23^rd SESSION

CG(23)7
4 October 2012

Opinion on the report on the changes underway
in the Arab countries – opportunities for local and regional democracy

Governance Committee

Rapporteur:[1] Jon HERMANS-VLOEDBELD, Netherlands (L, ILDG)

Conclusions of the committee. 2

Explanatory memorandum. 2

Proposed amendments to the draft resolution. 4

Proposed amendments to the draft recommendation. 5

Summary

The Committee proposes a series of amendments to the report prepared by the Current Affairs Committee, notably concerning recent cooperation activities with Morocco and Tunisia and the contribution that the Congress could make to the democratic reform processes in these countries.

CONCLUSIONS OF THE COMMITTEE[2]

The Committee notes that, in the countries that are the focus of this report, Tunisia and Morocco, the institutions and legal framework of local and regional democracy are in the process of being thoroughly revised. Both countries are at an important stage of democratisation. Care is needed to ensure that the best structures and legal framework is put in place, that the new structures meet international standards and are sustainable. In this respect, the Council of Europe can play a very useful role in bringing its experience of standards and democratic reform and decentralisation to the attention of the new governments. The Congress should increase its efforts to share its expertise with the authorities of these two countries. It should also continue to monitor the transition to democracy in other countries in the region, notably the oil and gas producing countries: Libya, marked by political uncertainty, and Algeria; also Egypt, a key state in the Arab world, by reason of its demographic size and political, cultural and religious influence, which is facing difficult relations between the military and the Islamists.

Explanatory memorandum

1. Cooperation between the Congress and countries of the Mediterranean basin is long-established. However, with the Arab spring, there is now a political momentum and a new dynamic and popular call for change, which combine to form a historic opportunity that should be seized. The Council of Europe's new neighbourhood policy provides a framework for the Congress to coordinate its cooperation activities with other sectors of the Organisation.

2. Although these changes are a response to a widespread popular desire for democratic change, the creation of national structures and new legislation is crucial to ensure the change. However, at the same time, there is a need for bottom-up and peer-to-peer cooperation, awareness raising and capacity building among local elected representatives, to ensure that the needs of citizens are being taken into account as much as possible.

3. Capacity-building programmes and activities of City Diplomacy, as proposed by the Congress in its Resolution 251 (2008), have an important role to play in such cooperation. The Congress should be encouraging European cities and their associations to develop carefully targeted and well-defined capacity-building projects with Arab municipalities and their associations with a view to realising concrete results that are in line with the needs and priorities of the local authorities and society. It is in this regard important that European municipalities and associations coordinate their activities, to ensure that there is no overlap or duplication of efforts.

4. The situation in Morocco is developing rapidly. The Parliamentary election on 25 November 2011 brought the Justice and Development Party (PJD) to power, with the new government being sworn in at the beginning of 2012, the first time this country has had an Islamist party in power. While it is too early to see whether they will succeed in making big changes to the government, they are committed to cleaning up government, reducing corruption and increasing transparency. Local, provincial and regional elections were planned for 2012. However, the law on Advanced Regionalisation should be adopted and implemented before such elections are held. At a meeting on 26 April 2012 between Congress representatives and members of the Moroccan delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly, the Moroccan authorities welcomed the Congress proposal to organise exchanges of views on this law between Congress members and experts and the committee treating this issue in the Moroccan Parliament. The Moroccan Parliament representatives confirmed the intention of the Moroccan authorities to invite the Congress to observe the local, provincial and regional elections, now foreseen for late 2012.

5. In Tunisia, a Constituent Assembly was elected in October 2011 to draft a new Constitution for Tunisia and appoint an interim government. The new government was sworn in on 24 December 2011, headed by Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali of the moderate Islamist Ennahda party. The three parties in the coalition government currently holding a majority of seats in Tunisia’s Constituent Assembly have agreed to call for new parliamentary elections on or before March 20, 2013.  Local elections will only be held after this date.

