Welcome to this selection of Council of Europe texts which relate to NGOs and citizen, especially youth participation, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and freedom of association. This compendium is an online resource to guide you through the complex world of policies and political statements.

The aim of this Compendium is to provide civil society organisations, especially youth organisations – whether formal or non-formal – with various Council of Europe policy documents and statements that relate to young people, youth participation (or participation in general) and NGOs. It is primarily intended to support youth organisations in finding relevant policies or statements they can use to inform their work and develop or defend their stand on youth issues. It can also be helpful in understanding the role of youth NGOs and their work in the wider frame of human rights.

Policy documents are not always easy to read or understand; sometimes they are considered to be of little or no importance or relevance to people or organisations working on local or regional levels. However, they become important when civil society organisations need to clarify their objectives, decide on strategies for fostering youth participation, or protect/defend their vision/mission and activities. It is clear that, in a democratic society, civil society organisations should not find themselves in a situation where such action is necessary. However nowadays, NGOs in different parts of Europe are facing increasing infringements on their freedom of association, assembly and expression, and in such circumstances, it is important to be able to explain their mission to those who may oppose their beliefs.

may:

• provide you with the conceptual framework for youth participation and civil society organisations;
• help you to understand the meaning of freedom of assembly and association and its limits;
• give you useful tips on how to develop your mission and vision of the organisation and how to address the issues of youth participation in your activities;
• provide you with practical guidelines on the legal frameworks for civil society organisations;
• inform you of state authorities’ obligations with regard to youth participation and NGOs;
• make you think and reflect on what you do or what you intend to do.

Each entry in this Compendium consists of:

• the title of the document;
• the name of the Council of Europe institution having adopted it and the date of adoption;
• the reference number – the number that is used by the institutions as a unique identifier for each text and to organise their work;
• a description of the document, including a short explanation of the aim, a description of the content and sometimes links to other practical tools that may help you to understand the concepts and ideas included in the document;
• the website where you can find the document.

Each entry also includes information on whether the document is related exclusively to youth issues or not, as well as some tags that will hopefully help you to find the information you are looking for.

• Recommendations of the Committee of Ministers – recommendations issued by the Committee of Ministers to the member states of the Council of Europe on various matters. They are not binding on member states, however, the Committee of Ministers can ask governments "to inform it of the action taken by them" (Article 15.b of the Statute of the Council of Europe)
   
• Explanatory memorandum – document appended to policy papers (charters, conventions, etc.) prepared by the Council of Europe Secretariat or groups of experts explaining the nature of the document and its provisions in order to make them easier to understand.
   
• Recommendations of the Parliamentary Assembly – documents prepared by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe that contain proposals addressed to the Committee of Ministers for implementation by that Committee or by the member states’ governments.
   
• Resolutions of the Parliamentary Assembly – documents adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe that embody the Assembly’s decisions on questions of substance which it is empowered to put into effect, or a point of view for which it alone is responsible.
   
• Convention – a type of treaty, an international agreement between the states on a particular matter and governed by international law. Conventions are open for signature by member states of the Council of Europe (sometimes other countries can also become parties to conventions). Once signed, conventions must be ratified by a national institution constituted to do it. By ratifying the convention, the state expresses its consent to be bound by a treaty. The Convention enters into force when a sufficient number of states have expressed their consent to be bound by the treaty (this number is usually specified in the document). Then, the treaty has a legal existence in the international legal system and in the legal systems of states parties. Conventions are legally binding for the states that have signed and ratified them however states may record “reservations”, ie they may exclude themselves from certain provisions. Conventions usually have a monitoring mechanism that monitors their implementation in the member states.
   
• Charter – a type of treaty in the Council of Europe dealing with a specific matter, e.g social rights. Some charters have a legally non-binding character, which means that the states do not have to sign and ratify them and their provisions are meant to guide member states in the development and implementation of specific policies. However, some of them, like the European Social Charter, are legally binding. In such situations, the process of signing and ratifying them is the same as in the case of conventions.