Doc. 9028

11 April 2001

United Nations at the turn of the new century

Recommendation 1476 (2000)

Reply from the Committee of Ministers

adopted at the 748^th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (3 April 2001)

1.       The Committee of Ministers notes with appreciation Recommendation 1476 (2000) of the Parliamentary Assembly, entitled “The United Nations at the turn of the new century”, and has carefully studied the proposals made therein.

2.       In its reply the Committee of Ministers would like, at the outset, to report three positive developments as a result of Recommendations 1367 (1998) and 1411 (1999) of the Parliamentary Assembly, made reference to in Recommendation 1476 (2000):

i.       The inclusion on the agenda of the 55th General Assembly of the United Nations of an item, entitled “Co-operation between the United Nations and the Council of Europe”, introduced by the Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations, representing the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers. On this occasion, the Secretary General also addressed the General Assembly, together with representatives from several member, observer and applicant States. The debate proved useful in reinforcing the importance of the Council of Europe’s co-operation with the United Nations and its observer status with its General Assembly. In the Resolution adopted at the end of the debate, the General Assembly decided to include in the provisional agenda of its 56th session the item entitled “Co-operation between the United Nations and the Council of Europe”, and requested the UN Secretary General to submit to the General Assembly at this session a report on co-operation between the two institutions in implementation of this Resolution. The preparation of the Report will require regular contacts and consultations between the Secretaries General. It will form the basis of a substantive review of the relations between the two organisations by the UN General Assembly.

ii.       To advance the preparations of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, to be held in Durban, South Africa, from 31 August to 7 September 2001, the Council of Europe organised a European Conference “All different, all equal: from principle to practice” in Strasbourg from 11 to 13 October 2000 with a very successful outcome.

iii.       The Council of Europe, through its operational activities, has continued to contribute to UN activities in Kosovo on legislation and reforms in line with the European Convention on Human Rights, and in such areas as restructuring and reforming the judiciary, the protection of minorities, property rights and population registration, childhood and youth programmes and education policies. At the request of the United Nations, the Council of Europe also assumed responsibility for the observation of the electoral process.

iv.       Another area where joint efforts are being pursued is the South Caucasus, examples of which are:

      - exchanges of views with the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in Georgia, Ambassador Dieter Boden;

- the seminar, jointly organised by the Council of Europe and the United Nations, on “state-legal aspects of the settlement of the (Abkhaz) conflict” (Pitsunda, Georgia, 12-13 February 2001).

3.       Moreover, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe participated in the Fourth meeting between the Heads of Regional Organisations and the UN Secretary General, on “Co-operation for Peace-building”. The meeting identified key areas for future collaboration in the field of peace-building and discussed concrete practical measures for promoting such co-operation. In particular, it drew up an expanded practical framework for co-operative activities and it was agreed, inter alia, to hold follow-up meetings at working level. The UN Security Council has also welcomed the outcome of this meeting.

4.       The Committee of Ministers has keenly followed the major developments within the United Nations. In view of paragraphs 6 and 7 of Recommendation 1476 (2000) of the Parliamentary Assembly, the UN system’s follow-up to the Report on the Panel on UN Peace Operations, the so-called Brahimi Report, is of particular relevance. The Council of Europe’s contribution to conflict prevention and peace-building is duly reflected in the Secretary General’s document presented to the meeting of Heads of Regional Organisations (document SG/Inf(2001)4 of 14 February).

5.       The UN Secretary General is in the process of preparing a report on conflict prevention and a plan for post-conflict peace-building which will be debated by the General Assembly and the Security Council. The member states of the Council of Europe will take part in these debates and bring, as appropriate, to the discussion the European experience and perspectives.

6.       As regards paragraph 15 of the Recommendation 1476 (2000) the Committee of Ministers has brought these recommendations to the attention of the Council of Europe member and observer states for follow-up.

7.       All Council of Europe member states have signed and 11 among them have ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The Committee of Ministers has on a number of occasions requested those Council of Europe member states that have not yet done so to ratify the Rome Statute. In order to facilitate the process, the Council of Europe Secretariat has organised special meetings and participated in seminars arranged in member states where problems related to ratification have been discussed. The Secretariat also provides technical assistance to individual member states.

8.       As to paragraph 16 of Recommendation 1476 (2000), the Committee of Ministers draws the attention of the Assembly to the fact that it organises regular exchanges of views on the United Nations with regard to human rights questions, with experts from capitals. This meeting analyses the results of the General Assembly session and prepares for the annual sessions of the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. Similar exchanges of views are held by the Committee of Ministers on appropriate occasions on other important issues on the United Nations agenda. Furthermore, the Ad hoc committee of legal advisers on public international law (CAHDI) reviews annually, in September, the agenda items of the Sixth Committee of the UN General Assembly with a view to prioritising those items of interest to the Council of Europe.

9.       Through its observer status with the General Assembly and co-operation agreements with various United Nations specialised agencies and bodies, notably ILO, WHO, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNHCR, UNHCHR and UN/ECE, the Council of Europe has developed concrete co-operation in a variety of fields of its competence and has contributed to a series of major United Nations conferences. Currently, the Committee of Ministers is preparing a political message to be presented to the UN General Assembly Special Session on children (New-York, September 2001). Furthermore, over recent years, the Council of Europe has been involved in renewed co-operation with the United Nations, mainly in relation with crisis situations in Europe. Since 1994, the United Nations, the OSCE and the Council of Europe participate in High-Level Tripartite Meetings to exchange information and to promote co-ordination of activities in areas of common concern.

10.       A more regular presence at UN meetings by the Secretariat on suitable occasions would facilitate a systematic identification of issues of common interest and concrete co-operation even prior to their placement on the agenda of the UN. The Committee of Ministers will continue to examine possibilities for co-operation in order to make sure that matters referred to by the Parliamentary Assembly in paragraphs 15 and 16 could be dealt with more effectively.

11.       The Committee of Ministers is committed to continue a fruitful and target-oriented co-operation between the Council of Europe and the United Nations, including at the level of the Secretaries General, through an effective exchange of information and the organisation of meetings and visits. These types of regular contacts will ensure complementarity - rather than duplication - of efforts in the fields of conflict-prevention and peace-building, especially by promoting human rights, democracy and the rule of law.