Corporate
Social Responsibility!
On
12 February 2003 QCEA attended the first Round Table of the European
Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility. This is
an initiative by the Commission to bring together business organisations,
trade unions, and NGOs to make recommendations to the Commission on
the issue of Corporate Social Responsibility at a European level.
The
Forum will meet in four Round Tables focusing on different issues:
knowledge; small and medium size enterprises; convergence and transparency;
and development. The Round Tables will meet three times and the
whole Forum will meet twice by summer 2004.
The
issues that can be included in Corporate Social Responsibility are
wide, varied and challenging, which reflects the wide range of influences
that companies, both large multi-national corporations and small
enterprises, have on people’s lives and on the society in
which we live. As the issues are varied, so are the perspectives
that participants bring to the Round Table, and a crucial challenge
for the Forum will be to what extent each voice can be heard and
listened to. Participants must attempt to reconcile all views to
move the whole process forward and achieve as much as possible.
Owen
WJ Espley
QCEA
Statement: European Multi-Stakeholder Forum
“We see a Europe in which the private corporations strive not only to make profit but also to contribute to the society that makes those profits possible. They have a rightful place in civil society and must contribute to it according to their means, abilities, and talents.” (A Quaker Vision of Europe)
Whilst
corporations gain importance in the lives of many people around
the world, QCEA sees the European Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Corporate
Social Responsibility as an opportunity to hear and express views
about how business can contribute to a peaceful, compassionate,
open and just society, both here in Europe and around the world.
Quakers
actively believe in the importance of making sure that every voice
is heard. It is towards a society where respect of diversity prevails
but also by listening and acting in accordance with our aims that
Quakers work. The long Quaker history of involvement in business
and entrepreneurship reflects the witness that every action should
be guided by the insight that ‘there is that of God in everyone’
and so reflects the position that it is possible to be in business
and maintain spiritual values.
Whilst
the Multi-Stakeholder Forum can work towards the aim of sustainable
development, it is vital that the Forum and its members work in
a way that ensures the values of mutual trust and respect for every
voice. It is both to further the aim of a peaceful, compassionate,
open and just society and also to seek to find methods of working
that respect every voice in moving towards such an aim that QCEA
is involved in the Multi-Stakeholders Forum.
(circulated
to Round Table participants)
Website
of the European Multi-Stakeholder Forum on CSR
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Quaker
Input on the Future of Europe
The
Convention on the Future of Europe has moved into the final phase
of its work. The Convention was set up in March 2002 to debate and
put forward proposals for changes to the future structure of the EU
(see Around Europe March 2002 for details). It is working to produce
a single, simplified and coherent version of the current Treaties
governing the EU. This ‘Constitutional Treaty’ is expected
to be completed by summer 2003. The first draft will be produced in
stages; the first stage was published on 6 February 2003.
This
is the time for action for QCEA. Our project on The Future of Europe:
Spiritual Values and Citizenship, has involved a wide consultation
with European Quakers which many readers may have been involved
with. We can now use the material gathered during the project to
put forward the Quaker view on the draft articles. We have sent
to all Convention Members our proposals for amendments to the first
draft.
The
draft that has been published so far is the very first part of the
Constitutional Treaty. This is the section which describes the EU’s
fundamental values and objectives, incorporates the Charter of Fundamental
Rights, describes the rights of citizenship of the EU and explains
the division of competences between the EU and its member states.
QCEA has the following concerns with this first draft:
Article
2, describing the EU’s values, must acknowledge that these
values are indivisible and universal. It is not possible to achieve
democracy, for example, without equality. These values must underpin
all areas of EU polices, both internal and external.
In
Article 3, describing the EU’s objectives, there are many
aims which Quakers would fully support. We feel, however, that there
is a need to be careful that commitments which the EU has already
made are not lost. In particular, the environmental aims of the
EU are weaker in the first draft than in the current EU Treaties.
The EU’s external policy must be based first and foremost
on promoting respect for the EU’s values and not the ‘interests’
of the EU. It is vital that the EU’s existing commitment to
conflict prevention through non-violent means is upheld and strengthened.
