Building the Open Council of Europe Academic Networks (OCEAN)
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 27 January 2023 (9th sitting) (see Doc. 15675, report of the Committee on Culture, Science, Education
and Media, rapporteur: Ms Marta Grande). Text
adopted by the Assembly on 27 January 2023 (9th sitting).
1. The globalisation of research and
innovation has intensified over the last decade, particularly in
terms of collaborative research, technology development and the
mobility of researchers.
2. The Parliamentary Assembly firmly believes that universities
and research institutes have a key role to play in addressing Europe’s
challenges, such as upholding the primacy of the rule of law, the
fight against corruption, defending the promotion of social rights,
the fight against gender-based violence, the need to address climate
change, issues related to biomedicine and the integration of migrants.
3. Full respect for the values and standards enshrined in the
Council of Europe convention system requires the resources, strengths
and talents of all sectors of civil society, including academics,
scientists, schools, students, regional and local authorities, social
workers and non-governmental organisations.
4. Apathy and disenchantment with regard to the above-mentioned
values and the rise of populism, nationalism and new ideas of what
constitutes “the people” and “the elites” create social conflicts
and continue to impede the realisation of human rights in all European
societies.
5. The Assembly is convinced that the impact and visibility of
the Council of Europe’s activities must first and foremost be measured
on the ground. Only the widespread sharing of common values in a
society can guarantee the effective implementation of Council of
Europe standards. Researchers, students, social workers and local
authorities in various sectors can embrace shared values, which
in turn have an impact on their work and daily lives. Everyone contributes
to the standards developed by the Council of Europe because everyone benefits
from them.
6. The Assembly notes that European universities and research
institutes are still a largely untapped resource for the promotion
of the Council of Europe convention system. They remain the drivers
of innovation and creative thinking and can be considered a universal
heritage; they produce skilled human capital, including the next
generation of European policy makers, facilitate policy discussions
and drive change.
7. Universities have the potential to strengthen their role as
incubators of human rights, democracy and the rule of law and create
a fertile environment for the implementation of the European Convention
on Human Rights (ETS No. 5) and all other Council of Europe conventions.
Their ability to mobilise the collective intelligence of civil society
at all levels should be reinforced.
8. The Assembly therefore welcomes the Open Council of Europe
Academic Networks (OCEAN) initiative which aims at strengthening
co-operation between the Council of Europe and universities and
research institutions through mutually enriching interaction.
9. It wishes to praise two existing networks which are already
working on key priorities, namely the Academic Network on the European
Social Charter and Social Rights (ANESC), set up in 2006 at the
Council of Europe level, and the Italian network Universities in
Network against Gender Violence (UN.I.RE), set up in 2019 and entirely
funded by the Italian Government. They can serve as models for future
thematic networks working on other Council of Europe conventions,
such as the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity
of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and
Medicine (ETS No. 164, Oviedo Convention) and the conventions under
the enlarged agreement on the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO).
10. In the light of the above, the Assembly calls on all Council
of Europe member States to:
10.1 recognise
the role universities and research institutes play, and should be
able to play, in upholding Council of Europe values and entrenching
them in the social fabric, and in facilitating the implementation
of Council of Europe conventions and building greater unity between
all member States;
10.2 raise awareness among universities and research institutes
about the OCEAN initiative, via ministries for higher education
and research, with a view to setting up national thematic networks, supported
by an appropriate legal structure, or joining existing ones;
10.3 provide adequate financial support to such networks and
encourage universities and research institutes to make available
funds that are earmarked for the professional travel of academic
staff as well as their expertise and work time;
10.4 consider making voluntary contributions to support the
OCEAN initiative at European level, following the example of the
Italian Government, with a view to strengthening expertise and capacity building,
and contributing to the exchange of information, data, researchers,
curriculums and experiences at European and international levels,
including through international conferences, joint degrees, doctoral
degrees or other research programmes;
10.5 in line with
Resolution
2352 and
Recommendation
2189 (2020) “Threats to academic freedom and autonomy
of higher education institutions in Europe”, pay special attention
to the integration of the assessment of academic freedom into the
OCEAN initiative, providing a framework for regular evaluation and
dialogue;
10.6 closely co-ordinate with the European Higher Education
Area (EHEA) members, also in the framework of its Task Force on
Enhancing Knowledge Sharing in the EHEA community.
11. The Assembly also calls on the European Union to consider
supporting financially the OCEAN initiative, thereby sending a strong
political signal, in particular with regard to the conventions which
it has signed.
12. The Assembly stresses that parliamentarians may benefit from
the expertise of academics when it comes to scrutinising draft legislation
in regard to Council of Europe convention standards and overseeing
their governments’ action in the execution of the judgments of the
European Court of Human Rights. Therefore, the Assembly also encourages
national parliaments of all Council of Europe member States to:
12.1 contribute to the efforts to
recruit universities and research institutes, as well as individual academics
who are already providing expertise to relevant parliamentary committees;
12.2 organise parliamentary hearings with the participation
of representatives of the academic world and relevant Council of
Europe experts to encourage the creation of national thematic academic networks,
under the OCEAN umbrella.
