19th Plenary session of the Congress of Local and regional Authorities of the Council of Europe
27 October 2010, strasbourg, FRANCE
Speech by Musa XHAFERRI, Minister of Local Self-Government of “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, on behalf of the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
Mr President,
members of the Congress,
ladies and gentlemen,
It is a particular pleasure for me to address you here today, on behalf of the Macedonian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers. Let me first offer my sincere congratulations to you Mr Whitmore, on your election as President of the Congress. I wish you the very best in your functions. In this respect, I would like to begin in drawing attention to the important juncture that we are all currently facing in the Council of Europe.
The winds of change are blowing through the Organisation. As you know, the Secretary General has launched a reform process. Its aim is to make the Council of Europe more relevant, more visible and more effective on the international stage. Reform, renovation and rationalisation are the focus of discussion in all areas.
The Committee of Ministers is fully supportive of the ambitions of the Secretary General. It considers that all parts of the Organisation must be fully involved in pursuing these ambitions, if they are to be realised. We must all be more focused on the core objectives. Improve our flexibility and capacity to react to new trends or challenges. And put more effort into ensuring that all bodies of the Council of Europe work in co-ordination, rather than in parallel, towards the same goals.
The Committee of Ministers therefore welcomes the Congress’ commitment to the reform process, which is high on your agenda this week. It is following closely the Congress proposals, both with regard to changes to the structures and working methods but also with regard to its priorities for the coming years. I am confident that the results of the comprehensive discussions that have and are taking place among you will fall in line with the direction set by the Secretary General and will bring an important contribution in boosting the impact of the reform.
Ladies and gentlemen,
A few days ago we saw the 25th anniversary of the opening for signature of the European Charter of Local Self-Government. This is an important milestone, which calls for celebration. The preamble to the Charter indicates that “the right of citizens to participate in the conduct of public affairs is one of the democratic principles that are shared by all member States of the Council of Europe” and “it is at local level that this right can be most directly exercised”.
The strength of this Charter, now ratified by 44 member states, is therefore that it brings democracy closer to the people – both in theory and in practice. In this respect, I wouldpay tribute to the extensive work that has been carried out by the Congress in promoting local self-government - through its monitoring of the principles of the Charter and the country by country reports, three of which are under examination this week[1]. This work is practical, goal oriented and an effective tool in promoting a core objective of the Council of Europe and should be encouraged to continue in this direction.
The observation of elections is another important area of work for the Congress and the latest report – on the municipal elections in Georgia – is on your agenda later today. Following a first pre-electoral mission to Ukraine earlier this month, the Congress will this week also deploy an election observation delegation of 25 observers - as the only international observer – in that country to observe the elections. The Committee of Ministers will examine with interest its conclusions.
I will now move on to some of the recent decisions of the Committee of Ministers which are of particular relevance to your Congress.
Earlier this month, the Committee of Ministers took note of the adoption by the Stakeholders’ Platform on the Strategy for Innovation and Good Governance at local level of the regulations on the accession to the Strategy and the granting of the European Label of Governance Excellence (ELoGE).
This new European Label is a useful development tool for local democracy – it provides an objective and particular incentive for local governments to assess and improve the implementation of the 12 principles of good democratic governance outlined in the Strategy for Innovation and Good Governance at Local Level. Representatives of the Congress will be an important vector in promoting this new Label on home territories. It is hoped that many municipalities will use it as a compass towards achieving effective and genuine democratic practices.
A second decision relates to the Centre of Expertise for Local Government Reform. In examining its annual report, the Committee of Ministers noted the role that the Centre can play in support of local self-government, especially in times of economic hardship, and invited it to continue and possibly expand its activities in co-operation with all partners concerned, in particular the Congress, in order to create and exploit synergies. I would also take the opportunity to recall to Congress members that the Centre is a centre of expertise, and as such has a number of tools available to assist individual local authorities in achieving their various goals in democratic performance.
Allow me now to say just a few words regarding the Macedonian chairmanship, which is nearing its end. The last six months have indeed been very full ones, during which we have worked towards furthering the core goals of the Council of Europe. The priorities that we identified for our Chairmanship have focused on strengthening human rights protection, fostering integration while respecting diversity and promoting youth participation. All of these need attention at the local and regional level if they are to be achieved.
I would first refer to strengthening human rights protection. This is a primary role and duty of member states. But in member states, that role and duty does not solely concern central government but on a practical basis, largely concerns local and regional authorities. For it is the local and regional representatives that have direct contact with their citizens, that are most aware of their preoccupations, their concerns, and the obstacles faced with regard to enjoying their fundamental rights and freedoms. It is the local authorities who must be on hand to protect the most vulnerable, who must stimulate political participation, who must guarantee basic services such as housing, education and health care, and thus ensure access to basic social and economic rights.
Here I would also highlight the importance of raising awareness of human rights on the local level, as transmitting knowledge of human rights to citizens is also a way of empowering citizens. It gives them the tools to challenge decisions, negotiate solutions and become more involved in the public life of their communities.
The Congress has already started to give more detailed attention to the question of human rights, with a specific recommendation currently being examined by the Committee of Ministers. This is a first step and I hope it will open the way to exploring further aspects regarding human rights in the local and regional context.
