Doc. 9909

15 September 2003

Relations between the Council of Europe and non-governmental organisations

Report

Political Affairs Committee

Rapporteur: Mr Mikko Elo, Finland, Socialist Group

Summary

The Parliamentary Assembly notes with satisfaction the decision of the Committee of Ministers to update and complete the Resolution (93) 38 on relations between the Council of Europe and international non-governmental organizations and it welcomes the Committee of Ministers’ decision to seek the Assembly’s opinion on the two new preliminary draft resolutions respectively on participatory status for international non-governmental organisations and on the partnership between the Council of Europe and national non-governmental organisations.

The Assembly supports the principle of changing the consultative status to a participatory one for the international non-governmental organisations and the fact that it will be limited to the most involved and effective international non-governmental organisations. It hopes that in the future the list of the non-governmental organisations enjoying such status will be more representative of member states of the Council of Europe than it is at present.

Furthermore, the Assembly intends to consider in the future the possibility of creating a specific status based on appropriate criteria for the non-governmental organisations with the Parliamentary Assembly in order to enhance direct contact and co-operation with them.

The Assembly invites the Committee of Ministers to consider why some of the major non-governmental organisations with whom the Council of Europe has long-standing and fruitful co-operation have not applied for the consultative status and to assure that the new draft resolutions remove any possible obstacles that may exist to discourage them from doing so. Moreover, the Assembly calls on the Committee of Ministers to assure that no participatory status is granted or partnership agreement concluded with those non-governmental organisations whose activities are incompatible with the principles of the Council of Europe, in such areas as the fight against racism and xenophobia.

I. Draft Opinion to the Committee of Ministers on relations between the Council of Europe and non-governmental organisations

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1. The Parliamentary Assembly notes with satisfaction the decision by the Committee of Ministers to update and complete Resolution (93) 38 on relations between the Council of Europe and international Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and it welcomes the Committee of Ministers’ decision to seek the Assembly’s opinion on the two new preliminary draft resolutions respectively on participatory status for international non-governmental organisations and on the partnership between the Council of Europe and national non-governmental organisations.

2. The Assembly supports the principle of changing the consultative status to a participatory one and encourages intensified co-operation between the Council of Europe and the NGOs. It intends to consider in the future the possibility of creating a specific status based upon appropriate criteria for the NGOs with the Parliamentary Assembly in order to enhance direct contact and co-operation with them.

3.       The Assembly encourages those member states who have not yet done so to facilitate the activities of the NGOs at the international level by ratifying the European Convention on the recognition of the legal personality of international non-governmental organisation (ETS No. 124).

4.       The Assembly invites the Committee of Ministers to:

a.       consider why some of the major NGOs with whom the Council of Europe has long-standing and fruitful co-operation have not applied for the consultative status and assure that the new resolutions remove any possible obstacles that may exist to discourage them from doing so;

b.       subsequently adopt the two preliminary draft resolutions;

c.        invite an expert group to examine why only nine member states have ratified the European Convention on the recognition of the legal personality of international non-governmental organisation (ETS No. 124) since its opening for signature in 1986;

d.        promote harmonisation of the principles for granting NGO status at the national level by calling on member states to apply the ”Fundamental principles on the status of non-governmental organisations in Europe” approved in July 2002 by a Council of Europe group of experts;

e.       assure that no participatory status is granted or partnership agreement concluded with those NGOs whose activities are incompatible with the principles of the Council of Europe, in such areas as the fight against racism and xenophobia.

II.       Explanatory memorandum by the Rapporteur

1.       More than half a century ago when the Council of Europe granted the first Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) consultative status it sent a strong message regarding its belief that for a democracy to function well it must maintain regular dialogue with its citizens. Today this conviction is even more powerful than it was then and the Parliamentary Assembly, body of democratically elected representatives of the Council of Europe member States, continues to consider participatory democracy as an indispensable element in the development and consolidation of democracy.

