Recommendation Rec(2001)1
of the Committee of Ministers to member states
on social workers  

(Adopted by the Committee of Ministers
on 17 January 2001
at the 737th meeting of the Ministers' Deputies)

The Committee of Ministers, under the terms of Article 15.b of the Statute of the Council of Europe, 

a.            Considering that the aim of the Council of Europe is the achievement of greater unity among its members, for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the ideals and principles, which are their common heritage; 

b.         Having regard to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and its system of effective international protection of fundamental rights and freedoms;

c.         Bearing in mind the Vienna Declaration and Plan of Action on combating racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and intolerance adopted at the 1st Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe in 1993; 

d.         Taking account of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child;

e.         Having regard to Recommendation 561 (1969) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on the protection of minors against ill-treatment;

f.          Bearing in mind in particular its own Resolution (67) 16 on the role, training and status of social workers, as well as Recommendation No. R (91) 16 on the training of social workers and human rights;

g.         Taking into account its Resolution (68) 2 on social services for migrant workers, Resolution (77) 33 on placement of children, Resolution (77) 37 on home help services, Recommendation (79) 17 concerning the protection of children against ill-treatment, Recommendation (80) 12 concerning marriage guidance and family counselling services, and Recommendation (84) 24 on the contribution of social security to preventive measures;

h.         Bearing in mind the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action of the United Nations World Summit for Social Development in 1995 as well as the Special Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations on social development in Geneva in June 2000;

i.            Recalling the Final Declaration of the 2nd Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe, meeting in Strasbourg on 10 and 11 October 1997, in which it is recognised that “social cohesion is one of the foremost needs of the wider Europe and should be pursued as an essential complement to the promotion of human rights and dignity”;

j.          Taking into account the Joint Declaration of the European Ministers of Education on the European higher education area, who met in Bologna on 19 June 1999; 

k.         Bearing in mind the Final Conference of the Council of Europe's Human Dignity and Social Exclusion Project, held in Helsinki in May 1998, and the proposals for action against poverty and social exclusion, in partnership with all other relevant actors;

l.            Recognising, in this context, that globalisation, political and social transformation and the extent and speed of change create social tensions (for example, unemployment, poverty, geographical mobility and pressures on family relationships), which are a threat to social cohesion and contribute to the instability of the family;

m.            Recognising that social work has made, and continues to make, a significant contribution to the response to these economic and social changes and to the support of vulnerable people and communities during periods of change;

n.            Recognising that pan-European co-operation on social policy is essential in this context;

o.            Recognising that social work promotes the social welfare of individuals, groups and communities, facilitates social cohesion in periods of change and supports and protects vulnerable members of the community, working in partnership with service users, communities and other professions. For some people, personal misfortune or change will affect their ability to act for themselves. Some need help and guidance. Some need care, support and protection. Social workers respond to those needs: they make an essential contribution to the promotion of social cohesion, both through preventive work and their response to social problems. Social work is therefore an investment in the future welfare of Europe;

p.            Recognising that in situations of large-scale, violent social conflict, social workers, with their experience of social and medico-social practice, can play a key role in addressing the specific needs of refugees and displaced persons and in promoting community reconciliation;

q.            Recognising that the nature of professional social work demands the highest level of responsibility in decision-making and mature judgement on the part of social workers and that consistently high standards of competence, therefore, require appropriate education and professional training;

r.            Recognising that social work is a profession with close links to other social professions. It derives its knowledge from human and social science and from systematic evaluation of its own practice;

s.            Recognising that effective management of workloads is essential to ensure the morale and performance of social workers and therefore the quality of the service delivered;

t.            Recognising that the mobility of professionals, teaching staff and students between European countries helps to promote mutual understanding, professional flexibility and quality of service;

u.            Believing, therefore, that it is timely to provide a renewed European framework of principles for the effective education, training, practice and working conditions of social workers and to make recommendations to member states on actions they should take to support social workers in fulfilling their essential responsibilities, 

Recommends governments of member states to: 

1.         respect the principles set out in the appendix to the present text; 

2.         take the following action: 

a..        provide a stable legal framework within which social workers can practise; 

b.         involve social workers and users in setting and monitoring service standards;

c.            recognise the implications of political and social developments in Europe for the practice of social work and for the initial, continuing and further training of social workers at all levels;

d.         support the continuing development of new communications technologies in social work education and training; 

e.            promote the inclusion of obligatory human rights courses in social work curricula and ensure in particular their implementation in social work practice;

f.            encourage the recruitment of students, teachers and practitioners from minority and ethnic groups and support the development of social work methods which are appropriate to the needs of all communities;

g.            promote the production of teaching materials on human rights and minority questions and the translation of the document Human Rights and Social Work: a Manual for Schools of Social Work (United Nations Centre for Human Rights) into the languages relevant to local social practice;

h.            establish mechanisms to prevent the future employment in social services of people who have convictions for the abuse of children and adults in receipt of care;

i.          support the development of codes of ethics in line with existing international instruments and require agencies to promote good practice through the integration of ethical codes in service delivery arrangements and the provision of working conditions consistent with such ethical requirements;

j.          identify measures to promote mobility of professional social workers, teaching staff and students in European countries;

k.         seek to develop and promote greater compatibility and comparability in all areas of social work training and agree upon initiatives to take this forward;

l.            encourage social services to use professional social workers;

m.        work closely, and in a multidisciplinary manner, with professional bodies of social workers to take forward these recommendations.  

Appendix to Recommendation Rec(2001)1 

Principles governing the contribution that social workers can make towards maintaining social cohesion in close co-operation with their professional bodies: 

1.         Human rights and freedoms must be respected and it is necessary to give careful attention to complex influences on human behaviour, including both social, economic and psychological factors and religious and cultural traditions. Effective social work education and practice in the increasingly mobile and diverse modern European society requires an understanding of minority ethnic communities and sensitivity to intercultural perspectives.

2.         Where there is concern about risk to the individual or to others, human rights must be respected whilst protecting the interests of others involved. 

3.         Social workers together with other professional agencies and governments have an essential responsibility to identify and prevent abuse of children and adults in receipt of care. 

4.            Governments, the caring professions, including professional social workers, voluntary workers and agencies which employ them, must act together to serve the interests of the community and to promote social cohesion and effective services for both individuals and communities. 

5.         Social work should be provided in a manner that respects community and cultural traditions, as well as the rights and wishes of the service users. 

6.         Codes of ethics and conduct for social workers and agencies are essential to support effective social work practice and ensure respect for human life. 

7.            Agencies have a responsibility to define service and quality standards which take into account the needs and expectations of users, ethical principles, professional objectives, and cost-effectiveness. These standards should be derived from research, and should be transparent and regularly monitored. Social workers should be involved in defining and monitoring these standards. 

8.         Initial education and training must be part of an ongoing process including lifelong learning and opportunities for advanced education. 

9.         The training of social workers should involve, on all levels, participation by educators, practitioners and users. Teachers of social work practice in institutions of higher education should have personal experience of social work practice. 

10.            Research is essential for the development of social work. All social work practitioners must understand the application of research, be able to interpret research, and have the opportunity to undertake or participate in research. 

11.            Agencies specialising in social work must support these principles by creating an open working environment, constantly learning not only from the outcome of research, but also from the views of service users and the experience of social work practitioners. 

12.       The working environment of social workers should be favourable to the implementation of ethical principles and good practice. 

13.       Social workers should have the opportunity to be promoted to the post of expert practitioner, or to management and academic positions. 

14.       In order for social services to be of satisfactory quality, appropriate mechanisms for the exchange of knowledge, and the mobility of social work professionals between European states are necessary.