Article
7, entitled ‘Citizenship of the Union’, describes the
rights of EU citizenship which nationals of the member states of
the EU will be entitled to. This leads to discrimination between
EU nationals and legally-residing nationals of non-EU states. EU
citizenship should be extended to all those who reside with a legal
status in the EU.
Articles
10 to 15 focus on the division of competence between the EU and
member states. Article 10 lists the different categories of competence:
exclusive competence (those policy areas where only the EU can legislate);
shared competence (policy areas where both the EU and the member
states have the power to legislate); and areas in which the EU can
carry out co-ordinating, supplementary or supporting actions. Following
this list, Articles 11-15 give an indication of which policy areas
are covered by each type of competence.
However,
two areas of policy are dealt with in separate articles: the co-ordination
of economic policies and the common foreign and security policy
(CFSP). This gives these policy areas more prominence, suggesting
that these are seen as having more importance. We are concerned
that this presentation is ambiguous and that it goes against the
balance between the EU’s objectives described in Article 3.
The social and development objectives of the EU must be given at
least as much importance as economic and foreign policy. All these
objectives must be dealt with in a coherent way.
There
is a need for much more clarity and explanation of the presentation
of this part of the draft. It must be made clear first, what the
division of competence is in each of these areas, and second, that
placing these policies in separate articles does not give them greater
priority.
This
first stage of the first draft does not cover all the areas which
we have dealt with during the QCEA project. As the next stages of
the draft are produced we will make further comments. One issue
that has been a focus of the project is the role of civil society
in making the EU more democratic. We will be calling for the creation
of a legal basis for dialogue between the EU and citizens: in this
issue of Around Europe (p4) you can read about how the Council of
Europe is developing its dialogue with non-governmental organisations.
This may be a useful example for the EU to learn from.
Bronwen
Thomas
See
http://european-convention.eu.int/
to read the first 16 draft Articles of the Constitutional Treaty.
QCEA’s
responses to the Convention, including the proposed amendments,
can be read on our website.
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Addressing
Racism and Xenophobia In Europe
On 6 February
2003, Anna Diamantopoulou, the European Commissioner with responsibility
for Employment and Social Affairs, launched a Round Table discussion
on Islamophobia. This was the second Round Table discussion in a series,
the first having considered anti-Semitism in December. In March, a
concluding session will bring together the recommendations from the
first two and will focus on intercultural dialogue. These
Round Tables have been organised with the support of the European
Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) which was established
in 1997 by the EU as an independent body to combat racism, xenophobia
and anti-Semitism throughout Europe.
The
EUMC works with the Council of Europe, the UN and other international
organisations. It has the task of reviewing the extent and development
of racist, xenophobic and anti-Semitic phenomena in the EU and promoting
“best practice” among the Member States.
It
has set up a European Racism and Xenophobia Information Network
(RAXEN). RAXEN is an instrument for collecting and collating national
data. The EUMC will on this basis develop a European database for
conducting research, disseminating information and implementing
knowledge transfer in the field. It is the aim of RAXEN to bring
together all the forces in Europe in this field and establish an
instrument for change.
It
has produced a report on anti-Islamic reactions within the EU after
the acts of terror against the USA. This is a collection of country
reports from RAXEN National Focal Points (NFPs) and also provides
an interesting synthesis of these.
QCEA
will continue to monitor the outcomes of these Round Tables and,
where possible, will provide information about the conclusions and
any relevant action points. In the meantime, we feel that the information
available so far from the EUMC website may assist our readers in
their own actions. We would be keen to hear from Friends and others
about specific actions you are taking locally to address issues
of racism and xenophobia particularly in the current context.
Martina
Weitsch
EUMC
Website
Raxen
Website
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QCEA’s New Clerks Introduce Themselves
Bert
Touwen, Clerk For
several years I have been clerk of my Monthly Meeting (in the North-East
of the Netherlands), my Monthly Meeting’s representative on
the Dutch Meeting for Sufferings, and thereafter the clerk of Meeting
for Sufferings.
So
why clerk of QCEA? The answer is the same as the answer to the question
why I am a Quaker. Being allowed to sit still and wait for the presence
of God – to use this name for someone who hasn’t a name,
but who merely said he was who he would be – is a privilege
to be thankful for. One example of how this privilege can be realised
is in the work of QCEA.
