In his speech before the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in Strasbourg today, the PACE President stressed once again the need for reform of the Council of Europe. “Our Organisation needs to become more pro-active, more relevant and closer to the needs and aspirations of our fellow Europeans,” he said. With regard to the reform of the Congress he added that he hoped that despite the reduction of the number of permanent committees to three the Congress would continue to work on matters such as environment and good governance. “Environmental matters are very important at local level, especially when it comes to their implementation. That is also the case for protection of minorities, the fight against discrimination, integration, cultural and religious dialogue, social rights and sustainable development,” he said.
He urged participants to address root causes of extremism in order to fight the recent upsurge of racism, xenophobia and all sorts of manifestations of intolerance against people of different religious beliefs. “These manifestations can be flagrant or subtle, but the result is the same: discrimination, social alienation and exclusion, tension between communities and fomentation of political extremism,” he said. “Resolute action against discrimination, emphasis on civic education and inter-cultural as well as inter-religious dialogue, involvement of civil society and non-governmental organisations – especially those representing segments of society which are excluded from ordinary channels – in consultation or decision-making processes are key instruments in reducing the potential attraction of extremist groups and movements,” the PACE President stressed. He announced that PACE intended to make its own contribution by holding in April 2011 a major debate on the religious dimension of inter-cultural dialogue.
