Carta dos Direitos dos Cônjuges: EUFASA 2017

 

EUFASA CONFERENCE HELSINKI  March 2017

CHARTER OF RIGHTS OF SPOUSES AND PARTNERS OF MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS (MFA) TRANSFERABLE OFFICERS

WHEREAS:

• The Diplomatic/Foreign Service career requires the mobility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) officers and their families to postings to different countries;

• There are serious consequences for those spouses and partners that agree to follow the MFA officers abroad on posting. In addition to having to interrupt their professional careers and to give up their personal income, they must also suspend their social security contributions and accruement of their pension benefits;

• In the EU Member States, most spouses and partners want to work, to have career prospects and/or build a career, to contribute financially to supporting their families and to pay into their own pensions;

• The family is the pillar of stability in a career with a high degree of international mobility. It is vital to the well-being and performance of MFA officers and other diplomatic staff;

• Spouses and partners of MFA officers often take part in the social life while on posting to represent and promote the interests and image of their country, thus contributing to the diplomatic mission;

• In case of divorce, widowhood, disability or old age, spouses and partners of MFA officers are often left in a very vulnerable and dependent financial situation, having forfeited personal income and pension rights, which could have otherwise been accrued over the years.

Reaffirming the declarations and recommendations adopted at the EUFASA Conferences in The Hague (1997), Stockholm (2001), Madrid (2002), Athens (2003), Berlin (2007), Paris (2008), Prague (2009), Budapest (2011), Warsaw (2012), Bern(2013) and Riga (2015) on the rights of spouses and partners of transferable MFA officers, the XXXII Annual Conference of the European Union Foreign Affairs Spouses and Partners Association (EUFASA) held in Helsinki on 28 and 29 March 2017 adopted this Charter of Rights of Spouses and Partners of MFA officers as a common standard of achievement.

Article 1

Spouses and partners of transferable MFA officers should be acknowledged by the MFAs for their role as contributors to the representation and promotion of the image and interests of that country when accompanying an MFA officer posted abroad;

Article 2

Governments should acknowledge the impact of the diplomatic service on the lives and careers of spouses and partners of transferable MFA officers;

Article 3

Spouses and partners of transferable MFA officers have the right to financial protection in case of divorce, widowhood, disability or old age;

Article 4

Spouses and partners of transferable MFA officers have the right to financial compensation for loss of earnings when interrupting their professional activity to accompany an MFA officer posted abroad;

Article 5

Spouses and partners of transferable MFA officers have the right to financial compensation for their contribution to the diplomatic mission when accompanying an MFA officer posted abroad. This should correspond or be at least equivalent to the applicable minimum wage of the country of the transferable MFA officer;

Article 6

Governments should compensate spouses and partners of transferable MFA officers for loss of social security benefits, including pension rights, at a level equivalent to the average in the country of the transferable MFA officer;

Article 7

Spouses and partners of transferable MFA officers have the right to the same medical coverage, accident and terrorism risk insurance granted to that MFA officer;

Article 8

Governments should provide support towards employment on posting of spouses and partners of transferable MFA officers through training and by informing them of job openings in their missions or other entities abroad;

Article 9

Governments are requested to increase the number of bilateral employment agreements with countries outside the EU/EEA;

Article 10

Governments should grant the spouses and partners of transferable MFA officers who are themselves civil or public servants, the possibility of obtaining leave of absence to accompany transferable MFA officers for the duration of their service abroad;

Article 11

Governments should provide support and training to spouses and partners of transferable MFA officers returning to the job market in the country of the transferable MFA officer;

Article 12

Spouses and partners of transferable MFA officers who could not find work upon returning to the country of the transferable MFA officer country, despite Government support, should have the right to unemployment benefits.

 Signature page:

AUSTRIA

BELGIUM

CZECH REPUBLIC

ESTONIA

EUROPEAN UNION

FINLAND

FRANCE

GERMANY

IRELAND

ITALY

LATVIA

LITHUANIA

LUXEMBOURG

POLAND*

PORTUGAL

SPAIN

SWITZERLAND

UNITED KINGDOM