Doc. 8354

26 March 1999

Implementation of Committee of Ministers Resolution (93) 38 on relations between the Council of Europe and international non-governmental organisations

Communication

Secretary General

1.       In accordance with the revised rules for consultative status as set out in Committee of Ministers Resolution (93) 381 , the Secretary General has the honour to communicate to the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly the names of the international non-governmental organisations to which he has decided to grant consultative status.

      They are as follows:

      -       Alzheimer Europe;
      -       European Action of the Disabled (AEH);
      -       European Blind Union (EBU);
      -       European Roma Rights Center;
      -       International Council of Environmental Law (ICEL);

      -       International Save the Children Alliance – Europe Group (ISCA);
      -       Project on Ethnic Relations (PER);
      -       The Marangopoulos Foundation for Human Rights (MFHR);
      -       Oxfam.

2.       The particulars of each of these organisations needed to assess each case and to understand the Secretary General's decision to add their names to the list of NGOs enjoying consultative status with the Council of Europe, are appended.

      In the absence of any objection founded on the conditions set out in paragraph 9 of the appendix to Resolution (93) 382 , the above organisations will be added to the list of those enjoying consultative status at the end of a period of three months following the date of this document.

3.       Since the last communication of 15 October 1997 to the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly on consultative status to be granted to international non-governmental organisations (CM(96)79/Doc 7950) under the rules governing consultative status (Resolution (93) 38 of the Committee of Ministers), the Secretary General has given thorough consideration to the files of some one hundred non-governmental organisations seeking consultative status with the Council of Europe.

4.       In deciding to grant consultative status to the NGOs listed in paragraph 1 above, the Secretary General took account of the following reports and regulations:

      -       the provisions of the revised rules for consultative status as set out in paragraphs 2, 5, 7 and 8 of the appendix to Committee of Ministers Resolution (93) 38;

      -       the fact that the great majority of the organisations interested in having consultative status have already established, on an ad hoc basis, productive working relations with different Council of Europe departments. Moreover, both the quality of these working relations and the review of these NGOs' files show that the latter are in a position to make a useful contribution, through their activities, to the work of the Council of Europe in particularly important and topical areas;

      -       on the other hand, the Secretary General took account of the fact that at their 593rd meeting of 27-28 March 1997, the Ministers' Deputies called upon him "to apply scrupulously Committee of Ministers Resolution 93 (38) on relations between the Council of Europe and international NGOs in order that the Council may take greater advantage of its relations with NGOs in the pursuit of its aims".

5.       As for the NGOs to which the Secretary General decided not to grant consultative status:

       They are as follows:

      -       Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP);
      -       Comité de Liaison et d'Action des Etrangers (CLAE);
      -       European Gay and Lesbian Sport Federation (EGLSF);
      -       Fédération des associations familiales catholiques en Europe (FAFCE);
      -       Enfance et Partage.

      They are as follows:

      -       Association internationale des Inventeurs, Créateurs et Designers (AIDIDC);

      -       Centre de recherche et d'expression des Musiques médiévales (TROBAR);

      -       International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations (IFRRO);
      -       Union des Centres d'Etudes Transpyrénéens (UCET);

      Although these NGOs do not fully meet the requirements for consultative status at the present time, they nevertheless appear to be in a position to contribute to certain Council of Europe activities. Consequently, these NGOs have been invited to establish initial contacts with the operational directorates concerned on an ad hoc, pragmatic basis. Arrangements for possible fruitful future co-operation with these NGOs might be determined, in years to come, on the basis of the results of those contacts.

6.       Moreover, a large number of NGOs (more than in previous years) have sought details of the procedure for the granting of consultative status and have already given the Secretary General an initial overview of their activities. They have not yet submitted a formal application for consultative status in conformity with Resolution (93) 38, paragraph 7, of the appendix.

7.       In keeping with the provisions of paragraph 14 of the appendix to Resolution (93) 38 in a letter of 2 November 1998, the Secretary General called on all NGOs with consultative status to submit a report on their activities as specified in paragraph 5.c of the appendix to that resolution by the end of February 1999.

       Once received, the reports will be thoroughly examined. This examination should introduce greater transparency as to the actual role of NGOs in the activities of the Council of Europe, and it should result in a thorough review of the list of consultative NGOs.

International non-governmental organisations
which could be added to
the list of NGOs enjoying consultative status
with the Council of Europe