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Resolution 2024 (2014) Final version
Social exclusion: a danger for Europe’s democracies
1. Social exclusion is a growing and
serious danger for Europe’s democratic societies. Social exclusion
is often linked to poverty, even though not all people who are socially
excluded are poor and not all people who are poor are socially excluded.
Often, members of certain societal groups, such as minorities, migrants
or people with disabilities, are excluded from full participation
in society for non-material reasons linked to discrimination, xenophobia,
intolerance or legal status. However, many poor people manage to
overcome material obstacles to participation in society – often
through education.
2. Whatever the root causes, the exclusion and marginalisation
of certain categories of the population has always been an issue,
even in the most prosperous societies. In recent years, social rights
and democracy have been increasingly under threat, notably from
the impact of the financial and economic crisis, as highlighted
by the Parliamentary Assembly in its Resolution 1884 (2012) on “Austerity
measures – a danger for democracy and social rights”.
3. In times of crisis, many find it difficult to break cycles
of disadvantage and improve their income and quality of life, and
social exclusion in all its forms is often perpetuated and passed
on from one generation to the next. Early intervention measures
therefore need to be reinforced in order to provide equal life and development
opportunities to all from a very early age.
4. Moreover, policies aimed at fighting exclusion and marginalisation
often neglect one crucial aspect: democratic participation as a
civil and political right. If those who are disadvantaged have less
influence in political decision-making processes because they tend
to be less involved or under-represented, future public policies
may not be in their favour either. This leads to a vicious circle
where situations of social exclusion go hand in hand with political
under-representation.
5. Many of the measures that can be adopted to overcome situations
of poverty, social exclusion and marginalisation have already been
highlighted by the Assembly and other Council of Europe bodies.
When considering current threats to social rights and democracy,
member States are therefore invited to consult these texts.
6. Against the background of current challenges and the need
for targeted action, the Assembly suggests that member States take
the following measures to uphold the highest standards of democracy
and good governance:
6.1. develop
and implement comprehensive national action plans aimed at fighting
social exclusion, including:
6.1.1. targeted measures for
different age groups: children, young people, working-age adults and
the elderly, thus following “life-cycle approaches”;
6.1.2. gender-sensitive approaches considering the specific situation
of women, notably working women and single mothers;
6.1.3. early intervention strategies aimed at preventing poverty
and social exclusion and breaking “cycles of disadvantage”;
6.2. give priority to policy areas regularly identified as
decisive in fighting poverty and social exclusion, including education
and training, the creation of quality jobs guaranteeing social rights
and inclusion in social security systems, the guarantee of minimum
family incomes and the reform of social security systems to face
current challenges (for example demographic developments);
6.3. develop targeted measures for groups in need of special
protection and support, who are often particularly threatened by
social exclusion in a given national context and disproportionally
hit by the crisis (or austerity measures), in particular migrants,
ethnic minorities and people with disabilities, preventing phenomena
of “ghettoisation” wherever possible;
6.4. develop specific measures fostering democratic participation
across society and reaching out to those who are marginalised or
at risk of social exclusion, including by:
6.4.1. developing
and implementing national agendas for inclusive democracy, aimed
at ensuring democratic participation for marginalised groups;
6.4.2. promoting principles of good governance, such as openness,
transparency and citizen participation, as minimum standards of
any democracy;
6.4.3. fostering and developing participatory mechanisms and
bodies, in particular at local level, allowing all inhabitants to
get actively involved in developments concerning them, to express
their needs and to stimulate new developments themselves;
6.4.4. providing education for democratic citizenship to all
children from an early age and via official school curricula;
6.4.5. promoting “easy to understand” communication about any
political decisions, structures and processes, including through
close co-operation with the media sector;
6.4.6. making use of new communication technologies to make community
involvement more accessible and attractive for all, especially young
people;
6.4.7. supporting and fostering civil society organisations and
the voluntary sector in order to reach out to those excluded in
a proactive and effective manner.