|
|
5 September 1997 Doc. 7890
ADOC7890
REPORT 1
on the setting-up of a Committee
on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men
(Rapporteur: Mrs Pilar PULGAR,
Spain, Group of the European People's Party)
_____
Summary
The Assembly considers that equal opportunities for women and men are of great importance in a democracy.
This is why the Assembly decides to set up a committee competent in this field.
I. Draft resolution
1. The Assembly considers that bringing about equal opportunities for women and men is a prerequisite for genuine democracy. It notes that, in the intergovernmental sector, the Steering Committee on Equality between Women and Men (CDEG) has existed for several years in order to co-ordinate the various activities to promote equal opportunities. The Assembly believes that it needs a specific committee for that purpose.
2. The experience acquired by the Ad hoc Committee of the Bureau on Equality of the Sexes since its creation in 1993 shows that the terms of reference should not be limited to delivering opinions, from the equality standpoint, on texts submitted to the Assembly by Assembly committees.
3. The Assembly therefore decides to constitute a Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men which replaces the current Ad hoc Committee of the Bureau.
4. This new committee, whose terms of reference are appended, shall be composed of 45 members (and 45 alternates). The designation of the members and alternates shall be made in accordance with Rule 43, paragraph 2, of the Rules of Procedure.
5. The Assembly therefore decides to amend its Rules of Procedure as follows:
i. in Rule 43, paragraph 1, add the following text:
"Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (number of seats: 45)";
ii. in Rule 43, replace paragraph 2 by the following text:
"France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the United Kingdom shall have three seats in each of the first eight committees and two seats in the next five committees.
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine shall have two seats in each of the first eight committees and one seat in the next five committees.
Albania, Andorra, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, "The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", Malta, Moldova, Norway, San Marino, Slovak Republic and Slovenia shall have one seat in each of the first thirteen committees." 2
6. This resolution shall enter into force as soon as the question of the running costs of the committee and the total number of Assembly committees has found a solution.
Appendix to Resolution ....(1997)
Terms of reference of the Committee
on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men
The committee shall be responsible for:
i. considering equal opportunities questions, including the situation in Council of Europe member states, and reporting directly to the Assembly on them, together with draft texts for adoption;
ii. considering activities having an impact on policies and/or legislation to promote equal opportunities for women and men in the member states of the Council of Europe;
iii. supervising the implementation of commitments undertaken by Council of Europe member states in the Platform for Action adopted by the 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995 and reporting periodically on this issue to the Assembly ;
iv. following-up the compliance of Council of Europe member states with the recommendations of the Parliamentary Assembly relating to equal opportunities;
v. promoting equal opportunities for women and men by organising seminars, conferences and parliamentary hearings on equal opportunities issues, with a view in particular to encouraging member states to promote equal opportunities in politics;
vi. promoting co-operation between parliamentary bodies of Council of Europe member states in the field of equal opportunities and maintaining relations with the European network for parliamentary committees responsible for equal opportunities for women and men;
vii. co-operating with intergovernmental steering committees of the Council of Europe and with other committees of the Parliamentary Assembly;
viii. maintaining relations and co-operating with inter-parliamentary, inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations in the field of equal opportunities, subject to the agreement of the Bureau;
ix. examining the equal opportunities policy within the Secretariat of the Council of Europe and commenting on the annual report of the Secretary General concerning its implementation.
II. Explanatory memorandum
by Mrs PULGAR
A. Introduction
1. During the first-part session in January 1997, the Assembly adopted Order 529 (1997) on the committee structure of the Assembly. This Order instructs "the Committee on Rules of Procedure to resume consideration of the proposal to set up a committee on equality of the sexes and to report to [the Assembly] during 1997" (see Appendix I). It was adopted within the framework of the Assembly's general discussions on the committee structure of the Assembly (the Laakso report, Doc. 7723) during which Resolution 1107 (1997) was also adopted. 3 The committee considered this matter during its meetings on 22 April and 16 June 1997 on the basis of a draft document. It approved the present report and adopted the draft resolution at its meeting on 1st September 1997.
B. Current structure dealing with equality topics
2. Currently, equality issues are dealt with by an Ad hoc committee of the Bureau on the equality of the sexes which was set up in 1993. Its terms of reference are "to deliver opinions, from the equality standpoint, on texts submitted to the Assembly by Assembly committees." The duration of the committee was defined as "the length of time necessary to achieve the objective pursued." Over the last four years, the ad hoc committee has in fact not only delivered opinions but inter alia also held exchanges of views and organised seminars. The Bureau renewed its terms of reference and appointed the Chairperson at its meeting on 18 March 1997.
