Doc. 10462

1 March 2005

Improving the prospects of developing countries: a moral imperative for the world

Recommendation 1646 (2004)

Reply from the Committee of Ministers

adopted at the 916^th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (23 February 2005)

1.        The Committee of Ministers has examined Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1646 (2004) on improving the prospects of developing countries: a moral imperative for the world and forwarded it to the governments of member states. It has also forwarded it to a number of its committees and structures. (Their comments appear in the appendices to this reply.)

2.        The Committee of Ministers cannot but agree with the Parliamentary Assembly that there is an urgent need to eradicate poverty in the world. It wishes to draw the Assembly’s attention to the fact that member states continue working towards this objective not only through bilateral assistance programmes but also through the appropriate programmes of the United Nations and its specialised agencies and bodies. The Council of Europe, through its own means of action, including through its European Centre for Global Interdependence and Solidarity (the “North-South Centre”) (see Appendix 3 to this reply), contributes to raising public awareness of the need for solidarity with other parts of the world and improve information and education to that end. In this context, it works closely together with member states, the European Union and relevant international organisations. In the same vein, the Committee of Ministers has taken note of the Parliamentary Assembly’s proposals for enabling the Council of Europe member states to contribute to the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals by the target year of 2015, including of its recommendation in respect of sustainable development.

3.        The Committee of Ministers agrees that the solutions to development-related problems must come from both inside the developing countries and the international community. Indeed, all the issues mentioned in the first of the recommendations addressed to the Committee of Ministers by the Assembly can be addressed from the angle of the Council of Europe’s 20 Guiding Principles to fight corruption. Similarly, the recently adopted United Nations Convention against corruption contains a section devoted to measures for preventing corruption.

4.        The consequences of corruption are perhaps more visible in the developing countries. However, the means to be employed for preventing and fighting corruption are the same in the developing and developed countries. Hence, the standards which GRECO and its members are responsible for enforcing offer a universal model that is valid both in its member states and in other countries, including those of the developing world. GRECO and the Council of Europe’s Criminal and Civil Law Conventions on corruption are open to the Council of Europe member states as well as to non-member states.

5.        For this reason, the Committee of Ministers considers that a key factor in remedying the international causes of corruption would be an undertaking on the part of all states to adopt and implement in practice the international standard-setting instruments relating to corruption, participate in the monitoring of those instruments and establish appropriate technical cooperation. The Committee of Ministers therefore believes that increased participation in GRECO activities and a larger number of contracting parties to the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption conventions would lead to significant progress. Consequently, the Committee of Ministers encourages all the Council of Europe member states, the observer states, and other countries sharing the same goals to accede to GRECO and ratify the Council of Europe’s Criminal Law Convention on corruption, the Protocol thereto, and the Civil Law Convention on corruption.

6.        Mobilising citizens alongside public authorities can also be effective in combating the causes of under-development as highlighted by the Parliamentary Assembly. This has recently been shown by the many examples presented during the Forum entitled "Socially responsible consumption and finance systems: public authorities and citizens' commitment to social cohesion", organised under the auspices of the European Committee for Social Cohesion on 4 and 5 November 2004. In particular, the event aimed at exploring how personal economic acts and choices might incorporate a dimension of social cohesion and responsibility, for example:

- the different forms of ethical savings and solidarity-based finance provide financial resources complementing public funding to generate more development funding so that the United Nations Millennium Development Goals can be attained;

- similarly, the various forms of fair trade now enjoying strong development contribute to the well-being of the most underprivileged populations in the countries of the south, by guaranteeing them fair prices for their products;

- forms of civic commitment between farmers and consumers in both north and south help to guarantee agricultural revenue in the countries of the south while reducing subsidies to agriculture and avoiding surpluses in the countries of the north;

- other forms of solidarity being forged between citizens in the north and south reflect both the Council of Europe’s commitment to engage civil society, and the specific Parliamentary Assembly's proposals with regard to children’s rights, education, health, etc.

7.        In that context, in view of the need for better coordination between public policies and citizens' initiatives to combat poverty and avoid disparity, the forum participants have proposed the setting up, with backing from the Council of Europe, of a "Platform for political dialogue and the promotion of ethical, socially responsible and solidarity-based initiatives in the economy". The platform would take the form of different dialogue-based activities aimed at promoting complementarity between initiatives of public authorities and citizens within different public policies including those supporting development. The anticipated result is the better integration of the social and environmental dimensions in the economy and stronger interaction between public policies and ethical, socially responsible and solidarity-based initiatives in the economy.

