8th meeting of the Co-ordination Group between the Council of Europe and the OSCE

19 September 2008

Today the eighth meeting of the Co-ordination Group between the Council of Europe and the OSCE took place at the Council of Europe headquarters in Strasbourg, under the chairmanship of Ambassador Per Sjögren, Chairman of the Ministers’ Deputies to the Council of Europe, to take stock of progress with co-operation in the four priority areas: action against terrorism, the protection of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities, combating trafficking in human beings and promoting tolerance and non-discrimination.

Progress was reported in the four priority areas such as a workshop held by the Council of Europe, the OSCE and UNODC in the field of providing capacity-building with regard to enhancing international legal co-operation in criminal matters related to terrorism, the agreement achieved in April 2008 between the Office of the High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights on a joint study and report on recent immigration movements of Roma in Europe, the planned joint publication on action against trafficking in human beings, and, as regards the promotion of tolerance and non-discrimination, the increased collaboration between the two organisations in the area of intercultural dialogue, including its religious aspects, and education to promote mutual respect and understanding.

Referring to the future, the Group agreed on the necessity of sustaining the efforts that had been undertaken over the last years. Taking note of the concrete action proposed, they welcomed, in particular, an agreement in principle to prepare a joint information publication on action against trafficking in human beings compiling the most important Council of Europe legal and political instruments and the OSCE political commitments.

As regards the promotion of tolerance and non-discrimination, co-operation between the ODIHR and the Venice Commission in the field of legislation is another promising course of action. Having regard to the rising phenomenon of intolerance in many countries, joint statements by the two organisations were mentioned as a powerful tool in response.

Report

(Strasbourg, 19 September 2008)

1. The eighth meeting of the Co-ordination Group between the Council of Europe and the OSCE took place on 19 September 2008 at the Council of Europe headquarters in Strasbourg. The meeting was chaired by Ambassador Per Sjögren, Permanent Representative of Sweden to the Council of Europe, Chairman of the Ministers' Deputies of the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe delegation included representatives of the Bureau of the Ministers' Deputies, the Chair of the Rapporteur Group on External Relations, the Council of Europe focal points and the Secretary General, Terry Davis. The OSCE delegation included representatives of the OSCE Troika, representatives of the OSCE focal points and the Secretariat.

2. In the light of the joint reports presented by the OSCE and Council of Europe focal points in the four agreed priority areas of co-operation and having regard to the conclusions of the recent “2+2” meeting held in Brussels on 15 September 2008, the Group welcomed the progress made in co-operation in recent months.

3. Regarding the fight against terrorism, the Group noted the continued efforts to pursue enhanced co-operation and interaction. It welcomed the organisation by the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the UNODC of a national Workshop for Turkey on “Enhancing International Legal Co-operation related to Terrorism, including the Drafting of Requests for Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance” (Ankara, 1-2 April 2008), at which ODIHR also participated. This Workshop was the first joint tripartite co-operation event in the field of providing capacity-building with regard to enhancing international legal co-operation in criminal matters related to terrorism and was considered successful, both by the Turkish participants and the three international organisations. The Group also welcomed the close interaction between the Council of Europe and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on issues of protecting human rights in the fight against terrorism and the growing co-operation with the Office of Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) in the area of combating money laundering and terrorist financing, and encouraged to seek opportunities for joint activities also in these areas.

With regard to future co-operation, the Council of Europe and the OSCE will continue their mutual active participation with a view to reinforcing co-operation in the fight against terrorism.

4. As regards the promotion and protection of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities, the Group welcomed that the co-operation became increasingly systematic and pragmatic. The regular exchange of information and consultation which has been put in place has proved to be an effective working method to avoid duplication and strengthen complementarity. Concrete examples are the comments provided by the individual members of the Council of Europe’s Advisory Committee on the draft Recommendations on National Minorities in Inter-State Relations prepared by the High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) and the agreement achieved in April 2008 between the Office of the HCNM and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights on a joint study and report on recent immigration movements of Roma in Europe. Another illustration is the fruitful co-operation between the HCNM and the Venice Commission, especially in the field of dual voting, non-citizens and minority rights.