3. According to Rule 43, para.3, "the Bureau of the Assembly may also set up ad hoc committees, in which case it shall prescribe their term of office, composition and terms of reference." As a matter of practice, such committees normally have a circumscribed and specific function which confines them to delivering opinions to the Bureau. One of the major drawbacks of these committees is therefore that they cannot report to the Assembly and submit texts for further action. Furthermore, their terms of reference have to be renewed every year.
C. Proposals
4. As regards the creation of a committee on equality of the sexes, the possibilities are either to create an ad hoc committee of the Assembly or a general committee of the Assembly. According to Rule 43, para. 3, "the Assembly may also set up ad hoc committees for a specific purpose...The term of office of an ad hoc committee shall end after its report has been dealt with by the Assembly". In contrast, general committees created by virtue of para. 1 of Rule 43 have standing terms of reference and are not limited in time.
Ad hoc committee of the Assembly on "partnership" between women and men
5. At its meeting on 21 April 1997, the ad hoc committee of the Bureau on equality made a proposal that it should be replaced by an ad hoc committee of the Assembly on partnership between women and men. In this way, the new committee could report to the Assembly, thus eliminating one of the drawbacks of the current structure.
6. However, the following points need to be taken into account:
- the requirements of Rule 43, para. 3, i.e. does the proposed committee suit a specific purpose and can the existing Assembly structures adequately deal with the problem. In this context, it may be recalled that equality issues are considered part of human rights and could therefore be said to fall within the terms of reference of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights; on the other hand, within the intergovernmental sector of the Council of Europe, there exist both a Steering Committee for Human Rights and a Steering Committee on Equality between Women and Men;
- the need for terms of reference which are specific and limited in time, in accordance with Rule 43, para. 3;
- the composition of the committee (45 or 65 members by analogy with permanent committees);
- the staff and budget required to run such a committee.
7. Given that the main argument raised in favour of the creation of a new committee is that it should have permanent terms of reference applying to the whole spectrum of activities in the field of equality, the option of creating an ad hoc committee of the Assembly under Rule 43, para. 3, would not be appropriate.
A new permanent Assembly committee
8. The proposal to create a new permanent Assembly committee has been made in the past by the Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee and the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography. It was also contained in a motion for a resolution tabled in April 1996 (Doc. 7478 rev.) and Order 529. The motion for a resolution of April 1996 pointed out that "the status of an ad hoc committee of the Bureau, which is limited and temporary by definition, is such that it cannot take initiatives or present reports to the Assembly, and therefore cannot take on the desirable role of conducting the requisite work for the progress of equality." Order 529 (1997) initiated by Mr Gusenbauer furthermore recalled that "in accordance with Rule 43, paragraph 3, ad hoc committees shall be set up only in exceptional circumstances to deal with specific situations".
9. The option to create a new committee was not retained by the Assembly in January 1997 when it rejected an amendment to the Laakso report on the committee structure proposing the setting up of such a committee. The two main factors for rejection were a consensus not to increase the number of committees and not to increase the financial and staff costs of the current structure. However, Order 529 clearly instructs the committee to re-examine this question. In order to do so, the possible terms of reference and composition of the new committee have to be considered.
Terms of reference
10. One of the main purposes of the proposal to create a new committee is to enlarge its scope of action as compared to the current ad hoc committee of the Bureau. The terms of reference would therefore be broader in scope, covering a whole range of responsibilities in the field of equality, such as delivering opinions, proposing draft texts for adoption by the Assembly, follow-up action to existing commitments, representative functions and co-operation with other relevant bodies.
11. The terms of reference, contained in the Appendix to the draft resolution above, take into account the terms of reference of the intergovernmental Steering Committee on Equality (CDEG, see Appendix II) and the equality policy of the Secretary General with a view to avoiding duplication. The terms of reference thus recognise that the committee should focus on concrete activities which would make a real impact on policies or legislation to promote equal opportunities for women and men in our member states rather than on equality issues within the Council of Europe which are generally considered to be an internal matter for the Secretary General. In order to mark this distinction, it is proposed that the title of the committee should refer to "equal opportunities for women and men".
Composition
12. In accordance with Resolution 1107 which came into force on 25 April 1997, general committees of the Assembly now either have 45 or 65 members (plus the same number of alternates), except for the Monitoring Committee which has a special composition. It is proposed that the Committee on Equal Opportunities should have 45 members, plus the same number of alternates. In addition, given its function, the desirability of a suitable proportion of women representatives should be pointed out.
Financial and staff costs
13. On the basis of the above parameters, the financial and staff costs of the proposed creation of a committee can be estimated. A new committee would involve added expenditure for national parliaments as they would be required to fund the expenses of their parliamentarians participating in the work of the committee. In addition, the following information can be given as to the financial implications for Vote III of the General Budget (expenditure of the Parliamentary Assembly). It should be emphasised that these figures are estimates based on the available data for an existing committee of the same size.
