Improving the status and role of volunteers as a contribution by the Parliamentary Assembly to the International Year of Volunteers

Doc. 9274

31 October 2001

Improving the status and role of volunteers as a contribution by the Parliamentary Assembly to the International Year of Volunteers - 2001

Recommendation 1496 (2001)

Reply from the Committee of Ministers

adopted at the 770^th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies (24 October 2001)

The Committee of Ministers has considered Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1496 (2001) on “Improving the status and role of volunteers in society: a contribution by the Parliamentary Assembly to the International Year of Volunteers 2001”.

It shares many of the Parliamentary Assembly’s observations on the role of voluntary action, in particular its contribution to strong social cohesion in our European societies and their participative democracies. Voluntary action indisputably contributes to the development of society and can also, in certain circumstances, play a positive role in our modern economies. It is for this reason that the Council of Europe and its member states have shown great interest in and respect for the International Year of Volunteers, as witnessed in particular by the statements by European representatives at the 39^th session of the United Nations Commission for Social Development (New York, February 2001).

The Council of Europe considers voluntary action to be an important part of the social assets whose richness and diversity each country seeks to preserve and diversify. In its activities in the field of social policies, the European Committee for Social Cohesion aims, through its social cohesion strategy, to ‘create a new sense of social solidarity and mutual responsibility in a society characterised by the pursuit of individual fulfilment’. Voluntary action from all strata of society, all age ranges, including disabled persons and ethnic groups is part and parcel of this solidarity and often, in addition, of solidarity between generations and between cultures.

It should be stressed that the Council of Europe recognised the importance of voluntary action already in 1985 as shown in its Recommendation Rec(85)9.

For this very reason, the Committee of Ministers has forwarded Recommendation 1496 (2001) to the Governments of member states.

Since the enlargement of the Council of Europe, new impetus has been given to the support of NGOs’ training projects to promote participation in the life of democratic institutions. It should be stressed that Youth activities of the Council of Europe, organised in the European Youth Centres of Strasbourg and Budapest or supported by the European Youth Foundation, are not only implemented but also co-decided with the NGYOs, i.e, the NGYOs are closely associated with the decision-making process through the co-management system. This is a long tradition within the Youth Sector of the Council of Europe (since 1972). This co-operation is unique and can be considered as a model for the development of participation.

Since 1997, the Democratic Leadership Programme (DLP) has been providing potential young leaders from politics, the media and civil society with practical training in the necessary skills that will enable them to take responsibilities in political and civil society structures. The programme also aims at promoting confidence between young leaders from different sides of ethnically or politically divided societies, particularly in countries of South-Eastern Europe.

A growing DLP Alumni network (the network of young people who have passed through the initial week-long training seminars held in the framework of the core DLP programme) remains involved in the programme through follow-up training seminars concentrating on, for example, campaign organisation and media techniques for politicians, and on conflict resolution and confidence-building. The strengthened skills of these young leaders will greatly enhance democratic stability, in particular in those societies where extremism represents a serious threat to nascent democracy. Close co-operation has also been established with structures such as the Moscow and the Tbilisi Schools of Political Studies, as well as with like-minded NGOs and programmes.

Particular attention is paid to initiatives to promote participation of civil society in the European unification process. This “civil society” component results from the activities of the grouping of NGOs which enjoy consultative status with the Council of Europe called “Civil Society in a new Europe”. It aims at encouraging co-operation between NGOs of western, central and eastern Europe (an aspect underlined by the Assembly in its Recommendation) in the European unification process. The Council of Europe organises training activities for NGO representatives in central and eastern Europe in the framework of the programme of activities and in co-operation with NGO partners and the Council of Europe Information Offices. In its Recommendation No. R (97) 3 on participation of young people and the future of civil society, the Committee of Ministers has already stressed the need to promote participation.

The Committee of Ministers would also like to draw the Assembly’s attention to the fact that the finalisation of a new recommendation on voluntary service and culture and of the evaluation of the implementation of Committee of Ministers Recommendation No. R (94) 4 on voluntary service is currently under way, as part of the Organisation’s programme of activities for 2001.

The Parliamentary Assembly recommends the Committee of Ministers to urge its member states to ratify the European Convention on the Promotion of a Transnational Long-term Voluntary Service for Young people so that it could come into force by the end of 2001 (para 7.i) and to work for ratification of the Convention by the European Union and non-member states of the Council of Europe (para. 7.ii). In this regard, the Committee of Ministers would like to point out that this Convention was opened for signature in May 2000. The delay of one year, proposed by the Assembly for its entry into force, would seem rather short for the governments of member states to sign the Convention and for the parliaments to ratify it. Internal consultations at governmental level and due consideration within the parliaments will certainly contribute to the full implementation of the Convention within member states. As for the European Community, the Committee of Ministers recalls that its accession can only take place after the entry into force of the Convention, and upon invitation by the Committee of Ministers.

Regarding the ratification of the Convention by the six countries which have signed it (the most recent one being Azerbaijan, which signed it in May 2001), the influence of parliamentarians will of course be decisive.

It should also be noted that this Convention is open for signature to non-member states party to the European Cultural Convention, as well as for accession by other non-member states.

With regard to paragraph 7.iii of the Recommendation, the work on a code of ethics for young volunteers, supported by the European Steering Committee for Youth (CDEJ) and now being examined by the Advisory Council should be terminated by the end of 2001.

As for the proposals to sponsor the organisation of an annual televised European contest to reward outstanding volunteer achievements (para 7.iv) and to institute a European observatory, the Committee of Ministers regrets to inform the Assembly that in the present budgetary context it does not consider that these proposals merit sufficient priority to allocate scarce resources to them.

As for the “registry of volunteer work”, the Committee of Ministers created in 1952 a consultative status for international NGOs with the Council of Europe. International organisations of volunteers can apply for consultative status on the same basis and criteria as NGO’s whose employees are remunerated.

With regard to the remark in paragraph 7.i to “use up-to-date technologies, such as the Internet, to implement” the Convention on the long-term voluntary service, the Committee of Ministers would like to point out to the Assembly that this text, along with the other conventions adopted by the Committee of Ministers, is available on the Council of Europe web-site http://conventions.coe.int/. A new Council of Europe site has recently been opened devoted exclusively to the NGOs: http://www.ngo.coe.int.

In paragraph 8 of the Recommendation, the Assembly invites the Committee of Ministers to “recruit” volunteers to work alongside Council staff and experts, in such areas as the rights and welfare of children, the promotion of the status of women, the fight against trafficking in human beings and anti-racism. The Committee of Ministers understands that the term “recruitment” is used loosely. The Council of Europe’s close co-operation with NGOs will continue, where appropriate also with international organisations of volunteers. This co-operation takes many forms: volunteer organisations may contribute, where appropriate, to the work of the intergovernmental committees on an ad hoc basis, address colloquies, seminars and other gatherings organised by the Council of Europe, as well as make oral or written statements to the Parliamentary Assembly and to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe.

In principle, all aspects of life in society can be involved in this co-operation, including those mentioned by the Assembly as being in need of further development, if the relevant international volunteer organisations have consultative status with the Council of Europe (a list of NGOs with consultative status can be found on the NGOs’ web site referred to above).