The Center for the Study of Democracy has been
hosting the Information Centre on the Council of Europe in Sofia
since 1993. The Information Centre provides the Bulgarian public
and institutions with information on the activities and supports
Council activities in priority areas. Below are some of the
highlights for the year 2001. Additional information is available
at www.cid.bg
Releases in 2001
Translations
- Gender mainstreaming. Conceptual framework,
methodology and presentation of good practices & Going for gender
balance. Aguide for balancing decision-making
- Handbook on National machinery to promote gender
equality and action plans. Guidelines for establishing and
implementing National machinery to promote equality, with examples
of good practice.
- Going For Gender Balance A Guide For Balancing
Decision-Making
- The Council of Europe, 800 million Europeans
Publications
- European Convention on Human Rights: Starting
points for Teachers (in Bulgarian)
- Gender mainstreaming. Conceptual framework,
methodology and presentation of good practices & Going for gender
balance. A guide for balancing decision- making (in Bulgarian)
- Case-law Digest of the European Court of
Human Rights (in Bulgarian)
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European Social Charter
European Social Charter For several years now the
Information Center on the Council of Europe in Sofia has been
involved in the mechanism for ratification of the European Social
Charter by Bulgaria. The national mechanism is a consultation
network of government, non-governmental and professional
organizations who are stakeholders in the process of ratification.
The mechanism is an example of best practice in establishing
public-private partnerships in key areas of reform in a country in
transition. The national mechanism is coordinated by the Ministry
of Labor and Social Policy and includes representatives of all
major trade unions, associations of disabled people, trade and
business associations, the National Social Security Institute, etc.
The Information Centre has been providing informational and
logistical support for the network.
In November, the Information Centre hosted a
consultation meeting of Council of Europe experts providing
technical assistance for the development of the Bulgarian national
report on the ratification of the Social Charter.
An important occasion in 2001 for the national
mechanism was the marking of the 40th anniversary of the launching
of the European Social Charter. On October 18, 1961 the Committee
of Ministers of the Council of Ministers opened the Charter for
signature, inviting the member states to adhere to this major
treaty, guaranteeing social and economic rights and hence serving
as a genuine counterpart to the European Convention on Human Rights
which, for its part, guarantees civil and political rights. On this
occasion, on October 18 the Information Center hosted an official
celebration meeting at its premises. The celebration was an
important acknowledgment of the significance which Bulgaria's
government and civil society attribute to the cooperation within
the framework of the Charter. Ms. Lydia Shouleva, Deputy Prime
Minister and Labor and Social Policy Minister, Ms. Elena
Poptodorova, Director of Human Rights Department in Foreign Affairs
Ministry, members of the Bulgarian Ratification Committee, the
Director of National Employment Office Mr. Oleg Choulev, and the
leaders of two of the largest trade unions Mr. Zhelyazko Hristov,
Mr. Konstantin Trenchev were among the guests of the evening.
Deputy Prime Minister Lydia Shouleva
addressing the 40th anniversary European
Social Charter celebration meeting
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South East Europe Strategic Review
On Social Cohesion On October 24-26, the Information
Centre hosted the first meeting of the Employment Network set up by
the Council of Europe for the purpose of the South East Europe
Strategic Review On Social Cohesion. The review process was
launched in May 2001 and the Information Centre was the first to
host a meeting of the network.
Ms Liliana Stankova, Head of Migration and European
Integration Section at the Bulgarian National Employment Service
was elected Chairperson of the meeting. On behalf of Bulgaria, she
welcomed the participants. Mr. Boyko Todorov, Director of the
Documentation Centre of the Council of Europe in Sofia was
introduced and thanked for his assistance in organizing the
event.
Mr. Stefano Dominioni of the Council of Europe
Secretariat outlined the South East Europe Strategic Review on
Social Cohesion in its various components - Employment, Health,
Housing and Social Protection - and put the work of the Council of
Europe in the framework of the Stability Pact for South East
Europe. The themes discussed throughout the three-day meeting
included the transformation of the labor market; identifying
vulnerable groups and their needs and policy responses to improve
access to employment.
Several working groups discussed the transformations
of the labor market with a particular focus on the following
subject areas: main trends regarding employment and unemployment,
long term unemployment, migration patterns, refugees, labor market
segmentation, the "shadow economy", as well as the definition of
vulnerable groups, identification of the processes excluding people
from the labor market, social and economic deprivation linked to
that exclusion, main priorities in terms of (re)insertion of
vulnerable groups into the labor market, and assessment of the
needs to that purpose.
From left to right: Ms Liliana Stankova,
Head of Migration and European Integration Section at the Bulgarian
National Employment Service, and
Mr. Stefano Dominioni and Mr. Frederick Lapeyre, Social Cohesion
Development Division at the Council of Europe
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Case law digest of the European Court of Human
Rights
In 2001, the Information Centre published a book
containing a digest of the Bulgarian translations of some 42 cases
from the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. The book
was edited by a team of eminent Bulgarian lawyers led by Justice
Dimitar Gochev, Constitutional Court Judge and former Judge at the
European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The purpose of the of
the publication is to make accessible to the Bulgarian legal
community some of the key judgments of the Court on some of the key
articles of the European Convention on Human Right - such as
articles 3, 5, 6, 8. The book contains some of the landmark cases
in these areas as well as the first case brought against Bulgaria
in the Court.
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