(i) Secretariat staff
14. Clearly, adequate Secretariat staff would have to be allocated to the committee. Currently, the staff of the ad hoc committee of the Bureau is provided by one Administrator and one assistant working mainly for another committee of the Assembly as well as, on a part-time basis, for the ad hoc committee. At a minimum, the new committee would require one Administrator working on a full-time basis as Secretary to the committee and one administrative assistant. The cost of the creation of these two posts would amount to 845.000 FF.
(ii) Interpretation costs (5 official and working languages)
15. As regards the interpretation costs of the committee's meetings into the five official and working languages, it can be assumed that the meetings held in Strasbourg during each of the four part-sessions can be covered by the overall appropriations available to the Assembly for this purpose. However, the interpretation costs for each meeting outside Strasbourg would amount to 230.000 FF (the ad hoc committee held one meeting outside Strasbourg in 1995 and one in 1997).
(iii) Missions
16. Concerning official missions by the Secretariat to attend the meeting of the committee outside Strasbourg and to attend at least two other events (e.g. UN or IPU Conferences), an amount of approximately 50.000 FF should be earmarked.
17. In addition, it needs to be recalled that whenever a committee appoints a member to represent the Assembly at an official event, the costs are borne by the Assembly. For this purpose, between 50.000 to 80.000 FF need to be foreseen.
(iv) Total cost
18. The total hypothetical cost of creating a general Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men would thus amount to approximately 1,200.000 FF per annum. However, as this committee would replace the existing ad hoc committee of the Bureau, the current costs of the ad hoc committee have to be subtracted from this total. At present, this amounts approximately to 280.000 FF (mainly interpretation costs for one meeting outside Strasbourg, missions by the Secretariat and staff costs). The final total cost of the creation would thus be at least 920.000 FF. It is recalled in this context that Article 38d. of the Statute provides that "the Secretary General shall refer to the Committee [of Ministers] requests from the Assembly which involve expenditure exceeding the amount already allocated in the Budget for the Assembly and its activities."
19. Alternatively, during the Assembly debate in January 1997, it was suggested by several speakers that ways might be found to make the proposal for a new committee "cost-neutral". The following options could be considered in this respect:
- limiting the number and scope of activities of the new committee; however, as already indicated, this would be contrary to one of the main aims of the proposed committee which is precisely to be more active and undertake a broad range of activities, rather than merely constituting a forum for exchanges of views;
- abolishing one of the current thirteen permanent committees of the Assembly; this course of action was chosen by the Assembly when the "Monitoring Committee" was created in April 1997 and the Committee on Relations with European Non-member countries was abolished. It was suggested during the meetings of the Committee on Rules of Procedure on 16 June and 1 September 1997 that the Committee on Parliamentary and Public Relations could be abolished and that a sub-committee of the Political Affairs Committee take over its functions.
20. In accordance with Order No. 410 (1982) on the budgetary aspects of the Assembly's recommendations, the financial implications described above for the Council of Europe budget were submitted for opinion to the Committee on the Budget and Intergovernmental Work Programme during its meeting on 2 September 1997.
D. Amendment of the Rules of Procedure
21. The proposal to set up a Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men entails that paragraphs 1 and 2 of Rule 43 of the Rules of Procedure should be amended accordingly (see draft Resolution above).
E. Conclusions
22. In the short-term, the Bureau has decided to maintain the status quo by renewing the terms of reference of the ad hoc committee of the Bureau. However, the Committee on Rules of Procedure was required by Order 529 to give consideration to the outlook for the equal opportunities field. The present report is the outcome of this examination by the committee.
23. The Committee on Rules of Procedure decided that the present report should be submitted to the Assembly at its last part-session in 1997 (22-26 September). It furthermore considered that the new provisions should enter into force as soon as the question of the running costs of the committee and the total number of Assembly committees will have found a solution.
APPENDIX I
ORDER No. 529 (1997) 4
on the committee structure of the Assembly
The Assembly,
1. Referring to its Resolution 1107 (1997) on the committee structure of the Assembly,
2. Considers that paragraph 6 of the resolution which states that "in accordance with Rule 43, paragraph 3, (of the Assembly's Rules of Procedure) ad hoc committees shall be set up only in exceptional circumstances to deal with specific situations", is in contradiction with paragraph 22 of the explanatory memorandum of the report which states that "It should be recalled that an ad hoc committee of the Bureau on equality of the sexes already exists. The ad hoc committee on the Assembly's committee structures was in favour of maintaining the present situation";
3. Instructs its Committee on Rules of Procedure to resume consideration of the proposal to set up a committee on equality of the sexes and to report to it during 1997.