As to the future co-operation, it is expected that a representative of the HCNM will participate in the 8th meeting of the Council of Europe Committee of Experts on Issues relating to the Protection of National Minorities (DH-MIN) to be held in October 2008 in Strasbourg in order to present the recent thematic recommendations of the High Commissioner on national minorities in inter-state relations. Both organisations intend to pursue their close co-operation, in particular by carrying out mutual consultations and regular exchanges of information on various relevant issues.

5. The good working relations regarding the fight against trafficking in human beings also deserve recognition. The well-developed practice of cross-participation in events of mutual interest was felt particularly useful and was encouraged. Examples mentioned were the participation of the OSCE Special Representative as a keynote speaker at several seminars and at the high-level conference on the monitoring mechanism (GRETA) of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings in the period prior to its entry into force. The Council of Europe was also represented as a speaker at a number of the OSCE-led events, such as the Helsinki conference on Prosecution (10-11 September), the OSCE-UNODC Regional Operational Meeting on Combating Human Trafficking and Money Laundering in the Mediterranean Rim Region organised in co-operation with the Government of Cyprus (18-19 September, Larnaca) and many others.

Both organisations will continue their action against trafficking in human beings through a human rights-based and comprehensive approach. In particular they will pursue appropriate steps, including through concrete activities, to promote relevant shared values and principles as reflected in the Council of Europe Convention and the OSCE anti-trafficking commitments. Another angle of future co-operation will be participation of the Council of Europe in the development of follow-up activities to the ODIHR Compensation study. The Group welcomed an agreement, in principle, to prepare a joint information publication on action against trafficking in human beings compiling the most important Council of Europe legal and political instruments and the OSCE political commitments. The publication, similarly to previous Council of Europe-OSCE publications, will not impose new or additional commitments on the OSCE participating States that are not members of the Council of Europe and are not parties of the relevant Council of Europe Conventions. The invitation to the Council of Europe to deliver a keynote address during the Round Table on “Eradicating Human Trafficking as a Political Priority: The Role of Parliamentarians" to be held in Sarajevo on 21 October 2008 was welcomed.

6. Finally, the Group welcomed the excellent practical co-operation and increased number of joint initiatives aimed at promoting tolerance and non-discrimination between the ODIHR and the Council of Europe’s European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), the Venice Commission and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights as well as the CoE’s Division for Citizenship and Human Rights Education. This co-operation will continue in the future. The increased collaboration between the two organisations in the area of intercultural dialogue, including its religious aspects, and education to promote mutual respect and understanding was also underlined as an important development. In this regard, past and future initiatives of both organisations were highlighted, including a joint compendium of “good practice” in human rights, citizenship education and education for mutual respect and understanding. It is foreseen to launch the publication jointly on 10 December 2008. Upcoming events were seen as important opportunities for further strengthening the synergies between the two organisations.

ECRI and ODIHR will continue to co-operate closely in the framework of their special bi-lateral co-operation mechanism, supporting the follow-up of ECRI’s country specific recommendations, and to involve and invite each other to all their relevant conferences and meetings. Co-operation between the ODIHR and the Venice Commission in the field of legislation is another promising course of action. Having regard to the rising phenomenon of intolerance in many countries, joint statements by the two organisations were mentioned as a powerful tool in response.

7. Referring to the future, the Group agreed on the necessity of sustaining the efforts that had been undertaken over the last years, bearing in mind the differences between the two organisations regarding their membership, mandates and working methods. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment and will to continue the coordination work in the four priority areas as it was decided by the OSCE Permanent Council and the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers in December 2004, in particular “to examine cooperation between the two Organisations and make proposals for concrete follow-up”.

8. The importance of the continued active involvement of the focal points, including during the meetings of the Group, was underlined. The focal points were invited to maintain contacts as close as possible during the coming months so as to ensure that the co-operation process could continue on the basis of these guidelines, with a view to reporting on progress at the following meeting. In this context, views were exchanged on how to enhance the effectiveness of the Group’s meetings. It was agreed that close contacts would be maintained between the incoming Chairs of the two organisations during the coming months in order to identify possible ways of doing so.

9. In conclusion, the Group decided to meet in Vienna on 12 March 2009. It was also agreed that this report will be submitted to the Committee of Ministers and the Permanent Council as soon as possible.