Regional Conference Bucharest 25 and 26 October 2001

At its meeting in Geneva on 18/19 October 1999, the Stability Pact Working Table on Democratisation and Human Rights endorsed the Council of Europe initiative to launch, in co-operation with the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, a series of consultations in South-East Europe on human rights and minority issues. The Report of the Special Delegation and the List of Projects adopted by the Task Force on Human Rights and National Minorities at the International Conference on Inter-Ethnic Relations and National Minorities in South Eastern Europe in Portoroz, Slovenia in March 2000, served as a basis for the Framework Programme of Action aimed at the promotion and rehabilitation of multhi-ethnic societies based on universal values and standards of human rights, democracy and rule of law, and the development of democratic citizenship. Human Rights and National Minorities Task Force is sponsored by the Republic of Slovenia and the Council of Europe and led by the Republic of Slovenia.

Overall objectives and the Framework Programme of Action

Given the complexity of the issue of improvement of human and minority rights that requires a manifold approach, the Human Rights and National Minorities Task Force established a number of clear long-term objectives for the Task Force:

• promotion of human rights and the protection of minorities, democratic institutions and the promotion of democratic citizenship;
• improvement of inter-ethnic relations, promotion of multiethnic societies and creation of a climate of mutual respect and tolerance for each others' differences;
• legal protection of the minority rights based on the already existing highest European standards, inter alia the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights;
• encouraging the signature of bilateral agreements on the protection of minorities;
• encouraging dialogue and co-operation with civil society to play an active role in improving interethnic relations;
• introducing a comprehensive regional strategy for the promotion of the status of Roma population;
• encouraging and improving research, education and training that would improve the general knowledge, consciousness and awareness of ethnic and cultural diversity and richness of the region and every individual country in the region.

In order for these objectives to be achieved, the following priorities and areas of action have been chosen:

• the awareness raising campaign to promote the values and principles of multiethnic and multicultural society and democratic citizenship, to be carried out in variety of fields, such as media, culture, youth and education, civil society and government, parliament and administration;
• the acceptance and implementation of the relevant international legal instruments, commitments, obligations, standards and mechanisms in the filed of human rights and the protection of national minorities;
• the development and promotion of specific affirmative action programs for marginalised and neglected minorities, especially for the Roma;
• the development of research, education and training that are key forces in promoting democracy, human rights, including the protection and participation of minorities, tolerance, coexistence and equal cooperation in multiethnic societies as preconditions for the improved ethnic relations;
• the establishment and promotion of national human rights protection institutions (Ombudsman) that can support and enhance the protection and realization of human rights and democratization;
• the stimulation of cooperation and coordination of all (implementing) agencies, relevant for human rights, democracy and the protection of minorities, which includes governmental and non-governmental, state, public and civil organizations and institutions;
• coordination of activities and cooperation with other Task Forces (cross-Task Force cooperation) within the Working Table I and with other Working Tables (cross-Working Table cooperation);
• constant evaluation of the strategy, program, all activities and projects, taking into account both specific needs of every country and the regional dimension and ownership of the Stability Pact and its activities.

Achievements

The Task Force stresses the importance of the long-term nature of all efforts and activities in the fields of human rights, democratization and the protection of minorities. However, it constantly reviews its work and the progress with its QSP Projects and updates its strategy. In this context the main achievements of the Task Force and their added value are discussed and evaluated. These achievements include:

• the organization, membership and regional ownership of the Task Force. Its active and invited members are representatives of the governments of all countries of the region, QSP Projects' implementing agencies that include NGOs, public and private institutions, representatives governments of other interested Stability Pact's member countries, international experts and representatives of interested donors. To increase the regional ownership of the Task Force we would like to include more NGOs and other agencies involved in projects from the region.
• the network, communication and cooperation of scholars and human rights activists, NGOs, private, public and state institutions and agencies and governments;
• evaluating progress reports of individual QSP Projects, the Task Force believes that all implemented projects are progressing well and are producing adequate results in the given time and with given resources. However, most activities for the promotion of human rights and democratization need time to produce results and their long-term nature would require the prolongation of some existing projects, addition of new long-term ones and continuous concerted work and activities of the Task Force and all relevant national and regional (implementing) agencies.

The above mentioned achievements, but especially the existing organizational structures (both within the Task Force and individual projects), networks, important input of all Task Force members and interested participants, and the indication of the countries of the region that they consider the activities of this Task Force useful and important for individual countries and the region, should be considered as the most important contributions

Inter-ethnic relations and cross-border co-operation as a new priority area of the Working Table on Democratisation and Human Rights

The fourth meeting of Working Table I, held in Portoroz - Slovenia in May 2001, agreed to focus future work in the area of democratisation and human rights on a more limited number of priorities in order for this complex issue to be approached in a more comprehensive and coherent way. One of the priority areas chosen was inter-ethnic relations and cross-border co-operation. The common initiatives already taken in the related fields, as the Awareness Raising Campaign and the complementing legal and policy measures projects aiming at SEE's adherence to the universal values and standards of human rights, should be linked or integrated to this new priority area.

