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Recommendation 1972 (2011) Final version
The situation in Tunisia
1. The Parliamentary Assembly refers
to its Resolution 1819
(2011) on the situation in Tunisia. It also refers to
the efforts of the Turkish Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers
and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to contribute
to the changes taking place in Tunisia.
2. The success of the reforms embarked upon in Tunisia, where
the people have been at the forefront of the “Arab Spring”, is of
particular importance for the future of the transition to democracy
and progress towards the universal values of the whole Mediterranean
and Middle East region. Europe, built on those same values, should do
all it can to contribute to the success of the transition in Tunisia.
3. The Council of Europe is able to put at Tunisia’s disposal
its unique experience and expertise in accompanying democratic transitions
and establishing new institutions in young democracies in Europe.
It should deploy its resources to offer practical and effective assistance
in the implementation of democratic reforms in Tunisia.
4. Accordingly, the Assembly recommends that the Committee of
Ministers:
4.1. step up co-operation
with the Tunisian Higher Authority for Realisation of the Objectives
of the Revolution, Political Reform and Democratic Transition and
provide it with relevant information on practical experiences of
constitutional processes in Europe;
4.2. draw up, in liaison with the transitional Tunisian authorities
and in co-operation with other institutional partners, especially
the European Union, a programme to assist with the institutional
and political reforms in Tunisia, and call on member states and
other partners to ensure the funding of such a programme;
4.3. give priority to assistance in electoral matters, including
the training of staff to administer the elections and of local observers
from Tunisian civil society;
4.4. involve Tunisian representatives, including those of civil
society, in the activities of the Council of Europe in the field
of democracy, and in particular in the Forum for the Future of Democracy,
the Summer University for Democracy and the future Strasbourg International
Forum for Democracy;
4.5. examine the conditions of a possible accession by Tunisia
to a certain number of European conventions, notably in the fields
of democracy, the rule of law and human rights;
4.6. invite Tunisia to accede to the Council of Europe’s enlarged
partial agreements, in particular the European Centre for Global
Interdependence and Solidarity (North-South Centre).
5. In addition, the Assembly recalls its Resolution 1805 (2011) and Recommendation 1967 (2011) on
the large-scale arrival of irregular migrants, asylum seekers and
refugees on Europe’s southern shores. It invites the Committee of
Ministers to examine the measures to take to enable the Council
of Europe to play its role fully as the main European organisation
for the protection of human rights in this matter.
6. The Assembly refers to the conclusions of the report of the
Group of Eminent Persons of the Council of Europe “Living together
– Combining diversity and freedom in 21st-century Europe” seeking
to move the Organisation closer to its neighbours, and recommends that
the Committee of Ministers examine the possibility of creating,
in consultation with the Assembly, a special status with the Council
of Europe for the countries of the southern and eastern Mediterranean
which would ensure a closer relationship than the one provided by
observer status.