ResponsibleTerritory for Social Cohesion: territory in which all
the players, not least citizens themselves, co-operate and are committed
to meeting expectations regarding well-being and social cohesion.
Recent years have
brought a growing realisation that social cohesion is an essential
condition for democratic security and sustainable development. Divided and
unequal societies are not only unjust but also cannot guarantee stability
in the long term. It is now increasingly recognised that governments need
to aim not only at making the economy work but also at making society work;
economic development without accompanying social development will result in
serious problems sooner or later. At present, many people are excluded in
practice from the benefits of the social and economic progress to which the
Council of Europe is committed by its founding Statute.
Since its Second Summit of Heads of State and Government in 1997, the
Council of Europe identified social cohesion as "one of the foremost
needs of the wider Europe and ... essential complement to the promotion of
human rights and dignity".
Social cohesion must be firmly based on human rights (as codified in the
European Convention on Human Rights and the Revised European Social
Charter) as well as an acceptance of shared responsibility for the welfare
of all members of society, especially those who are at risk of poverty or
exclusion.
The main lines of the Organisation's work in this field are defined by the
recently revised Strategy for Social Cohesion, as follows:
promoting ratification of the
Council of Europe's legal instruments on social security and monitoring
their implementaion;
drawing up policy
guidelines on access to social rights, covering in particular access to
employment, access to social protection and access to housing;
carrying out a series of
activities on children, families and the elderly;
assisting member States of
Central and Eastern Europe in applying Council of Europe guidelines in
various areas of social policy;
carrying out research and
analytical work in support of the activities included in the Strategy.
The Summit of Heads of states and Governments held in Warsaw in 2005,
decided the creation of a High Level Task Force which would renew the
social cohesion strategy, according to the 21st century challenges namely
posed by ageing and other social and economic developments.
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Second Council of
Europe
Conference of Ministers responsibe for Social Cohesion "Building a secure future for all"
The Second Council of Europe Conference of Ministers
responsible for Social Cohesion takes place in
Istanbul (Turkey) on 11-12 October 2012 on the theme "Building a secure future for all - Protecting and empowering groups of vulnerable persons, particularly in times of crises - Achieving social sustainability through intergenerational solidarity (more...)
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First Council of Europe
Conference of Ministers responsibe for Social Cohesion "Investing in social cohesion – investing
in stability and the well-being of society"
The First Council of Europe Conference of Ministers
responsible for Social Cohesion took place in Moscow
(Russian Federation)
on 26-27 February 2009 on the theme "Investing in social cohesion –
investing in stability and the well-being of society" (more...)
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promoting ratification of the
Council of Europe's legal instruments on social security and monitoring
their implementaion;