For a European policy on diasporas

Reply to Recommendation | Doc. 15467 | 02 March 2022

Author(s):

Committee of Ministers

Origin

Adopted at the 1426th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (23 February 2022). 2022 - Second part-session

Reply to Recommendation

: Recommendation 2207 (2021)

1. The Committee of Ministers has carefully considered Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 2207 (2021) “For a European policy on diasporas”, which it has forwarded to the Steering Committee on Anti-Discrimination, Diversity and Inclusion (CDADI) for information and possible comments.

2. The Committee shares the Assembly’s view, set out in its Resolution 2388 (2021), that diaspora members can make a positive contribution to building constructive relations between European countries and their home countries.

3. The Council of Europe has engaged in significant work on integration of migrants and other persons with diverse backgrounds. The CDADI, for example, has recently developed a Model Framework for an Intercultural Integration Strategy at the National Level, offering inspiration and guidance for practitioners and policy makers. A draft recommendation on multi-level policies and governance for intercultural integration has been finalised by the CDADI and will be examined shortly by the Committee of Ministers. Persons who consider themselves belonging to a diaspora could be comprehensively dealt with in the framework of intercultural integration strategies, which also address cultural, economic and social links with their countries of origin. Moreover, a new Committee of Experts on Intercultural Integration of Migrants (ADI-INT) has just been established to carry out additional work in this field.

4. Furthermore, in the framework of Council of Europe monitoring, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) regularly evaluates member States’ integration policies and strategies and has dedicated a specific section of both its 5th and 6th cycle country monitoring reports to this topic.

5. The Committee of Ministers considers that the existing fora for work on integration policies could be used for international exchanges and encourages the above-mentioned bodies, as well as the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, to take the Assembly’s recommendation into account as appropriate.