Europarådets pressekorrespondent i de nordiske lande Arne Madsen Bremerholm 6, 4., DK-1069 København K Tlf. +45 33 14 15 84, Fax +45 33 15 54 84,E-  mail: [email protected],Internet:   www.coe.int E-mail / FAX Pressemeddelelse til redaktionen Dato: 1. november 2004. Antal sider (inkl. denne): 5 Council of Europe ministers meet to discuss how to tackle violence in Europe Oslo, 7-9 November 2004 Strasbourg, 29.10.2004 - Ministers and senior officials from the 46 member states of the Council of Europe are to meet in Oslo to discuss how to tackle the problem of violence in everyday life. The meeting, which will take place from 7 to 9 November 2004, marks the culmination of three years’ work within the framework of a special project, set up by the Council, to look at all aspects of the problem. Under  the  project,  the  Council’s  services  involved  have  pooled  resources  to  propose  means  of preventing  violence  in  homes,  towns,  schools  and  at  sports  events,  as  well  as  violence  against women and other victims of human trafficking. The conference, whose official title is “Preventing everyday  violence  in  Europe:  responses  in  a  democratic  society”,  aims  to  help  make  European societies safer by addressing the problem on a European level. It will outline twelve principles that can  help  reduce  violence  in  any  country,  and  recommend  that  they  be  adopted  by  governments across Europe as part of their national strategies against violence. The conference is hosted by the Norwegian Minister of Justice and the Police, Odd Einar Dørum, as part of the Norwegian presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. It will open at 5:30 pm, on Sunday 7 November, at Oslo City Hall, with speeches by the Prime Minister of Norway  Kjell  Magne  Bondevik,  Council  of  Europe  Deputy  Secretary  General  Maud  de  Boer- Buquicchio,  Chairman  of  the  Council’s  Ministers’  Deputies,  Torbjørn   Frøysnes,  and  representing the  Parliamentary  Assembly  of  the  Council  of  Europe,  Ruth-Gaby  Vermot-Mangold.    It  will continue for the two following days at the Radisson SAS Plaza Hotel on Sonja Henies Plass 3, Oslo. All sessions will be open to the press. Contact Cathie Burton: + 33 (0)6 85 11 64 93 + 33 (0)3 88 41 28 93 For further information: http://www.coe.int/violence-oslo Til orientering vedlægges   programmet og en kort orientering om konferencens baggrund og formål. Konferencerapporten kan ses på ovennævnte e   -mail adresse.

Preventing everyday violence in Europe: responses in a democratic society Ad hoc Conference of European Ministers responsible for the prevention of violence in everyday life Oslo, Norway, 7-9 November 2004 REVISED PROGRAMME Registration on arrival at the hotel or at the Conference Venue on Monday morning Sunday 7 November Time Activity Content Other 17.00 Official opening Speeches by Representatives from Norway and City of Oslo Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe Representative of the Committee of Ministers Representative of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Representative of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe To be held in Oslo City Hall Presentation of the Council of Europe award “Young active citizens” Introduction by member of the Jury Five awards presented by the Mayor of Oslo (to be confirmed) Short comments by Award winners “ 19.30 Reception for all participants “ Monday 8 November 09.30 10.00 10.15 Plenary session Conclusions of the Integrated Project WHO Global Campaign against violence Discussion Radisson SAS Plaza Hotel 11.15 Coffee “ 11.45 Norway presents a relevant project (Action plan against violence in the family) Questions “ 13.00 Lunch for the visiting ministers/heads of delegations Host: Council of Europe “ “ Lunch for the rest of the delegates Host: Norway Radisson SAS Plaza Hotel 14.30 Group discussions: 3 groups –  Chaired by Norway, the “

ministers/heads of delegations Netherlands and Poland with Rapporteurs main topics: inter-ministerial and interagency co-operation for integrated policy development and action plan, proposals for further CoE action “ Alternative programme for the rest of the delegates Topics : - Mediation - Draft resolution “ 18.00 End of programme (Drafting Group to revise resolution) “ 20.00 Official dinner for all participants Hosted by the Norwegian Minister of Justice and the Police “ Tuesday 9 November 09.30 Reports from the discussions 10 minutes per group (Minister or Rapporteur) Radisson SAS Plaza Hotel 10.15 Statements from International and European organisations and NGO(s) “ 11.00 Coffee “ 11.30 Adoption of the resolution “ 12.00 End of conference “