APPENDIX II
SPECIFIC TERMS OF REFERENCE OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE
FOR EQUALITY BETWEEN WOMEN AND MEN (CDEG)
1. Name of committee: STEERING COMMITTEE FOR EQUALITY BETWEEN WOMEN AND MEN (CDEG)
2. Type of committee: Steering committee
3. Source of terms
of reference: Committee of Ministers
4. Terms of reference:
Having regard to the major lines of intergovernmental action set out in the Declaration on the future role of the Council of Europe and Resolution (89) 40, adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 5 May 1989, and within the framework of the annual Intergovernmental Programme of Activities:
i. to examine the situation as regards equality between women and men in European society and consider its progress;
ii to promote European co-operation between member states with a view to achieving real equality between women and men as a sine qua non of genuine democracy and to stimulate actions at both national and Council of Europe level, having regard to activities undertaken within other international fora, in particular the United Nations Commission on the status of women;
iii to this effect, to establish analyses, studies and evaluations, to confront national policies and pool experiences, to work out concerted policy strategies and measures for equality and, as necessary, to prepare appropriate legal and other instruments;
iv to prepare the European Ministerial Conferences on equality between women and men and ensure the follow-up thereto, having regard to the relevant decisions of the Committee of Ministers;
v to co-operate with other steering and ad hoc committees in the implementation of various projects in order, in particular, to ensure that they contribute to the implementation of the objective coming under ii. above, for which the CDEG has principal responsibility;
vi to comment on the annual reports of the Secretary General on the implementation of the equality objective within the Secretariat and activities of the Council of Europe
5. Membership of the committee:
a. The governments of all member states are entitled to appoint members with the following desirable qualifications: persons with high-level responsibility for policies in favour of equality between women and men, or other highly qualified specialists.
The Council of Europe's budget bears travelling and subsistence expenses for one expert per member state (two in the case of the state whose expert has been elected Chairman).
b. The Parliamentary Assembly may be represented at the meetings of the steering committee(1).
c. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe may be represented at the meetings of the steering committee(3).
d. The European Commission may send representatives, without the right to vote or defrayal of expenses, to meetings of the Committee.
c. The following states or organisations may send representatives, without the right to vote or defrayal of expenses, to meetings of the Committee:
UNFO: the appropriate organs and specialised institutions,
OECD
NGO Grouping 4 "Equality", with consultative status at the Council of Europe(2)
Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR-OSCE) (4)
6. Working structures and methods:
Within the framework of its terms of reference, the CDEG shall have the possibility to have whatever contacts or consultations with professional bodies that it deems necessary for the implementation of its terms of reference.
7. Duration:
These terms of reference shall be reviewed before 31 December 1996.(5)
-------------
Adopted: see CM/Del/Concl(91)458/18 and (92)472/17, Appendix 7
Revised: (1) see CM/Del/Dec(93)500, item 48
(2) see CM/Del/Dec(94)513/4.1 Concl 4
(3) see CM/Del/Dec(95)525, item 9.3
(4) see CM/Dem/Dec(96)566, item 2.5
Extended: (5) Renewal by tacit agreement, cf Res.(76)3, paragraph 11
Reporting committee: Committee on Rules of Procedure
Budgetary implications for the Assembly: the running costs of the committee are estimated at 920 000 FF. However, the committee could be set up without any financial implications if the Assembly decided to abolish one of its thirteen permanent committees that exist at the moment.
Reference to committee: Order No. 529 (1997)
Draft resolution adopted by the committee on 1 September 1997
Members of the committee: Mrs Lentz-Cornette (Chairperson), Mr Rewaj, Mrs Pulgar, Mr Wallace (Vice-Chairpersons), MM. Açba, Averchev (Alternate: Dzasokhov), Besostri, Bianchi (Alternate: Giannattasio), Cardona, Demetriou, Dias, Sir Anthony Durant (Alternate: Lord Russell-Johnston), MM. Etherington, Gjellerod, Goovaerts, Mrs Holand, MM. Kandare, Korakas, Kostytsky, Laakso, Laurinkus, Magnusson, Maltsev, Marten, Mészaros, Mozetic, Nastase (Alternate: Mrs Ionescu), Mrs Novakova, Mrs Ojuland, Mr Pavlov, Mrs Ragnarsdottir, MM. Schieder, Schloten, Seiler, Sinka, Slobodnik, Spahia, Tahiri, Verbeek.
N.B. The names of those members who took part in the vote are printed in italics.
Secretary of the committee : Mr Schade
1 . by the Committee on Rules of Procedure
. For the composition of the Monitoring Committee, see Resolution 1115 (1997).
3 . The main parts of Resolution 1107 came into force on 25 April 1997 and include a change in the composition of certain committees, the abolition of the Committee on Relations with European non-members countries and the creation of the Monitoring Committee.
4 . Assembly debate on 27 January 1997 (1st Sitting). See Doc. 7737, motion for an order (presented by Mr Gusenbauer). Text adopted by the Assembly on 27 January 1997 (1st Sitting).