Awareness Raising Campaign to promote multi-ethnic society and democratic citizenship

The project "Link Diversity" is a common initiative of countries in South-Eastern Europe, supported by the Council of Europe, to be undertaken through a fixed period of time (November 2001 ­ November 2002) within each of these countries and in co-operation among them on the basis of the simultaneous implementation of projects aimed at raising public awareness of issues concerning relations between people of different identities both within States and in a trans-frontier sense.

In the now-completed first phase of "Link Diversity", National Organising Committees (NOCs) have been set up in all participating countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Moldova, Romania, "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia") to act as the motors of this wide-ranging initiative at national level, and to participate in and provide input to the regional European Organising Committee (EOC), which will ensure: co-ordination between NOCS, the development of regional projects, and trans-frontier co-operation.

All NOCs - which are made up of a broad representation from both government, the non-governmental sector, and civil society in a wider sense - have now developed, through contacts and co-operation with local partners, a set of priority projects to be undertaken by those partners, within the framework mentioned above. These projects, that all have individual worth in their own right as actions to promote the concepts of plural identity and the civil link that underpin this initiative, will also be parts of a coherent whole that will move the process of the Project "Link Diversity" forward both nationally and at the regional level.

Ownership of the concepts of a multi-ethnic and multicultural society, as a prerequisite for peace, stability and prosperity, and as an essential tool for conflict prevention, should be regarded as a significant achievement for all the countries of the region. Genuine implementation of them will open up real European perspectives for each country so committed. With its twofold key objectives, the promotion of multi-ethnic and multicultural society and the development of democratic citizenship, the campaign should form an important part of the wider effort to bring about sustainable stability in South Eastern Europe

The first phase of the project has involved bringing the actors together, mobilising broad-based support for the initiative within the participating countries, and initiating the process of determining projects to be undertaken in the "Link Diversity" framework. In this phase, the Project has been financed by a generous financial contribution from Germany, besides the Council of Europe's own resources.

Some activities have already taken place to implement "Link Diversity" at national level, including a conference held in Sarajevo on 21-23 March 2001 to launch the Project in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a Civil Society Conference, organised on 7-9 June 2001 by the Euroregional Centre for Democracy in Timisoara. This brought together a number of Romanian, regional and international NGOs willing to bring into "Link Diversity" new or already-existing activities of their own. Such projects could benefit from the wider impetus afforded by the general message and regional breadth of the Project, whilst providing it with a local identity and profile.

In order to develop the themes and objectives of the Project "Link Diversity", a Workshop on philosophical concepts underpinning the campaign was held in Strasbourg on 14-15 December 2000. Fifteen philosophers from South-East Europe and from other (Western) European countries participated in this meeting, under the chairmanship of the eminent French philosopher Professor Jean-Luc Nancy. A synopsis of the discussions for use in "Link Diversity" and as a starting point for an ongoing debate was prepared. Participants in the workshop are encouraging the continuation of this very fruitful debate at national and trans-national level.

A logo and a slogan for the Project "Link Diversity" have been produced by a Sarajevo-based design company. The Regional Co-ordinating Office has produced publicity and other materials using this slogan and logo (e.g. posters, stickers, information leaflets, etc), the bulk of which has been translated into appropriate language versions of countries of the region. This material has been distributed to NOCs and Campaign contact points. A video spot has also been created, and is available from the Regional Co-ordinating Office, without or without the accompanying musical theme, for use by public or private TV and radio stations in each participating country.

A media campaign will led by the EOC and the NOCs of each country through presentation and distribution of the promotional material at campaign events, and though offering to local written media in participating countries a «Link Diversity Review». Internet presentations will be made on the basis of updates of the existing website on a daily basis; links will be made to the numerous similar national and regional projects. Press releases will be issued on important activities, backed up by press conferences held with the participation of high-level personalities involved in «Link Diversity».

Legal measures ­ an essential complement to the Awareness Raising Campaign

Three linked projects, fully funded by a generous contribution from Switzerland and being undertaken by the Council of Europe's Directorate General of Human Rights, form an indispensable complement to the public-oriented Project "Link Diversity".

The non-discrimination review (NDR) will be carried out by independent experts in the 10 countries that have shown concrete interest in engaging in this project; the country groups will soon be up and working. The Council of Europe is currently preparing a guide on how to carry out the NDR, and is also putting together country-specific non-discrimination documentation packs to provide the country groups with a framework for their work.

The second project aims at furthering the acceptance and implementation of international human rights standards. A final selection of proposals submitted by governmental and non-governmental institutions is underway. Some activities have already been undertaken (e.g. legislative expertise and preparation for ratification of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCPNM) by the FRY); other activities are programmed (e.g. raising awareness of the FCPNM in Albania).

Bilateral treaty co-operation: An initiative currently being planned is the bringing together of the joint-committees established under the different existing bilateral agreements in order for them to share experiences on the operation and functioning of these agreements.