From 7 to 9 December 2021, the Committee on Anti-Discrimination, Diversity, and Inclusion (CDADI) held its fourth meeting and unanimously endorsed a new draft Recommendation on intercultural integration.

Gathering in person (in Strasbourg) and online, the CDADI held its 4th and last plenary meeting under the current mandate. On that occasion, the Committee examined the draft text of the Recommendation on multilevel policies and governance for intercultural integration and decided to submit it to the Committee of Ministers (CM) for consideration and possible adoption.

The draft Recommendation has been prepared by the Working Group on Intercultural Integration (GT-ADI-INT), the first multilevel subordinate body comprising representatives of national and local authorities. It is based on Council of Europe standards in the field of integration and inclusion, as well as on the review report of the implementation by Member States of CM/Rec(2015)1 on intercultural integration, and on the Model Framework for an intercultural integration strategy at the national level, adopted by the CDADI in June 2021.

The draft recommendation contains the essence of the intercultural integration model as a set of policies which seek to include migrants through interaction and participation, to foster equality and sense of belonging, and to value diversity as an asset for community development. It further requires member states to implement intercultural integration strategies through a multilevel approach, involving stakeholders and authorities at all levels in their design, implementation, and evaluation. It finally offers European guidance to support a coherent, comprehensive, and consistent approach to intercultural integration based, among others, on best practices collected in Member States.

The draft Recommendation has been unanimously endorsed by the 47 Member States represented in CDADI; if adopted by the Committee of Ministers next year, it will become the first European standard co-drafted by national and local authorities, setting the starting point for multilevel cooperation in the field of intercultural integration. The text of the Recommendation will be published after adoption.