2. The Council of Europe, not least the Parliamentary Assembly, cannot ensure contact with the civil society alone. It needs the contribution of the NGOs to foster, through civil dialogue, a more participatory democracy, one of the fundamental values of the Council of Europe. The NGOs link citizens to the decision makers and institutions like ours, which in turn allows them to participate in specific fields of activity of the Council of Europe. The President of the Assembly, Peter Schieder, has on different occasions recalled the common task the Assembly and NGOs have in promoting and obtaining a better functioning democracy as well as the respect of human rights for the benefit of the whole Europe.

3. The Assembly is pleased to note that the Convention on the future of Europe places importance on the democratic life of the Union (draft Articles 33 to 37) and seeks ways to move the Union closer to its citizens through dialogue with NGOs. The Assembly also follows closely the United Nations’ on-going process of revising its relations with the civil society.

4.       During the half century of “common journey” both the Council of Europe and the civil society have gone through a process of transformation. The Council of Europe has enlarged its membership and become a pan-European organisation, which includes almost all of the new European democracies. The NGO sector has been equally dynamic and it has been considerably transformed since the consultative status with the Council of Europe was created. NGOs have increased in number and they have evolved from being locally and nationally oriented to become more international, from focusing only on a case/faith of one person or specific issue to a wider scope of questions. Moreover, multiplication of specific NGOs, such as those representing people with disabilities and ethnic minorities, increasingly permit the most disadvantaged to reach decision-makers.

5.       Furthermore, NGOs have become progressively more recognised and dominant at the national, regional and international levels. The decision makers take a more active notice of them and involve them to a greater extent in policy and decision-making. Certain NGOs have undeniable influence on international policy-making. In this context, the Parliamentary Assembly can but note with satisfaction that the Committee of Ministers has come up with two preliminary draft resolutions to replace its Resolution (93) 38 on Relations between the Council of Europe and international non-governmental organisations. The Assembly has itself called for this revision on several occasions and it is therefore pleased that the Committee of Ministers has submitted them to the Parliamentary Assembly for an opinion.

6. The updating and completion of the resolutions is crucial to clarify the present relationship between the Council of Europe and NGOs. At present, close to 400 international NGOs enjoy consultative status with the Council of Europe. These NGOs are diverse, heterogeneous; they vary in size, scope, motivation, structure and in the methods they use to influence policies. While the Assembly is aware of the constructive role played by the Liaison Committee of NGOs, it is convinced that there is an imminent need to arrive at a more coherent approach vis-à-vis the NGOs. Moreover, it is apparent that in certain member states the civil society is still inadequately developed and requires the support of the Council of Europe to consolidate its existence and activities. The new draft resolutions help the international NGOs, which enjoy the proposed participatory status with the Council of Europe, to become more responsible in developing their expertise, internal structure and approach to the work in the field of their specific interest. Transforming the consultative status into a participatory one is in fact the result of increased co-operation between the Council of Europe and NGOs and it aims at the recognition of the practice established over the last ten years. The new status would make the participation of NGOs in the Council of Europe activities more systematic and it would be more restrictive in a sense that is would be limited to only the most involved and effective international NGOs. In this connection, the Assembly welcomes the fact that the preliminary draft Resolution on the partnership between the Council of Europe and national non-governmental organisations responds positively to the concerns expressed by NGOs in the new member States. They have expressed their concern inter alia over the fact that due to their lesser integration in European and international NGOs, they do not benefit from the ability to apply for the proposed participatory status with the Council of Europe. The Committee of Ministers should assure that the NGOs from the Central and Eastern Europe will be supported in their application for the participatory status in order to make the list of NGOs enjoying such status more representative of the Council of Europe member states. Furthermore, the Assembly gives its support to any consideration to define ways of funding NGOs.

