Information Documents
SG/Com(2007)1001(restricted) 5 July 2007
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Communication by the Deputy Secretary General
to the 1001st meeting of the
Ministers’ Deputies
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Communication by the Deputy Secretary General
1. Contrats multipartites dans le cadre du projet pilote pour l’inclusion sociale
Strasbourg (22 juin)
Le 22 juin, j’ai participé à la cérémonie organisée dans le cadre du projet pilote pour l’inclusion sociale. J’ai assisté à la seconde signature des contrats multipartites organisée par la Fondation CRESUS (Chambre Régionale du Surendettement Social) en présence de Monsieur Jean-Paul Delevoye (Médiateur de la République Française), des représentants des pouvoirs locaux et régionaux d’Alsace, des représentants des institutions financières et des bénéficiaires des contrats multipartites.
Dans mon discours, qui est disponible sur le site web du Conseil de l’Europe, j’ai souligné l’importance du rassemblement de toutes les parties concernées afin de comprendre les causes de l’exclusion sociale et de reconstruire le chemin d’inclusion sociale basée sur la solidarité, l’ouverture, la fin de l’isolement et la citoyenneté.
Dans le projet pilote des contrats multipartites, le Conseil de l’Europe fait jouer l’effet du réseau multipartite et facilite le dialogue des autorités publiques avec les initiatives éthiques et solidaires pour lutter contre la pauvreté et l’exclusion.
2. Colloquy “Promoting intercultural dialogue: issues and perspectives of the Council of Europe”
Lisbon (23 June)
On 23 June, together with Mr Claude Frey (President of the Executive Council of the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe), Mr Pierre Corneloup (representative of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities) and Mr Nazim Ahmad (representative of the Aga Khan Development Network), I opened the Colloquy “Promoting intercultural dialogue: issues and perspectives of the Council of Europe”.
The event was co-organised by our Co-ordinator for Intercultural Dialogue and the North-South Centre, and hosted by the Aga Khan Development Network. It brought together about 50 experts and representatives of international institutions and civil society organisations, as well as government representatives.
The Colloquy was part of the preparatory process of the “White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue”, to be approved by you later this year. Marking the close of the consultation phase and the beginning of the drafting phase of the White Paper, it gave an opportunity for international partner institutions of the Council of Europe to present their approach to intercultural dialogue and to discuss with the Council of Europe the main results of the consultations conducted in preparation for the White Paper.
A key note address was delivered by Mr Jorge Sampaio (High Representative of the UN Secretary General for the Alliance of Civilizations).
In the margins of the Colloquy, I discussed with Mr Sampaio modalities of co‑operation between the Council of Europe and the Alliance of Civilizations. Mr Sampaio proposed the following modalities:
· the Council of Europe’s participation in the Alliance’s breakfast meeting planned during the high level segment meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in September;
· our participation in the first Annual Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations in January next year where the Council of Europe’s White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue could be presented;
· the Council of Europe’s institutional participation in the “Group of Friends” meetings;
· the possibility of drafting a Partnership Agreement between the Council of Europe and the Alliance of Civilizations.
Mr Sampaio also invited the Council of Europe to apply for membership of the “Group of Friends Meetings” and to draft a “Partnership Agreement” between the Alliance of Civilizations and the Council of Europe. These matters will obviously be examined by you in the appropriate fora.
3. Third part of the Ordinary Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Strasbourg (25-29 June)
During the third part of the 2007 Ordinary Session of the Parliamentary Assembly, I attended several debates and participated in many events organised by the Assembly as well as several Committee meetings.
On 25 June, I met Mr Jacques Diouf (Director-General Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Naitons - FAO). Mr Diouf spoke about FAO’s mission, the challenges ahead and the main areas of its work. The link to the Council of Europe is of course through the values of human rights, but also in very practical ways through the migratory pressure created by the 800 million people worldwide who do not have enough to eat day in day out. We also discussed the role of our North-South Centre. Mr Diouf views the Council of Europe mainly from an awareness-raising angle.
On the same day, together with Ambassador Joseph and the Swiss parliamentarian Ms Ruth‑Gaby Vermot-Mangold, I opened the exhibition “1000 women for peace”. This exhibition was composed of portraits of outstanding women working on an everyday basis to achieve more peace in the world.
Also on 25 June, I addressed the annual International Kolping Society Conference.
Following my re-election as Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe on 26 June, I held a press breakfast and gave several interviews.
The Secretary General will report on a number of bilateral meetings which I also attended.
4. Awarding of the Council of Europe Pro Merito Medal to Mr Marek Safjan (former President of the Constitutional Court of Poland and former member of the Steering Committee on Bioethics)
Strasbourg (2 July)
On 2 July, I had the honour to award the Council of Europe Pro Merito Medal to Mr Marek Safjan (former President of the Constitutional Court of Poland and former member of the Steering Committee on Bioethics).
Mr Safjan is very much respected for his knowledge and his commitment to the Council of Europe’s core values. As the President of the Constitutional Court of Poland, Mr Safjan has greatly contributed to the Constitutional Court’s implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights and Council of Europe standards in general.
5. Meeting with Mr George Soros (Chairman of the Open Society Institute)
Strasbourg (3 July)
On 3 July, I met Mr George Soros (Chairman of the Open Society Institute) who, as you know, was in Strasbourg to take part in the Summer University for Democracy. We discussed the Council of Europe’s Campaign “Building a Europe for and with children” (and in particular the manifesto against corporal punishment), the Campaign to combat violence against women, including domestic violence and the Roma campaign. Mr Soros, who takes a very active interest in Roma issues, made the point that many aspects of our campaigns are interlinked, such as in the areas of the problems of disadvantaged Roma children and domestic violence in disadvantaged families. We discussed possibilities of co-operation between the Council of Europe and the various branches of the Open Society Institute in campaigning and in our media training programmes.
6. Summer University for Democracy
Strasbourg (3 July)
Later on the same day, I chaired the plenary session of the Summer University for Democracy. This event is the second time all Council of Europe Schools for Political Studies come together for a week of discussions and exchanges in Strasbourg. I must admit that in all my time in the Council of Europe, I have rarely if ever seen the hemicycle so full: there were some 600 participants wall to wall.
The lecture by Mr Soros, in which he explained his evolving philosophical concept of the role of the Open Society Institute, was met with great interest and the ensuing discussion was lively and exciting, a large part of it about the dangers of populism in politics.
7. Meeting with Mr Oliver Dulic (Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Serbia)
Strasbourg (5 July)
This morning, I met another of the lecturers at the Summer University for Democracy – Mr Oliver Dulic, Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Serbia and himself a former alumnus of the Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence, which is part of the University network. I discussed with him the legislative programme of the parliament, in particular where it comes to adopting the laws as required by the commitments of Serbia to the Council of Europe. We also spoke about the reform of the judiciary which the Serbian parliament plans to adopt before the end of this year. I drew the attention of the Speaker to the upcoming report of the Group of Experts of our European Committee on Legal Co‑operation (CD-CJ). Speaker Dulic expressed an interest in looking into the recommendations of the Group of Experts.
Later today, I will meet Ms Gabriela Konevska-Trajkovska (Deputy Prime Minister of “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”) who is also here for the Summer University for Democracy.