Institutional accommodation and the citizen

329 Pages·2009·6.47 MB·English

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Institutional accommodation
The Council of Europe has 47 member states, covering virtually the entire continent of Europe.
It seeks to develop common democratic and legal principles based on the European and the citizen: legal and political
Convention on Human Rights and other reference texts on the protection of individuals.
Ever since it was founded in 1949, in the aftermath of the Second World War, the interaction in a pluralist society
Council of Europe has symbolised reconciliation. C
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ISBN 978-92-871-6740-8 f
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http://book.coe.int lis
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€41/US$82 Council of Europe Publishing ing
Institutional accommodation
and the citizen:
legal and political interaction
in a pluralist society
This publication has received political and fi nancial support
from the Directorate General of Employment, Social Affairs
and Equal Opportunities of the European Commission
Trends in social cohesion, No. 21
Council of Europe Publishing
French edition:
Accommodements institutionnels et citoyens: cadres juridiques et politiques pour
interagir dans des sociétés plurielles
ISBN 978-92-871-6739-2
The opinions expressed in this work are the responsibility of the authors and do
not necessarily refl ect the offi cial policy of the Council of Europe.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be translated, reproduced or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic (CD-Rom, Internet, etc.) or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or
retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the Public Information
and Publications Division, Directorate of Communication (F-67075 Strasbourg
Cedex or [email protected]).
Cover design: Documents and Publications Production Department (SPDP),
Council of Europe
Layout: Editions européennes, Brussels
Council of Europe Publishing
F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex
http://book.coe.int
ISBN 978-92-871-6740-8
© Council of Europe, December 2009
Printed in France
Titles in the same collection
No. 1 Promoting the policy debate on social exclusion from a comparative
perspective (ISBN 978-92-871-4920-6, €8/US$12)
No. 2 Trends and developments in old-age pension and health-care
fi nancing in Europe during the 1990s (ISBN 978-92-871-4921-3, €8/
US$12)
No. 3 Using social benefi ts to combat poverty and social exclusion:
opportunities and problems from a comparative perspective (ISBN
978-92-871-4937-4,€13/US$20)
No. 4 New social demands: the challenges of governance (ISBN 978-92-
871-5012-7, €19/US$29)
No. 5 Combating poverty and access to social rights in the countries of
the South Caucasus: a territorial approach (ISBN 978-92-871-5096-7,
€15/US$23)
No. 6 The state and new social responsibilities in a globalising world (ISBN
978-92-871-5168-1, €15/US$23)
No. 7 Civil society and new social responsibilities based on ethical
foundations (ISBN 978-92-871-5309-8, €13/US$20)
No. 8 Youth and exclusion in disadvantaged urban areas: addressing the
causes of violence (ISBN 978-92-871-5389-0, €25/US$38)
No. 9 Youth and exclusion in disadvantaged urban areas: policy approaches
in six European cities (ISBN 978-92-871-5512-2, €15/US$23)
No. 10 Security through social cohesion: proposals for a new socio-
economic governance (ISBN 978-92-871-5491-0, €17/US$26)
No. 11 Security through social cohesion: deconstructing fear (of others) by
going beyond stereotypes (ISBN 978-92-871-5544-3, €10/US$15)
No. 12 Ethical, solidarity-based citizen involvement in the economy: a
prerequisite for social cohesion (ISBN 978-92-871-5558-0, €10/
US$15)
No. 13 Retirement income: recent developments and proposals (ISBN 978-
92-871-5705-8, €13/US$20)
No. 14 Solidarity-based choices in the marketplace: a vital contribution to
social cohesion (ISBN 978-92-871-5761-4, €30/US$45)
No. 15 Reconciling labour fl exibility with social cohesion – Facing the
challenge (ISBN 978-92-871-5813-0, €35/US$53)
No. 16 Reconciling labour fl exibility with social cohesion – Ideas for political
action (ISBN 978-92-871-6014-0, €35/US$53)
3
No. 17 Reconciling labour fl exibility with social cohesion – The experiences
and specifi cities of central and eastern Europe (ISBN 978-92-871-
6151-2, €39/US$59)
No. 18 Achieving social cohesion in a multicultural Europe – Concepts,
situation and developments (ISBN 978-92-871-6033-1, €37/US$56)
No. 19 Reconciling migrants’ well-being and the public interest – Welfare
state, fi rms and citizenship in transition (ISBN 978-92-871-6285-4,
€44/US$88)
No. 20 Well-being for all – Concepts and tools for social cohesion (ISBN 978-
92-871-6505-3, €53/US$106)
4
Contents
Foreword .......................................................................................................9
Alexander Vladychenko
Introduction .................................................................................................11
Gilda Farrell and Myriam Jézéquel
Part A – The concept of reasonable accommodation:
its potential against European frameworks
of citizenship and combat against discriminations
to meet the need for institutional change,
particularly in social services ...........................................21
The reasonable accommodation requirement: potential and limits ..................21
Myriam Jézéquel
Accommodating diversity in Quebec and Europe:
different legal concepts, similar results? .........................................................37
Pierre Bosset and Marie-Claire Foblets
Participation rights under the Framework Convention for the Protection
of National Minorities (FCNM): towards a legal framework
against social and economic discrimination ....................................................67
Lidija R. Basta Fleiner
European legal frameworks responding to diversity and the need
for institutional change. Indirect discrimination as a means
of protecting pluralism: challenges and limits .................................................85
Frédérique Ast
Emerging standards of reasonable accommodation towards minorities
in Europe? ...................................................................................................111
Jennifer Jackson Preece
Reasonable accommodation: going beyond the European Convention
on Human Rights to refl ect the plurality in national institutional settings ......127
Eduardo J. Ruiz Vieytez
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Part B – Reasonable accommodation or mutual
accommodation for all to develop
our institutional and national cultures? ....................143
European legal frameworks that respond to diversity and the need
for institutional change: to what extent are the Canadian concept of
“reasonable accommodation” and the European approach of
“mutual accommodation” refl ected in those frameworks?
Which conceptual approach provides the better way
forward in the European context? ................................................................143
Jane Wright
Accommodations for minorities or accommodations for all –
Bringing about harmonious coexistence in pluralist societies ........................161
Tariq Ramadan
The evolution of institutional cultures:
migrants’ access to services and rights .........................................................171
Eduardo J. Ruiz Vieytez
Part C – Reasonable accommodation in a framework
of dialogue, national education
and teaching of competences........................................183
Resistances to cultural diversity: anti-pluralist rhetoric
and other common objections .....................................................................183
François Fournier
“Ha da passa’ ‘a nuttata”: reasonable accommodation,
a tool for defending coexistence based on respect for rights
in a pluralist society ......................................................................................205
Emilio Santoro
Universality, differences and rights in health and social services
in the context of migration, or how can the differences of minorities
be made an advantage for all? .....................................................................221
Francine Saillant
Two successful examples of reasonable accommodation
and intercultural mediation in the health-care sector ....................................241
Fabrizia Petrei and Lucia Morariu
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Intercultural dialogue: a tool and framework for action
for opening up to otherness in public policies and social services? ................275
Christoph Eberhard
Training in intercultural competences to accommodate differences
in public services – Issues involved ................................................................295
Myriam Jézéquel
Part D – Overview and conclusions..............................................305
Lessons to be learned ..................................................................................305
Myriam Jézéquel
7

