Request by Canada for observer status with the Council of Europe
Doc. 7543
25 April 1996REPORT[1]
Rapporteurs: Mr. CEM, Turkey, Socialist Group and Lord FINSBERG, United Kingdom, European Democratic Group
Canada meets the requirements of Statutory Resolution (93) 26. Its request for observer status with the Council of Europe should therefore be granted.
The Assembly will give consideration in due course to the separate issue of appropriate status for the Canadian Parliament.
I. Draft opinion [Link to the Adopted text]
1. The Government of Canada, on 1 February 1996, made a formal request for observer status with the Council of Europe under the terms of Statutory Resolution (93) 26.
2. On several occasions, leading members of the Canadian Parliament also expressed an interest in strengthening links with the Council of Europe.
3. On 3 April 1996, the Committee of Ministers decided to invite Canada to become an observer with the Council of Europe pending confirmation of the positive opinion of the Parliamentary Assembly.
4. Canada has close historical, cultural and political ties with Europe. In this century, it has contributed to the liberation and reconstruction of our continent, and to the preservation of peace and stability.
5. Canada has signed and ratified Council of Europe conventions. It enjoys observer status with several intergovernmental and expert committees.
6. A delegation of the Canadian Parliament already regularly takes part in the Assembly's annual debate on the activities of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
7. Dialogue with the Council of Europe has also been developed through the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE, ex-CSCE) and its Parliamentary Assembly.
8. The Assembly, therefore, is of the opinion that Canada meets the requirements for observer status as set forth in Statutory Resolution (93) 26. In due course it will consider the separate issue of appropriate status for the Canadian Parliament.
II. Explanatory memorandum
by the Rapporteurs
Introduction
1. On 1 February 1996 the Canadian Foreign Minister, Mr Lloyd Axworthy formally requested that Canada be granted observer status with the Council of Europe under Statutory Resolution (93) 26 (see Annex).
2. Under Statutory Resolution (93) 26 "any state willing to accept the principles of democracy, the rule of law and the enjoyment by all persons within its juridiction of human rights and fundamental freedoms" may be granted observer status with the Organisation by the Committee of Ministers after consulting the Parliamentary Assembly.
3. The Assembly recently gave a positive opinion on similar requests by the United States of America and Japan (see Recommendation 1282 (1995) and Opinion 194 (1996)). In both cases, the Assembly decided to examine the separate question of relations with respectively the United States Congress and the Japanese Diet.
4. There can be no doubt that Canada has close historical, cultural and political ties with Europe. It made a major contribution to the victory in World War II and since, played an important part in the preservation of peace and stability on our continent through its membership of NATO.
5. On 3 April 1996, the Committee of Ministers adopted Resolution (96) 9 on observer status for Canada with the Council of Europe. It decided to invite Canada to become an observer, "pending confirmation of the positive opinion of the Parliamentary Assembly".
The rapporteurs greatly regret that the Committee of Ministers adopted this Resolution before the Assembly, which was only seized by the Committee of Ministers on 15 March 1996, had a chance to consider the issue and adopt its opinion. At its meeting of 19 March 1996, the Bureau had particularly drawn the attention of the Committee of Ministers to the need to wait for the Assembly's opinion. However, the unfortunate timing of the Committee of Ministers should in no event prejudice Canada's request. It is hoped and expected that on future occasions the Committee of Ministers will strictly respect the terms of its own statutory resolutions and recognise the position of the Assembly.
Co-operation between Canada and the Council of Europe
A. Intergovernmental co-operation
6. Canada participates in an observer capacity in a number of intergovernmental committees in the field of legal co-operation and social affairs. It also participates in a number of meetings organised under the authority of intergovernmental committees including the field of human rights, equality and health.
7. Since 1991 Canada has observer status with the European Commission for Democracy through Law and, in the same year it hosted an informal conference of European Ministers of Justice in Ottawa. In 1994, Canada was invited to the Pan-European Ministerial Conference of the Pompidou Group (fight against drugs).
8. Canadian government representatives also attend meetings concerning Council of Europe programmes for co-operation and assistance in Central and Eastern Europe, notably also with regard to Russia.
9. Canada has signed and ratified the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons and the Anti-Doping Convention and has been invited to sign the Convention on Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters and the Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime.
B. The Parliamentary Assembly
10. The Canadian Parliament has for many years shown considerable interest in the activities of the Parliamentary Assembly. Its delegations participate regularly in the annual debates on the activities of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Developoment (OECD). Canadian delegations have also been active participants in the Strasbourg Conference on Parliamentary Democracy.
11. On various occasions, Canadian parliamentarians have expressed their interest in developing relations with the Parliamentary Assembly. They have also stressed that members of the Canadian Parliament would attend Assembly sessions.
12. The possibilities of granting appropriate status to the Canadian Parliament should therefore be explored and a report submitted to the Assembly in due course.
Conclusions
13. The Bureau of the Assembly identified a number of indicators which would demonstrate fulfillment of the criteria set out in Statutory Resolution (93) 26 for the granting of the observer status in its document AS/Bur (1995) 130 (memorandum on the observer status presented by Mr Schieder). These include membership of the OSCE, the OECD and the existence of cultural links. All of these apply in the case of Canada, which, moreover has a long record of intensive co-operation with our organisation. There can therefore be no doubt that Canada meets the requirements for observer status with the organisation.
14. Canada's admission as an observer would by no means create a precedent for an "open door" policy of the organisation as regard to other requests for observer status. Each request should, and will be, carefully examined on its own merits.
Appendix I
Letter from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada
to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe
Appendix II
Reporting committee: Political Affairs Committee.
Budgetary implications for the Assembly: none.
Reference to committee: Doc. 7505, Reference No. 2060 of 20 March 1996.
Draft opinion adopted unanimously by the committee on 25 April 1996.
Members of the committee: Mr B�rsony (Chairman), Lord Finsberg (Vice-Chairman), MM. van der Linden (Vice-Chairman), Alvarez Cascos, Antretter, Baumel, Mrs Belohorska (Alternate: Mr Proke_), MM. Bergqvist, Bernardini, Bj�rck, Bloetzer, Bokov (Alternate: Mrs Moser), B�chel, B�hler, Caputo, Cem, Cerqueda Pascuet, Chornovil ,Deasy (Alternate: Molloy), Demiralp, Desyatnikov (Alternate: Bogomolov), Diacov, E�rsi, Fassino, Galanos, Gjellerod, Gotzev, Gricius, Hardy, Irmer, Iwi_ski, Kalus, Kaspereit, Mrs Lentz-Cornette, MM. Mart�nez, Masseret, Medeiros Ferreira, Mota Amaral, Muehlemann, Nothomb, Mrs Ojuland, MM. Oliynik, Paasilinna, Pahor, MM. Pavlidis, Popovski, Pottakis (Rempla�ant: Micheloyiannis), Pozzo, Radulescu Botica, Mrs Ragnarsd�ttir, MM. Schieder, Schwimmer, MM. Severin, Sinka (Alternate: Priedkalns), Sir Dudley Smith, MM. Špa_ek, Spahia, Mrs Suchocka, MM. Thoresen, Urbain, Vella, Woltjer, Zhirinovsky (Alternate: Glotov), Ziuganov (Alternate: Lukin).
N.B. The names of those members who took part in the meeting are printed in italics.
Secretaries of the committee : Mr Hartland, Mr Kleijssen.
[1]. by the Political Affairs Committee