7. The Assembly notes with satisfaction the “Fundamental principles on the status of non-governmental organisations in Europe”, approved by a Council of Europe group of experts in July 2002. These guidelines, which encourage the establishment of NGOs in a legal framework, should serve as a source of inspiration to the national parliaments and governments insofar as the rights and responsibilities and particularly transparency, accountability and liability of NGOs are concerned.

8. Since the opening for signature in 1986, only nine member States have ratified the European Convention on the recognition of the legal personality of international non-governmental organisations (ETS No. 124; chart of signatures and ratifications appears in appendix I). The Committee of Ministers should invite an expert group to examine the reasons for this small number of ratifications.

9. NGOs have increasingly participated and contributed in conferences and events alike, which have been organised by the Council of Europe. Earlier this year, associations of disabled persons organised a Forum and put forward recommendations to the 2^nd European Conference of Ministers responsible for integration policies for people with disabilities (Malaga, 7 - 8 May 2003). A similar experience was observed in connection of the European Conference “All different, all equal: from principles to practice” (October 2000), when a NGO Forum “End Racism Now” came forward with an action plan on the eve of the Conference.

10.       The Assembly has also organised joint conferences with the NGOs. The first one took place on 15-17 May 1991 in Budapest on “Politics and citizens”; an other one on 31 May-1 June 1999 in Strasbourg on “Market-oriented society, democracy, citizenship and solidarity: An area of Confrontation” and the latest one on 6-7 November 2001 in Strasbourg on “Citizenship, solidarity: What sort of Europe do we want ?”. Any further joint conferences on topics of common concern are welcome.

11.       The Parliamentary Assembly and its committees has established links and entered into fruitful co-operation with several NGOs, many of which enjoy consultative status with the Council of Europe. Certain committees have much more diversified and closer ties with NGOs than others. The Assembly supports the principle of changing the consultative status to a participatory one and encourages intensified co-operation between its committees and NGOs. However, it is keen that its committees maintain a flexibility and liberty to decide on the nature of their relations.

12.       The Assembly finds it perplexing that some of the major NGOs that are active notably in the field of human rights and that are in a long-standing and a productive co-operation with the Assembly committees, as well as with other Council of Europe departments, have not applied for a consultative status with the Council of Europe. The Committee of Ministers should consider why they have not applied for this status and assure that the new resolutions would remove any possible obstacles that may exist to discourage them from doing so.

13.       The Assembly should examine its relations with the NGOs and consider in the future the possible creation of a specific status based on appropriate criteria for the NGOs with the Parliamentary Assembly in order to enhance the direct contact with those major NGOs with whom it does or wishes to co-operate.

14.       As regards the modalities of co-operation, at present the Assembly committees invite the NGOs to those meetings which they consider useful and put their documentation at the disposal of their members when appropriate. Several Assembly activities rely on information and advice provided by NGOs when organising hearings and seminars, preparing fact-finding visits, election observation and in the preparation of reports. As in the past, the Assembly and its committees should remain free to determine the methods used for co-operation with NGOs, while bearing in mind the Rules of

Procedure and any pertinent text adopted on the matter by the Committee of Ministers. In this connection, it is recalled that according to Rule 44.5 of the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure “each committee may develop relations with non-governmental organisations which carry out activities within the committee’s terms of reference”.

15.       As regards the sittings of the Assembly, all documents, including its Order of Business, are public and available on the Internet. NGOs, regardless of their status with the Council of Europe, may attend the sittings of the Assembly, which have always been public. Most Assembly committee documents also are public.

16.       It is clear that co-operation can still increase, while keeping channels open and flexible and recognising the mutual benefit for both the Council of Europe and the NGOs. This notion is mentioned in the preliminary draft Resolution on participatory status for international non-governmental organisations with the Council of Europe, although only in the sundry provisions.