The second priority of my country has been to foster integration while respecting diversity. We are all aware that diversity in our societies is a source of richness and that multiculturalism should be cherished.
In this context, let me stress that in the framework of the Macedonian chairmanship an international conference took place in Skopje on 7 and 8 June devoted to the issue of effective participation of persons belonging to national minorities in the decision-making process as a means to foster integration and strengthen the cohesion of European societies. The conference emphasised that the effective implementation of the Framework Convention on National Minorities should be ensured on all levels – regional, national and local. It also linked the process of decentralisation with the need for better inclusion of minorities in the political decision-making process on the local level.
However, we also know that the process of integration is not always plain
sailing – that problems arise, be it through a lack of tolerance, education or quite simply through fear of the unfamiliar, the unknown. Once again, it is largely local authorities which have the challenge of countering any risks of tension, and in helping integration and promoting tolerance amongst citizens of different cultural, ethnic or religious backgrounds.
I am aware that the Congress shares this priority. Earlier this month, it organised a conference on the challenges and prospects of integrating foreign residents into local public life. This week also sees the discussion on two reports: the first, which took place yesterday, on “meeting the challenge of inter-faith and intercultural tensions at local level” and the second on “the cultural integration of Muslim women in European cities”. These developments address pertinent dimensions in promoting integration, and we will continue to follow the discussions with interest.
In this context of integration, I would also refer to the important debate that has been taking place in recent months on Roma and Travellers and to the high level meeting which took place on 20 October, in which the Congress participated. The Committee of Ministers will of course be counting on the full co-operation of the Congress in implementing the Strasbourg Declaration. This co-operation will be crucial on many levels, but particularly with regard to promoting the integration of Roma populations and guaranteeing their fundamental rights in local communities.
Finally, I would refer to the third priority of the Republic of Macedonia which is to promote youth participation. The youth of today are the citizens and policy makers of tomorrow. It is therefore essential to harness the enthusiasm and idealism of our young people and encourage them to engage in the political, social and economic life of their communities. Because that is where democracy has its roots. In our villages, towns and cities. Where our young people are being educated and take their first steps towards citizenship. Where their ideas and experiences can fuel the policies of the future. But our young people need to understand that their needs and aspirations will only be heard if they take the trouble to make them heard. So they must be made to feel a valued part of the community. Education and opportunity have a large part to play. And this is where local authorities can make the difference.
I am particularly glad that the SEE Youth Gathering organised in Ohrid on 10 and 11 September, an event underpinning this priority, launched the Ohrid process which stimulates youth participation at local, national and regional levels. Also, the participants at this Gathering, including the Congress representative, adopted the “Ohrid Process Declaration on Youth and Decision-Making: Towards Greater Inclusion and Ownership”.
Here, let me welcome the support the Congress is giving to increasing participation and integration of young people, as well. Your discussions this week, on the integration of young people from disadvantaged areas addresses yet another important dimension.
Ladies and gentlemen,
These have been our priorities during the Macedonian Chairmanship but they are objectives which will continue, long after our Chairmanship has ended. We hope that the Congress too, will continue to work on these important issues in its future work.
Before concluding, I would like to emphasise the commitment of the Republic of Macedonia to local democracy development. As you may know, as recently as 2005, the new local self-government system started functioning. Its specific is deep decentralisation of power which is the result of the Framework Agreement and amendments of the Constitution, adopted in 2001.
Five years ago, following the new territorial organisation of local self-government, competences in all the most important spheres of citizens’ life were transferred to local level, such as primary and secondary education, social care, economic development, environmental protection, culture, fire protection, etc. The local self-government is organised as one-layer and all 84 municipalities, as local self-government units have the same competences. Only the City of Skopje has a status of separate unit of local self-government, as a capital, and is territorially organised in 10 municipalities.
In the past 5 years, besides the transfer of competences, a huge transfer of resources has also been made. Many institutions and employees changed their status into local ones, adapting their working methods to the new situation. So, this adjustment can be considered as part of the reform of the public administration. A number of trainings for the local administration have been organised in order to enable it to perform the new functions and now we are exploring the needs and possibilities for establishing a Training Academy at local level that will provide institutional form for continuous and quality training of the local administration, whose employees have a status of civil servants.
Decentralisation of power is still a priority of the Government. As always, in
co-operation with the local authorities, in the next programming period, the emphasis will be put on improvement of the quality of services, equal access to public services for all citizens, as well as to encouraging the participation of citizens in decision making process at local level, for which there are legal preconditions.
Ladies and gentlemen,
In these times of economic and social uncertainty, we have seen that local government has a particular responsibility to be in close contact with local people, local communities and local businesses. Even faced with smaller budgets and reduced resources, local government has to be relied on to make every effort to improve the quality of life of their communities, and should make it a priority to allay fears, to foster social cohesion, protect the vulnerable and ensure that citizens feel that they can put their trust in their local councils.
I therefore wish you all well, both in the reform process of the Congress as an institution and also in your role for promoting and safeguarding the core values of this Organisation in your home towns, which is today more crucial than ever.
I thank you for your attention.