8.        The World Health Organisation is active in all these fields, which are part of the objectives of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

9.        As for women’s rights, including the right to free choice in matters of reproduction and the need to incorporate a gender mainstreaming perspective into employment policies, the Committee of Ministers would like to point to the work of its European Population Committee (CAHP), which agreed with the need for its activity programme to take into account the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD, Cairo, 1994). In response to Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1564 (2002) on the state of the world population, and in line with the subject of the Recommendation based on the concept of right to free choice in matters of sexuality and reproduction, the CAHP decided to add an additional benchmark in the terms of reference of the Committee - the ICPD commitments as an "important guideline in its work".

10.        In conclusion, in view of the above, the Committee of Ministers emphasises the importance it has been attaching to the efforts of improving the prospects for and of developing countries.

Appendix 1 to the reply

GRECO comments on Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1646 (2004)

GRECO notes the Parliamentary Assembly’s emphasis on the principal causes of under-development at both the domestic and international level. In particular, as the first domestic cause of underdevelopment, the Assembly refers to “poor governance by corrupt elites and judiciaries, combined with a lack of democratic institutions, leading to economic instability” (see paragraph 6 (i)). Therefore the Assembly recommended in paragraph 10 (i) “promoting as an absolute priority, good governance, democracy, the rule of law, an independent judiciary and the rooting out of corruption, as otherwise efforts in other domains to reach lasting development will prove futile”.

While the degree and nature of corruption in each country varies widely, no country is free of it and all – not only the developing countries – need to be constantly alert to its risks. This concern was reflected in Resolution (99) 5 leading to the foundation of GRECO in which it was stated that “corruption represents a major threat to the rule of law, democracy, human rights, fairness and social justice, hinders economic development and endangers the stability of democratic institutions and the moral foundations of society”. As the body responsible for monitoring the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption instruments, GRECO has comments on the recommendations in paragraph 10 (i), but is not equipped to comment on the other points made.

The consequences of corruption may be more apparent in developing countries, with inter alia the phenomena of public mistrust in political leaders and public officials, the flight of capital, economic and social insecurity, distorted competition, inefficient administration, lower salaries, etc. But the means to prevent and fight corruption in developing and developed countries are similar and people and states can benefit a lot from exchanging information and resources on the basis of their own experience in this field. In addition, corruption is not only a domestic phenomenon but has many international aspects and requires action at national, local, regional and international level.

Similar concerns led to the adoption by the Council of Europe of its comprehensive approach with regard to corruption: establishing international standards, a monitoring mechanism (GRECO) and providing assistance and technical cooperation. The standards monitored by GRECO and its members provide a universal blue-print as valid within its membership as it is in other countries, including those of the developing world.

GRECO is responsible for monitoring this key area through the observance of Council of Europe instruments on corruption (i.e. the Guiding Principles for the fight against Corruption, the Criminal and Civil Law Conventions on Corruption, the Recommendations Rec(2000)10 on the Codes of Conduct for Public Officials and Rec(2003)4 on the Financing of Political Parties and Electoral Campaigns). GRECO and the Council of Europe conventions on corruption are open to Council of Europe members as well as non-member states. The Council of Europe’s 20 Guiding Principles provide a framework for addressing all the issues in 10.i. We note also that the recently agreed United Nations Convention against Corruption contains a chapter of preventive measures to combat bribery. It is not yet decided how the United Nations Convention against Corruption will be monitored but GRECO stands ready to contribute its expertise in any way which may be helpful.

GRECO has, to date, established two evaluation rounds dealing with specific provisions of the Council of Europe’s 20 Guiding Principles (and associated provisions of the Criminal Law Convention) with regard, in particular, to the following themes: independence, specialisation and means of national bodies engaged in the prevention and fight against corruption, extent and scope of immunities, identification, seizure and confiscation of corruption proceeds, the role of public administration, efficiency and transparency with regard to corruption, prevention of legal persons being used as shields for corruption, tax and financial legislation to counter corruption, links between corruption, organised crime and money laundering.

GRECO shares the Parliamentary Assembly’s opinion that strong anti-corruption measures are as important for the progress and the security of the developing world as they are for the developed world. Therefore, GRECO considers as an important remedy with regard to the international causes of underdevelopment the commitment by all states to adopt and implement in practice relevant international normative instruments in respect of corruption; to participate in international mechanisms for the monitoring of these instruments and to engage in appropriate technical cooperation. GRECO, therefore, takes the view that increased participation in its activities and a larger number of Contracting Parties to the Council of Europe anti-corruption instruments would bring about a significant improvement. In GRECO’s view, the Committee of Ministers should encourage all Council of Europe members as well as observer sates and other like-minded states to accede to GRECO and to ratify the Council of Europe Criminal Law Convention on Corruption, its Protocol and the Civil Law Convention on Corruption without delay, and encourage Council of Europe members to ratify the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

Appendix 2 to the reply

Comments of the Bureau of the Steering Committee for Equality between Women and Men (CDEG) on Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1646 (2004)

The Bureau of the CDEG took note that the Ministers’ Deputies decided at their 872nd meeting on 12 February 2004 to communicate to the CDEG Recommendation 1646 (2004) of the Parliamentary Assembly on improving the prospects of developing countries: a moral imperative for the world for information and possible comments by 31 May 2004.

