to table
motions for recommendation and resolution, subject to co-signature
by a member of the Assembly, with both names appearing as authors
of the motion;
8.2 the right to table amendments, subject to co-signature
by a member of the Assembly, with both names appearing as authors
of the amendment;
8.3 the right to request current affairs debates and to be
chosen to open such debates. If such a request is made by an individual
member of a partner for democracy delegation, it should be subject
to co-signature by a member of the Assembly, with both names appearing
as authors of the request and having the support of 19 more members
of the Assembly. If a request is made by a partner for democracy delegation,
it should be supported by a political group, a national delegation
or a committee, as provided by Rule 53.2;
8.4 the right to table written declarations, subject to co-signature
by a member of the Assembly, with both names appearing as authors
of the written declaration;
8.5 the right to be appointed as rapporteur for information
reports which do not contain a draft resolution and/or recommendation.
9. The additional rights referred to in paragraph 8 above may
be granted by decision of the Bureau, ratified by the Assembly,
at the beginning of a new session (in January). The decision shall
be based on a proposal by the Committee on Political Affairs and
Democracy. Extended rights shall be granted for the duration of
the session (one year) with the possibility to extend or not to
extend them depending on the results.
10. The Assembly encourages its committees open to the participation
of partners for democracy to:
10.1 consider
organising more meetings and other activities in co-operation with
the partner delegations, including in their countries. Members of
partner delegations should be associated more closely with the preparation
of various events and be given prominent roles in the programmes
of such events;
10.2 increase the visibility of the input of partners in the
work of the committees, for example by indicating on their agendas
whenever an item is added following a proposal from a partner delegation;
10.3 show more creativity and flexibility in order to facilitate
and highlight the positive contribution of partners to their activities.
11. The Assembly encourages the partner delegations to make their
participation in the work of the Assembly better known in their
respective parliaments, for example by presenting regular reports
on the activities, priorities and key decisions of the Assembly.
12. The Assembly encourages its presidents to consider holding
regular meetings with the speakers of partner parliaments in order
to have an overview of the functioning of the partnership, make
it more visible and provide it with political impetus.
13. The Assembly will continue to offer various training activities
to members and the staff of partner parliaments on issues defined
by common agreement.
14. The Assembly recalls that, in accordance with
Resolution 1680 (2009),
the national parliaments of all southern Mediterranean and Middle
Eastern countries participating in the Barcelona Process-Union for
the Mediterranean and of central Asian countries participating in
the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe should
be eligible to request partner for democracy status. Furthermore,
requests from parliaments of other States may also be considered,
if the Bureau of the Assembly so decides.
15. The Assembly asks its relevant committee to prepare amendments
to its Rules of Procedure in accordance with this Resolution.
