18^th Plenary Session of the Congress

Strasbourg, 18 March 2010

Speech by Kathrin HILBER, Rapporteur, Switzerland (SOC), State Councillor for the Canton of St Gallen, Switzerland

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Mr President, dear colleagues, members of the Congress, ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure, and a great honour, for me to address you here today, on behalf of the Swiss Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers.

Switzerland attaches the highest importance to the respect for the values for which the Council of Europe stands and on which Europe's identity is based. Its priorities, in line with the undertakings made at the Warsaw summit in 2005 and the efforts of the preceding chairmanships, are focused on three main areas: the protection of human rights and the rule of law; the strengthening of democratic institutions; increasing the transparency and the effectiveness of the Council of Europe.

In this context, Switzerland is paying particular attention to the future of the European Court of Human Rights as the guarantor of basic freedoms in Europe.  Whilst the forthcoming entry into force of Protocol No 14, on 1 June, is a welcome development, the Court remains confronted with a huge workload which challenges its capacity to deliver justice in good time and provide effective remedy to human rights violations.   To address this challenge, the Swiss Chairmanship organised a high-level conference at ministerial level in Interlaken last month, which, I am pleased to say, resulted in a Declaration and Action Plan paving the way to concrete reforms through a strategy in the longer term.  It is hoped that this is the beginning of a productive course of action to further assist the Court in its crucial and unique role.

The work of the Congress is fundamental to the second priority of the Swiss Chairmanship, which relates to the strengthening of democracy and democratic institutions across our Continent.  The year 2010 ushers in the 20th anniversary of the opening for signature of the European Charter of Local Self-Government.  Ratified by 44 member states, this – as we all know - is an important treaty, as is the work of the Congress in preparing country by country reports on the situation of local and regional democracy in member states, and on the implementation of the principles of the Charter.  The Swiss authorities are particularly pleased that one of the reports to be examined at this session concerns Switzerland, and that the conclusions of that report are indeed positive.

Given its federal and highly decentralised nature – indeed probably one of the most decentralised countries in the world – Switzerland of course does not need to be convinced of the values of regional and local democracy.  And it is therefore a strong proponent for the work and potential of the Congress in promoting democracy of the highest quality at the regional and local level.  It was therefore particularly appropriate that the January meeting of the Bureau of the Congress was held in Ticino.

Moreover, under the Swiss Chairmanship, a conference on Democracy and Decentralisation will be held on 3 and 4 May in St Gall – my home ground I am pleased to say – which we are confident will bring stimulating debate to issues which are central to the concerns of the Congress.  I would like to invite you to attend this conference and to thus encourage those of you who are interested to come to St Gall to liven up the debate to be held and in the exchange of experiences that will take place.

Also of interest to the Congress is a Colloquium on Switzerland and cross-border relations which will be held under the Chairmanship on 22 April in Montreux.

For its third priority, the Swiss chairmanship has strongly expressed its commitment to increasing, with the new Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland, the transparency and the effectiveness of the Council of Europe.  As you heard from the Secretary General yesterday, an important reform process has been launched, the objective of which is to make this Organisation more politically relevant on the European scene, building on its strengths and values.  Such process can only be successful with the full commitment of all parts of the Organisation.  The Committee of Ministers was pleased to hear during a recent exchange of views with President Micallef in February that the Congress is willing to take an active part in this process.  It looks forward to the Congress’ concrete plans to strengthen a strategic approach to its mission, and to consolidate and prioritise its activities around the priorities of the Council of Europe and further enhance its working methods so as to achieve greater impact.

Having highlighted the major priorities of the Swiss Chairmanship, I would now mention the 16th Session of the Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Local and Regional Government which took place in Utrecht last November. The Utrecht Conference gave rise to a Declaration on “good local and regional governance in turbulent times: the challenge of change and to the Utrecht Agenda”, which the Committee of Ministers forwarded to the Congress.  As the Declaration will be the subject of debate later today in this chamber, I shall not dwell further on the issue, except to highlight that the active participation of the Congress in the work entrusted to the relevant intergovernmental committee, the CDLR, in the follow-up to the Utrecht Conference, will be crucial to ensure that activities move forward rapidly and have the impact that is sought.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Congress has a valuable contribution to make to the core mission of the Council of Europe, certainly in safeguarding and strengthening democracy and good governance, but also in the protection of human rights and respect for the rule of law.   In this regard, the debate which took place yesterday on the role of local and regional authorities in the implementation of human rights is most welcome.  As I said earlier, focusing on the core issues of the Organisation, including human rights, should be a priority for the Congress in the future.  At the same time, this should be done in close coordination with all other Council of Europe bodies and structures, in order to ensure coherence of action.

As we all know, on many issues, local and regional authorities have a primary role in safeguarding those values that are ours, for all persons on our territories.  I will take just one concrete example, that of gender equality.  This is essential in all areas of public life, all levels of government, all levels of policy.  It is of course particularly important to pursue gender balance in political representation; which was in fact an issue highlighted by the Chairmanship to mark “Women’s Day” last week. The Congress’ debate tomorrow on achieving sustainable gender equality in local and regional political life is therefore also very welcome.

This is, of course, just one of many concrete issues, of priority to the Committee of Ministers, but where local and regional authorities can really make things happen, and change situations for the better.  When the main bodies of this Organisation work towards synergy and complimentarity on core issues, we can hope for optimal results and impact.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Before concluding, I should like to congratulate Mr Andreas Kiefer on his election to the post of Secretary General of the Congress and wish him every success in his new functions at this challenging, but exciting time of change for the Council of Europe.

On behalf of the Swiss Chairperson of the Committee of Ministers, Mrs Micheline Calmy-Rey, I wish you all here continued success in your primordial role in maintaining, but also – perhaps more importantly in these uncertain times – in invigorating, democratic processes in Europe with a view to furthering the common goals of this Organisation.

I thank you for your attention.