6. The immediate need in Tunisia is to ensure that local democracy is firmly and well defined in the new constitution. A delegation of the Congress, including President Keith Whitmore, travelled to Tunis in March 2012 and met with the Chairman of the Tunisian National Constituent Assembly’s Committee Responsible for Local Government, who welcomed the idea of an exchange of views with members and experts of the Congress on decentralisation in general and stressed the need for his committee to enrich its work through dialogue with organisations and experts willing to share their experience. He was also in favour of asking for a Venice Commission opinion on the Tunisian draft constitution.

7. Improved citizen participation, particularly of women and youth, will be invaluable in ensuring a smooth democratic transition. In the cities of Morocco and Tunisia, the political ferment and increased public interest resulting from the Arab spring needs to be translated into forms of public participation that directly respond to the increased public expectations, such as citizen and youth panels and partnerships with civil society. European municipalities could make available their approaches in this regard and share them with their Arab counterparts.

8. The changes underway in these countries are raising the possibility for a renewal of transfrontier cooperation. Morocco and Algeria are expected to reopen their land border in 2012, as a confidence‑building measure to match a thaw on relations and attempt to improve intra-regional cooperation.  This border has been closed since 1994.  The local authorities of border areas which stand to be the most affected by this measure would stand to benefit from European experience in this respect. European transfrontier cooperation at local level has shown that border authorities stand to benefit immensely if this cooperation is well managed. The Tunisian border with Libya has been busy since the Libyan uprising which resulted in the fall of the Gaddafi regime. However, the current political instability in Libya makes transfrontier cooperation between local authorities difficult to envisage.

9. In both countries, corruption, lack of transparency and accountability are serious problems which affect good governance at the local level. The Congress's Code of Conduct for the Political Integrity of Local and Regional Elected Representatives is particularly relevant here. The Council of Europe is already planning, in the framework of its 2012-2014 cooperation programmes with Tunisia and Morocco, to involve both countries in the activities of GRECO and MONEYVAL. It is the opinion of the rapporteur that this cooperation should pay particular attention to the problem of corruption at the local and regional levels. 

10. The rapporteur believes that greater participation and empowerment of women in the political process will be crucial to the democratic development of both countries.

Proposed amendments to the draft resolution

Amendment 1

In paragraph 6.b replace "participation by citizens (including women and young people, in particular)" with "participation and empowerment of women in access to elected office and participation by citizens, notably women and young people"

Amendment 2

In paragraph 6.c replace "local and regional elections in Morocco" with "local, provincial and regional elections in Morocco"

Amendment 3

After paragraph 6.c insert a new sub-paragraph worded as follows:

“offer, in cooperation with the Venice Commission, its know-how and experience in the preparation and organisation of elections, to enable the forthcoming local and regional elections in both countries to take place in the best possible conditions;"

Amendment 4

In paragraph 6.f replace "by offering them a special status with the Congress" with "by offering a special status with the Congress to a delegation of elected local and regional representatives from each country"

Amendment 5

In paragraph 6.j, after "Euro-Arab Cities Forum", insert "COPPEM, the Arab Towns Organisation (ATO)"

Amendment 6

In paragraph 6.h replace "capacity development programmes" with "capacity development programmes and City Diplomacy activities"

Amendment 7

At the end of paragraph 6, insert a new sub-paragraph as follows:

"share its experience of transfrontier cooperation with the local and regional authorities of border areas in Tunisia and Morocco, in order to assist these authorities in realising the benefits of such cooperation;"

Amendment 8

At the end of paragraph 6, insert a new sub-paragraph as follows:

"offer the experience and know-how of the Congress for the finalisation by the Moroccan Parliament of the draft law on advanced regionalisation, before its adoption;"

Amendment 9

At the end of paragraph 6, insert a new sub-paragraph as follows:

"offer the experience and know-how of the Congress to the Tunisian National Constituent Assembly’s Committee Responsible for Local Government to ensure that local democracy is properly defined in the new constitution;"

Proposed amendments to the draft recommendation

Amendment 1

At the end of paragraph 5, insert a new sub-paragraph as follows:

"ensure, in the framework of its 2012-2014 cooperation programmes with Morocco and Tunisia, that activities concerning combating corruption and money laundering pay particular attention to these problems at local and regional levels".