The Bureau noted that the next meeting of the CDEG will take place from 16 to 18 June 2004. Therefore, the Bureau of the CDEG prepared the following comments to be sent to the Committee of Ministers.

The Bureau of the CDEG welcomed the adoption of this Recommendation and took note of the proposals of the Parliamentary Assembly in order to permit Council of Europe member states to realise their commitments to achieve the United Nations Millennium Goals.

As indicated in paragraph 10 (ii), the Bureau of the CDEG is convinced of the need to promote women’s rights in the policies aimed to reduce population growth in developing countries.

The Bureau of the CDEG considered that it is of utmost importance to also promote gender equality and introduce a gender mainstreaming perspective in employment policies in relation to paragraph 10 (iii).

Furthermore, the Bureau of the CDEG recalled in relation to the latter paragraph the important role that women can play, in the prevention and resolution of conflicts as stated during the 5th European Ministerial Conference on Equality between Women and Men (Skopje, 22-23 January 2003) devoted to “Democratisation, conflict prevention and peace building: the perspectives and the roles of women”.

Appendix 3 to the reply

Action of the Council of Europe North-South Centre

The North-South Centre (NCS) is a Partial Agreement with currently 20 member states. Its main objectives are to raise public awareness in Europe of global interdependence and solidarity and to promote the core values of the Council of Europe, human rights, democracy and good governance, in other parts of the world, as indispensable requirements for sustainable development. Through its activities, the Centre endeavours to achieve the corresponding objectives advocated by the Parliamentary Assembly in its Recommendation 1646 (2004). To this end, the North-South Centre concentrates its work on three main programmes: global education, dialogue and communication. The global education programme of the NSC works to strengthen the work of member states in the field of global education, through, inter alia:

-        facilitating networking of national structures of funding through GENE (Global Education Network        Europe);

-        strengthening the effectiveness and impact of global education through the European Global        Education Peer Review mechanism and national reports;

-        enhancing the work of national practitioners through Europe-Wide Global Education Week;

-        developing youth engagement in issues of global interdependence and solidarity, through regional        and global youth training;

-        supporting particular member states in their work in this field, including through a Netherlands funded        programme with the Visigrad countries.

This work is pursued with reference to the “Maastricht Declaration on Increasing and Improving Global Education in Europe to 2015” and in line with Parliamentary Assembly Resolution 1318 (2003) on sustainable development which recommends to member states to "promote global education to strengthen public awareness of sustainable development, bearing in mind that global education is essential for all citizens to acquire the knowledge and skills to understand, participate in and interact critically with our global society, as empowered global citizens" (paragraph 20 (xii)).

The NSC set up a Trans-Mediterranean Programme in the early nineties to improve mutual understanding and cooperation between the peoples and countries around the Mediterranean. This programme aims at promoting the values of democracy and human rights in the countries on the southern and eastern shore of the Mediterranean as well as the intercultural and inter-religious dialogue. The Centre has also put a special emphasis on working with young people through its Euromed youth programme that is carried out with the support of the European Union.

For 2005, the broad orientations of the Centre’s Transmed programme fit in with the priorities of the Council of Europe. The Centre’s 2005 activities will also focus on the rights of women, strengthening of dialogue between Europe and the Arab world, and on democratic citizenship in the region.

The Centre also pays particular attention to the need to establish better relations and cooperation with Africa, in particular in order to share the same values with the countries of the African continent. The Centre’s activities there focus on enhancing the Europe-Africa Dialogue, in cooperation with the Parliamentary Assembly and other partners such as the new Pan-African Parliament, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) secretariat. The Europe-Africa dialogue comes at a time of increased European consolidation and of growing African unity.

The Centre endeavours to optimise its activities in the near future. One priority is to support the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals; it is clear that greater support worldwide is indispensable in order to achieve these goals. The Centre therefore helps in stimulating the discussion and reflection among political decision-makers at all levels, non-governmental organisations and experts.

The Centre’s work is based on the philosophy that the globalisation process has to be turned to the advantage of all in an equitable manner and in a spirit of solidarity. But this aim can only be reached if the public at large has a better understanding of the fact that the complex interdependent relations between countries and peoples call for constructive approaches to international policy. The fate of Europe is intimately bound up with the fate of the south. This is a fundamental reality.

The Centre works closely together with the European Union, the United Nations, the OECD, the African Union and non-governmental organisations at national and international level. In order to strengthen its capability to carry out its essential task in the most effective way, the Committee of Ministers is encouraging more of its member states to become party to this Partial Agreement.