Europe
is a challenge. Europe is inhabited by men, women and children,
all of whom are hoping for a better world. Europe also consists
of governments, who seem to try to sit on the front row. But governments,
too, are composed of people with their hopes. They all have something
of God in them, not merely something but ‘That of God’.
Can we help them to discover ‘That’? How?
QCEA
was in need of a new clerk. I have time available and I see the
importance of QCEA’s endeavours. I hope sincerely that my
clerkship will work. I know that I will need the help of many.
Jude
Kirton-Darling, Assistant Clerk
Never
has there been more need for a common Quaker voice at European level
advocating conflict reconciliation and social justice. Being asked
to serve as Assistant Clerk and thus being able to participate in
the articulation of our Quaker values and concerns towards decision-makers
can only be seen as a real privilege.
My
contact and knowledge of QCEA may be relatively recent, however
I have a working knowledge of the organisation and where our strengths
but also some of our limitations lie. I first entered Quaker House
in September 1999 as a Programme Assistant along with two others
- Heather Rowlands and Chris McCartney. Since 2000 I have enjoyed
representing European and Middle Eastern Young Friends on the Council,
which has offered a totally different perspective on Quaker work.
I continue
to live and work in Brussels, as a socio-economic researcher for
the European Trade Union Confederation. I hope that my professional
and personal skills will contribute to the smooth-running and future
strengthening of QCEA and, as a consequence, the Quaker voice in
Europe.
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The
Council of Europe: Practising Participation?
Over
the last 50 years the Council of Europe (COE) has progressively made
improvements to the status of International Non-Governmental Organisations
(INGOs). September 2002 marked the 50th anniversary of INGOs’
consultative status. Twenty-five years ago, the representation of
INGOs at the Council was formalised. At the INGO Plenary Conference
on 28 January 2003, the item on the agenda which attracted most attention
was consideration of the preliminary draft resolution on participatory
status for INGOs. If
this is approved, it will formalize the status of INGOs as one of
the four pillars of the COE. These four pillars, known as the ‘Quadrilogue’,
consist of: the Committee of Ministers and its subsidiary bodies;
the Parliamentary Assembly; the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities
of Europe (CLRAE); and INGOs. It will give INGOs increased status
and replace consultation with participation. All INGOs which currently
have consultative status will enjoy participatory status.
What
this means in practice, if the preliminary draft resolution is passed,
is that:
- “The steering committees, committees of governmental experts and other bodies of the Committee of Ministers, may involve the INGOs enjoying participatory status in the definition of COE policies, programmes and actions in particular by granting observer status to the Liaison Committee and to the INGO thematic groupings, in accordance with the terms of Committee of Ministers’ Resolution (76) 3.” (Rule 4)
- “The
committees of the Parliamentary Assembly and of the Congress of
Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE) are invited to
study ways of intensifying co-operation with and facilitating
INGO participation in their work…” (Rule 5)
-
“The Commissioner for Human Rights is also encouraged to
maintain close co-operation with the INGOs enjoying participatory
status.” (Rule 6)
In
return for this new participatory status, INGOs will be required
to make a greater commitment to the COE in terms of the level of
their engagement with COE activities and developments and to “disseminate
information on COE standards, instruments and activities, as well
as information from the INGO thematic groupings, to their members,
on a regular basis…” (Rule 9.5)
The
10 INGO thematic groupings will also become increasingly important,
as the success of the new status will depend on the INGOs’
capability to act as convincing co-players. If participatory status
becomes reality, QCEA will need to target its efforts carefully
to work within those thematic groups where it can play to its greatest
strengths.
Liz
Scurfield
Council
of Europe Website
Council
of Europe and NGOs Website
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Correction
In
the last edition of AE we reported that there was no longer any permanent
international human rights monitoring in Chechnya. In fact, the COE
has experts in the Office of the Special Representative of the President
of the Russian Federation for ensuring Human Rights and Civil Rights
and Freedoms in the Chechen Republic. These experts report to the
Secretary General of the COE who produces periodical reports.
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