SALTO-Youth Participation - EuroMed Youth Programme IV

Institutionnal point of view
fight
against
Poverty
the Council of Europe
contribution
FRANCE, Strasbourg
10.05.2010
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Ever since it was founded in 1949 with its headquarters
in Strasbourg, France, the Council of
Europe has sought to defend the basic principles of
democracy, human rights and the rule of law. And
social rights are human rights. These principles
have become a way of thinking and working for
the whole of the European continent now that no
fewer than 47 States have been admitted to the
Organisation, thus covering practically the whole of
geographical Europe.
What started as a financial crisis in
2008 has indeed become a crisis of the
real economy affecting workers, families
and households. Its social impact was
important and it continues to grow : job
losses; wages declining; social spending
affected; houses lost. Again, the weakest
and the most vulnerable – those
who should be protected by the Council
of Europe first and foremost - are
the most affected. Poverty grows. It
deprives human beings of their dignity
and self-esteem and therefore constitutes
a barrier to human progress, a barrier
to the enjoyment of human rights.
Poverty also means vulnerability and
a lack of voice, power and representation.
It is also a barrier to democracy.
It is to be noted that poverty is not a
phenomenon in a distant world, it exists
right here in the middle of Europe.
The crisis has shown that poverty is no
longer a marginal problem of a few, but
a sore and intolerable reality for many.
It strikes men and women, the young
and the elderly, the unemployed and
the working poor. Within the European
Union alone, 80 million European
citizens are threatened with poverty.
What can the Council of Europe
contribute to redress the situation
The Council of Europe reiterates the
importance of human rights and democracy
in a frame of social justice.
Human rights are a precondition for
developing a socially cohesive and fair
society. This includes recognising the
dignity of all individuals regardless of
their ability to meet their own needs.
The European Social Charter, which
has been drafted as a complement to
the European Convention on Human
Rights. is very clear about it. Article
30 of the Charter guarantees protection
against poverty and social exclusion
and should remain, in all circumstances,
the guiding principle for the
governments of our 47 member States.
Several initiatives have been taken
by the Council of Europe’s European
Committee for Social Cohesion to help
the poor to address the consequences
of the crisis. In the field of empowering
people experiencing extreme poverty
and improving the situation of low-income
workers, major policy guidelines
have been drafted. (Guidelines were
adopted by the Committee of Ministers
on 5 May 2010) They invite members
States to stop the increasing number of
low-income workers. Work should be
synonymous with dignity. Labour markets
must not be split into two distinct
groups : well-protected, correctly paid
jobs versus underpaid, often undignified
or dangerous jobs, that make people
vulnerable. Even in times of crisis
people should experience more than just
a continued cycle of unemployment or
precarious employment. With regard to
people experiencing extreme poverty,
the guidelines stress that a paradigm
shift is necessary. Rather than focusing
attention on income deprivation,
a multidimensional concept of poverty
and development which emphasizes
participation, individual freedoms
and human rights, should be adopted
as a strong reference for policies.
In the field of social security, a recent
report concluded that while deregulation
and privatisation had become
the norm over the past 20 years, it
was the governments who rescued the
economy. In doing so, governments
have shown that they can still offer the
best remedies in case of unexpected
events. The report also draws attention
to the fact that the social security
nets were paramount in cushioning
the effect of the social consequences
of the crisis and calls for a slowdown
of the privatisation of social security.
In order to discuss the social consequences
of the economic crisis and the
challenges faced by social cohesion in
today’s Europe, Russia took an initiative
to convene a Conference of Ministers
responsible for social cohesion
in Moscow in February 2009. It was
the first ever conference of this kind.
In 2012, Turkey will host the second
Ministerial Conference. The Ministers
asked to review the Council of Europe
Strategy for Social Cohesion and to prepare
a Social Cohesion Action Plan.
The new Social Cohesion Strategy is
based on four pillars showing the importance
of social cohesion for promoting
the core values of our Organisation. For
instance, the pillar Reinvesting in social
rights is about human rights. The pillar
Building a Europe of shared responsibilities
is about democracy, as is the pillar
Strengthening democratic decision making
and expanding social dialogue and
civic engagement. These three pillars
directly lead to the fourth one – Building
confidence in a common and secure
future, embracing all the three core values.
The Action Plan for Social Cohesion
complements the Strategy. If the Strategy
can be considered as a kind of philosophy
of social cohesion, the Action Plan
is an efficient practical tool defining a list
of concrete policy actions to be taken by
member states to put their political commitment
to social cohesion into practice.
In conclusion, the Council of Europe
response to increasing poverty is
to build on a cohesive society. Such a
society would not only be fairer, but
also make democracies more stable.
Karl-Friedrich Bopp
Head of the Social Cohesion Policy and Standards
Division
Directorate General of Social Cohesion
Council of Europe
Link
www.coe.int/t/dg3
Photo ©
Christophe Smets
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