17. As regards the procedure for the granting and withdrawal of the participatory status and concluding partnership agreements, the Assembly would like to draw the attention of the Committee of Ministers’ to the importance of requiring that the NGOs have a democratic structure, decision-making mechanism, as well as a truly non-governmental source of funding in accordance with the above-mentioned “Fundamental principles on the status of non-governmental organisations in Europe”. Furthermore, the Assembly is confident that the Council of Europe will not grant participatory status or conclude partnership agreements with those NGOs whose activities are incompatible with the principles of the Council of Europe, in such areas as the fight against racism and xenophobia.

APPENDIX

Opening for signature : Place : Strasbourg Date : 24/04/86

Entry into force : Conditions : 3 Ratifications. Date : 01/01/91

Member States of the Council of Europe:

States	Date of signature	Date of ratification	Date of entry into force	Notes	R.	D.	A.	T.	C.	O.
Albania
Andorra
Armenia
Austria	24/04/86	27/04/92	01/08/92				X
Azerbaijan
Belgium	24/04/86	04/09/90	01/01/91				X
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus	25/03/98
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France	04/07/96	26/11/99	01/03/00			X
Georgia
Germany
Greece	24/04/86	30/06/89	01/01/91				X
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Moldova
Netherlands	14/03/02
Norway
Poland
Portugal	24/04/86	28/10/91	01/02/92				X
Romania
Russia
San Marino
Serbia and Montenegro
Slovakia
Slovenia	16/09/93 s	16/09/93 s	01/01/94
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland	24/04/86	24/09/90	01/01/91				X
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia	19/05/00	13/07/00	01/11/00
Turkey
Ukraine
United Kingdom	24/04/86	03/02/89	01/01/91					X

Non-member States of the Council of Europe:

States

Date of signature

Date of  ratification

Date of entry into force

Notes

R.

D.

A.

T.

C.

O.

Notes :
a: Accession - s: Signature without reservation as to ratification - su: Succession - r: Signature "ad referendum".
R.: Reservations - D.: Declarations - A.: Authorities - T.: Territorial Application - C.: Communication - O.: Objection.

Source: Treaty Office on http://conventions.coe.int/

Reporting Committee: Political Affairs Committee

Reference to committee : Request for an opinion from the Committee of Ministers, Doc 9806, Reference 2839, 27.05.03

Draft Opinion unanimously adopted by the Committee on 11 September 2003

Members of the Committee : Jakic (Chairman), Rogozin (Vice-chairman), Feric-Vac (Vice-Chairperson), Spindelegger (Vice-Chairman), Aguiar, Aliyev (alternate: Seyidov), de Aristegi (alternate: Lopez Gonzalez), Ates, Atkinson,  Azzolini, Berceanu, Beres, Bianco, Blankenborg, Cekuolis, Clerfayt, Davern, Dreyfus-Schmidt, Druviete, Durrieu, Elo, Frey, Glesener, Goulet (alternate: André), Gross, Hedrich, Henry, Hörster (alternate: Lintner), Hovhannisyan, Iwinski, Judd, Karpov, Kirilov, Klich, Koçi, Kostenko, van der Linden, Lloyd, Loutfi, Magnusson, Margelov, Martinez-Casan, Medeiros Ferreira, Mercan, Micunovic, Mignon, Mihkelson, Muratovic, Naudi Mora, Neguta, Nemcova, Nemeth, Oliynyk, Ouzky, Pangalos, Petrova-Mitevska, Petursdottir, Pourgourides, Prentice, Prica, Prisacaru, de Puig, Pullicino Orlando, Ranieri (alternate: de Zulueta), Roth, Severin, Severinsen, Tabajdi, Tekelioglu, Tritz, Vakilov (alternate: Mollazade), Volpinari, Voulgarakis (alternate: Liapis), Westerberg, Wielowieyski, Wohlwend, Wurm, Yarygina, Zacchera, Zhvania, Ziuganov (alternate: Slutsky).

N.B. : The names of the members who took part in the meeting are printed in italics.

Secretariat of the Committee : Mr Perin, Mrs Ruotanen, Mr Chevtchenko, Mr Dossow.