Strasbourg, 28 June 2010 CDLR-Bu(2010)12
Item 7 of the agenda
BUREAU OF THE
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE ON LOCAL AND REGIONAL DEMOCRACY
(CDLR)
COOPERATION BETWEEN MOROCCO AND THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE
Secretariat Memorandum
prepared by the
Directorate General of Democracy and Political Affairs
Directorate of Democratic Institutions
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Introduction
The Conclusions of the Seminar on the perspectives of cooperation between Moroco and the Council of Europe are appended. Under 5, the importance of initiating a cooperation between local authorities of Morocoo and the Congress is mentioned.
It is recalled that “making the Council of Europe’s expertise available for use outside of its borders” is among the issues raised in the Kiviniemi Report (see document CDLR-Bu(2010)15, item 10 of the agenda of the present meeting).
The Bureau may wish to follow developments in this field and give guidance to the Secretariat in this respect.
Action required
The Bureau is invited to consider the attached document.
Seminar on the perspectives of co-operation between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Council of Europe
Rabat, 22-23 February 2010
Conclusions
1. The seminar on the “perspectives of co-operation between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Council of Europe” was held on 22-23 February 2010, in Rabat, in a joint initiative between the Morocco Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and the North-South Centre of the Council of Europe (NSC).
2. The seminar opened with Mr Taïb FASSI FIHRI, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Morocco, Mrs Maud DE BOER-BUQUICCHIO, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe (CoE) and Mrs Deborah BERGAMINI, Chair of the Executive Council of the NSC, in the presence of the Prime Minister of Morocco, Mr Abbas EL FASSI, the Presidents of the two Chambers of the Parliament of Morocco and several members of the Moroccan government. It gathered around 200 politicians, high level officials, experts and representatives from civil society, Europeans and Moroccans. Beginning with an evaluation of the existing co-operation between Morocco and the CoE, the participants examined the short and medium term perspectives, ways, and means to significantly strengthen this co-operation.
3. Such a strengthening falls under the context of the “Advanced Status” granted to Morocco by the European Union (EU) in October 2008. It relies on the explicit role of this status recognised by the CoE, in the field of parliamentary co-operation and judicial co-operation, as well as with the objective of a reinforcement of dialogue and co-operation on issues regarding human rights, fundamental rights, the fight against racism, and other subjects of common interest. The 1st upcoming EU-Morocco Summit, on 8 March 2010 in Granada, constitutes in this respect a crucial development.
4. In this spirit, three important steps have been issued by the Moroccan authorities at the opening of the seminar:
• The official request for the Status of “Partners for Democracy” with the Parliamentary Assembly of the CoE (PACE), co-signed by the Presidents of the two Chambers of the Parliament of Morocco;
• The conclusion of the accession of Morocco to the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport of the CoE (EPAS);
• The official request of Morocco for membership to the “Pompidou Group”.
5. The discussions helped to identify and highlight the very important development potential for the co-operation between Morocco and the CoE. In this respect, the following common priorities have been identified:
• The importance of investing in human development and in the life forces of the country, in particular youth, the female element, and the relevance of co-operation between Morocco and the Council of Europe in the field of social cohesion, including the project “Médicine Solidaire”;
• The central place that the protection of children has, the creation of an environment favourable to their development, and the progressive accession of Morocco to the series of conventions implemented by the CoE in this field;
• The joint action to promote both the active participation as well as the participation on equal footing of women and men in public and political life, and the equality of rights in the private and economic sectors of the family, based on pertinent CoE texts and the progress of Morocco in the area, and taking into consideration the specific characteristics and cultural values of the Kingdom of Morocco, as well as conclusions from the Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Conference on the role of the woman in society, which was held in Marrakech in November 2009;
• The importance of State law, recognised equally by Morocco and the CoE, and the support that the Council of Europe could bring to the reform process of the current judicial system in Morocco. In this respect, the accession of Morocco as an observer to the European Commission for the efficiency of justice (CEPEJ) could be envisaged;
• In the area of human rights promotion, a co-operation between the CCDH and the Commissioner for Human Rights could be initiated;
• The key role of the freedom of expression and information in the good functioning of democracy, and the importance of initiating a co-operation between Morocco and the CoE in this domain. In this regard, the accession of Morocco to the European Audiovisual Observatory of the CoE could be foreseen;
• The importance of a gradual accession of Morocco to Council of Europe conventions which are in the process of becoming international standards recognised well beyond the limits of the European continent, and that deal with issues as essential as the fight against human trafficking, cyber criminality, the fight against laundering the proceeds from crime and terrorist financing;
• The joint action in the area of intercultural dialogue, based on the CoE White Paper “Living Together as Equals in Dignity” by putting the emphasis on the role of migrants as vectors of dialogue and reciprocal understanding between countries of origin and host countries;
• The importance of initiating a co-operation between the local authorities of Morocco and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the CoE as actors of democratic strengthening at the local and regional level;
• The importance of civil society in the establishment of this partnership. In this respect, links and exchanges can be strengthened between the Moroccan civil society and the Conference of INGOs of the CoE.
6. Those responsible for the CoE underlined that, although membership of the CoE is limited geographically, the message of the organisation has a universal scope and impact on those that are focused on the defence and promotion of democracy, human rights, and State law. It is why the development of these values in the neighbouring regions of Europe require particular attention and interest, and offer perspectives of new co-operation between the CoE, the EU and the concerned countries. The role of facilitator played in this respect by the NSC is commended.
7. The Moroccan authorities for their part, congratulate themselves for this new phase of relations between Morocco and the Council of Europe, marked by the rapprochement on all levels and by a gro-wing involvement of all Moroccan actors, governmental, parliamentarian, and non-governmental in this partnership which relies on a solid base of shared values between Morocco and the Council of Europe in terms of democracy, promotion of human rights, good governance and a participatory approach that is inclusive in the conception and implementation of all public policies.
8. The Council of Europe and Morocco are engaged, in the follow-up of the seminar and rely on the NSC to continue their discussions - in accordance with their respective decision making procedures– on the implementation of a set of measures aiming to deepen and enlarge their co-operation. The EU was invited to participate to these discussions in order to follow as quickly as possible the implementation of this “process” which will enable reaching an additional stage in the common strategic priority of rapprochement on all levels between Morocco and Europe. The Kingdom of Morocco, as such, is fully open to exploring with the CoE and the EU all the possibilities of synergy and complementarities through the launch of actions and joint programmes on subjects of common interest.
9. The Council of Europe and Morocco express the hope that the strengthening of their co-operation will have a training effect and will serve as a positive example for other interested countries, in particular in the Southern Mediterranean.