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Back The Committee of Ministers adopts a landmark legal standard on multilevel policies and governance for intercultural integration

The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers adopted by consensus Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)10 on multilevel policies and governance for intercultural integration. This is the second international standard in this field following the adoption back in 2015 of CM/Rec(2015)1 on intercultural integration, and the first ever co-drafted by representatives of local and national authorities within the framework of the Working Group on Intercultural Integration (GT-ADI-INT).

Set up in 2020 under the Steering Committee on Anti-discrimination, Diversity and Inclusion, the GT-ADI-INT fulfilled its mandate by adapting the Intercultural Cities model to the regional and national level by:

reviewing the implementation of CM/Rec(2015)1, in this context, mapping strengths and remaining needs;
elaborating a Model Framework for an intercultural integration strategy at the national level, which was adopted by consensus in June 2021;
and suggesting ways to promote multilevel governance and policies for intercultural integration.

While the previous CM Recommendation mainly requested states to encourage the promotion of intercultural integration principles at the local level, the new CM Recommendation directly addresses the national level, recommending that their national integration strategies should be based on the four key principles of the intercultural integration model. These are: real equality; diversity as a collective advantage; meaningful intercultural interaction; and active citizenship and participation. According to the Recommendation, intercultural integration strategies should be designed based on evidence, in a participatory manner, and implemented in cooperation and coordination with all levels of governments.

The Model Framework will serve as a practical tool for public officials in charge of the implementation of the Recommendation.

Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member States on multilevel policies and governance for intercultural integration (Adopted by consensus by the Committee of Ministers on 6 April 2022 at the 1431st meeting of the Ministers' Deputies)