Documents

Chairman's Conclusions
5th Meeting of the WT on Democratization and Human Rights

The Working Table on Democratization and Human Rights of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe held its 5th meeting in Skopje on the 17th and 18th of December 2001. The host country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Slobodan Casule, and the Stability Pact’s Deputy Special Coordinator, Mr. Donald Kursch, opened the meeting. It was presided by Working Table Chairman Mr. Alexandros Rondos and Co-chairman Mr. Igor Dzundev.

Discussions took place on the basis of working notes presented by the Chairman prior to the meeting and focused on the issue of Inter-ethnic Dialogue and Cross-border Co-operation, identified as a priority area at the 4th meeting of the Working Table, held in Portoroz on 14 and 15 May 2001.

In his introduction, the Chairman emphasized the importance of fully involving civil society in the work in this field. Hence, on his invitation, representatives of a number of NGOs in South Eastern Europe attended the meeting. He further stressed the need to empower local authorities in order to bring the work closer to the citizens of the region. Decentralization therefore would be a key instrument in this process. The Chairman regretted the absence of the European Commission, particularly in view of recent decisions on intensifying cooperation between the EU institutions and the Stability Pact.

From the subsequent discussions the Chairman drew the following conclusions:

• In view of the upcoming arrival of the new Special Coordinator of the Stability Pact, Dr. Erhard Busek, and the need for him to present clear goals for 2002 to the EU Council by mid-March, it is important to agree on a targeted agenda and to strengthen the focus of Working Table I activities. Consequently, by 20 January clear target dates will have been set for the various activities anticipated during the coming year.



• The region must develop a regional cooperative mechanism. This will also enhance the Stability Pact’s complementarity with the Stabilization and Association process. The South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) would have to play a vital role here.



• Measures needed to strengthen the capacities of local authorities include adoption and implementation of legislation on local self-government across the region, the provision of expertise in key areas to local authorities, targeted training programs and the development of networks for exchange of information, e.g. through a database.



• Furthermore strong associations of municipalities and mayors are needed, as is cooperation of cities and towns with partners outside the region through twinning programs. The experiences of Central European countries will be of particular relevance here. Hungary, Poland and the Council of Europe are invited to make concrete proposals to be discussed at the next Szeged meeting envisaged in March 2002.



• Another framework that may be of good use are the Euroregions, as they are not created from the outside but result from a bottom-up process. The Council of Europe website contains useful information at this point. The Stability Pact can assist in enhancing stronger links between Euroregions in South Eastern Europe.



• It is necessary to identify border areas that are particularly sensitive from an inter-ethnic point of view, so that a contribution can be made to conflict prevention and resolution. Suggestions made by various participants in this regard are very helpful.



• NGOs must be more included in developing policies and pilot activities. The Chairman intends to visit all countries in the region shortly with the objective to help (further) legitimize NGOs and to establish effective cooperation between the Stability Pact and the NGO community, i.a. through the enhancement of a “network of networks”.



• All available possibilities for cross-task force and cross-working table cooperation need to be further elaborated. Task forces are requested to identify possibilities to this end while the Stability Pact Office will explore opportunities for cross-table actions.



• Instead of creating new structures optimal use should be made of existing networks and expertise. Ad hoc exchanges with institutions active in Working Table I priority areas can help avoid duplication of work that is already being undertaken.



• Considerable progress is made on the road from strategies to project implementation. Some task forces are now assessing project proposals. This exercise should be ready by mid-February to provide input to the new Special Coordinator’s report to the EU Council.



• The implementation of the Regional Return Initiative for Refugees and Displaced Persons is the most demanding single challenge in the coming year. All donors are requested to complement the efforts made by the governments concerned themselves.



• The IFIs should be encouraged to lend both financial support and technical assistance to this process, which turns from humanitarian assistance to social-economic development . In light of this, participants regretted the absence of a World Bank representative.



• This year the Media task force has achieved considerable progress, particularly in the revitalization/mobilization of national working groups, thus strengthening the role of civil society. The task force is invited to also support processes at the local level.



• A well-functioning society now and in the future requires focusing efforts on young people. Hence, work done in the field of Education and Youth is very valuable. Efforts are needed to enable local authorities to play a strong role in educational management.



• The initiatives in the areas of Gender and Parliamentary cooperation have been effectively mainstreamed into the overall Stability Pact framework. The concrete accomplishments in enhancing the role of women across the region are very worthwhile. As parliaments can support reconciliation and reform processes, the greater involvement of parliamentarians through the Troika task force leadership is most welcome.



• As a special effort must be made to improve inter-ethnic relations, it is good to note the opportunities for local ownership and initiative that the Link Diversity campaign appears to offer. These must be further explored. The Human Rights and National Minorities task force is encouraged to present concrete contributions to the processes outlined above.

In closing, the Chairman announced that he will present, in consultation with the Stability Pact Office and the task forces, a more clear-cut action plan and timeframe early January. He invited participants to contribute to this effort by providing him with their comments.