PREVENTING EVERYDAY VIOLENCE IN EUROPE: RESPONSES IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY OSLO 7-9 NOVEMBER 2004 What’s this Conference about? Everyday violence poses a challenge to our fundamental values and therefore has to be met with a determined response.  It is not an intrinsic part of the human condition: violence can be prevented and  reduced  while  its  consequences  can  be  alleviated.  Violence  in  everyday  life  is  a  multifaceted problem  with  psychological,  social,  cultural  and  economic  ramifications,  therefore  it  has  to  be addressed across this wide spectrum of issues, through a broad and co-ordinated partnership. This ministerial conference will examine how to tackle the problem in a comprehensive and coordinated way, involving inter-ministerial and interagency cooperation as well as the participation of non-governmental organisations in the Council of Europe’s 46 member states. The first ever pan - European conference on this subject, it will mark the conclusion of the Council’s Integrated Project “Responses to violence in everyday life in a democratic society” (2002  -04). Who’s organising it? The Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police under the Norwegian presidency of the Council of  Europe  together  with  the  National  Correspondents  of  the  Integrated  Project  “Responses  to violence in everyday life in a democratic society”. What kind of violence will be discussed? The  Integrated  Project  has  tackled  violence  in  towns,  at  home,  in  schools  and  at  sports  events  as well as violence against women and trafficking in human beings. Also on the agenda: youth policies linked  with  violence,  mediation  in  penal  matters,  assistance  to  victims,  structural  and  contextual factors of violence. Who will attend? Participants: - Ministers or senior officials from the 46 member States of the Council of Europe; - Representatives from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe - Representatives from the Congress of Regional and Local Authorities of Europe; - Representatives from the European Commission of the European Union. Observers: - Observer States to the Council of Europe (Holy See, United States, Canada, Japan and Mexico); - United Nations Agencies (WHO, UNESCO, UNICEF), Nordic Council of Ministers, Commonwealth of Independent States; - European Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) enjoying participatory status with the Council of Europe; - European Forum for Urban Safety, International Centre for Crime Prevention.

What are the aims of the Conference? The  Conference  will  provide  a  platform  for  discussing  responses  to  everyday  violence  at  the European   level.   The   emphasis   will   be   on   inter-ministerial   and   interagency   co-operation   in developing national policy against violence to make European societies safer. The conclusions and results of the Integrated Project “Responses to violence in everyday life in a democratic society”, carried  out by the Council of Europe from 2002-04, will also be presented to the  Conference.  Building  on  the  Council’s  earlier  work  against  violence,  the  Project  focused  on comprehensive  policy  development  and  the  preparation  of  a  new  set  of  practical  tools  to  prevent violence  in  everyday  life.  Twelve  principles  for  an  integrated  policy  response  to  violence  will  be discussed at the Conference. WHO Global Campaign for preventing violence will also be discussed. What results are expected from the Conference? The Conference will adopt a resolution on the prevention violence in everyday life and recommend further actions to be undertaken by the Council of Europe in this field Every country should develop and implement a national policy which sets out the major elements of activities against violence and their co-ordination at different levels The Congress of Regional and Local Authorities of Europe is planning to launch a European Observatory on violence and crime in 2005 to improve knowledge about everyday violence What are the key messages for the media? The Council of Europe is playing a leading role in addressing a major problem that affects hundreds of millions of Europeans every year There are twelve principles along with a set of guidelines and manuals that can help the fight against everyday violence in any country, and governments should take account of these when formulating their policies Further action is needed at European level to combat this problem also in terms of developing common standards for comparable statistics related to violence and crime.    What further steps will be taken after the conference? Council of Europe will launch a new three-year inter-disciplinary project on “Children and violence”  to  improve  the  protection  of  children  fro m  violence  –  the  project  will  also contribute to UN Global study on violence against children A  new  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  action  against  trafficking  in  human  beings  will open for signature next year Development   of   violence   and   crime-related   statistics   and   information   exchange   about promising  prevention  initiatives  will  be  boosted  through  the  establishment  of  a  European Observatory on crime and violence planned to be launched by the Congress of Regional and Local Authorities of Europe in 2005.