Foreword
This edition of “Trends in social cohesion” – Institutional accommodation
and the citizen: legal and political interaction in a pluralist society – looks
at ways of encouraging and promoting changes to institutions and indi-
vidual behaviour to enable citizens of our increasingly pluralist societies to
live together in harmony. It forms part of a project funded jointly by the
Council of Europe and the European Commission on the development of
intercultural skills in the social services.
The articles in this volume are concerned with “accommodating differ-
ences” from both the European and Canadian perspectives. Part A looks
at the potential contribution of the law on both sides of the Atlantic to
changes in our societies. Part B then raises the highly relevant question
of whether we are concerned with reasonable accommodation or mutual
accommodation, that is how to coexist at a time of growing diversity. The
answer is far from simple since what is implied is acceptance of cultural
interaction and an evolution towards something new, which is still to be
created.
Since we also wish to place the question of accommodation in the context
of intercultural dialogue – which the Council of Europe, with its White
Paper, has made a priority – and training in intercultural skills and compe-
tences, Part C goes on to look at the various forms of resistance to this
approach and the anti-pluralist position, and then at ways of ensuring
that the “exceptions” established for minorities also benefi t the rest of
the population and can serve as vehicles of progress. This volume will be
followed by one more specifi cally focused on education and training in
intercultural competences aimed at social agencies, local authorities and
civil society, but it already highlights a number of challenges that such an
approach poses for public services.
For example, in addition to the debate on legal options, we look at poli-
cies and practices for dealing with plurality in a democratic society faced
with hitherto unprecedented rapid change.
This edition of “Trends in social cohesion” is thus an opportunity for the
Council of Europe to contribute to a major social issue and outline a vision
of the future that allows us to set aside mutual suspicion and develop
institutional arrangements and forms of social interaction capable of
making diversity a factor for progress and well-being. In particular, this
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