Dear colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I have to start my introductory remarks on a sad note. This summer, one of our colleagues -Philipp Missfelder from the German delegation - passed away at the age of 35. We will remember him as an active participant of our debates, a committed European, and a true friend. My condolences to the German delegation as well as to this family.
I would also like to pay tribute to two of our colleagues interpreters who passed away during this summer – Dimitri Golybine from the Russian booth and Bernardo Ghionda from the Italian booth. Their voices will be missed.
Allow me to call a minute of silence to pay tribute to the memory of our colleagues and friends.
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Ladies and Gentlemen,
The period between our part sessions was marked by a dramatic and unprecedented aggravation of the refugee crisis. "We are sleepwalking to disaster if we do not work together", these were my words when I addressed the 4th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament early September, urging the Speakers of Parliaments of the world to work with their governments to raise awareness of the refugee drama and show much greater solidarity.
While in New York, I discussed this issue with a number of Speakers and international partners. More recently, I spoke about the refugee drama with the President of the European Parliament and the leaders of the European Parliament's political groups during the joint meeting between our Presidential Committee and the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament.
Clearly, we are facing a crisis which requires a bold, straightforward and collective response at Pan-European level. It also requires us to look ahead and not react a step behind developments, which we have been doing in the last couple of months.
Our Assembly is already actively involved. As you know, the migration phenomenon and our response to the refugee drama have been in the focus of my activities as President since the beginning of my mandate. Together with your support, we organised a visit by parliamentarians to the refugee camps in Turkey, in order to encourage our Parliamentarians to raise awareness amongst governments and citizens of the scope and magnitude of the challenge. We launched a Campaign to end immigration detention of children. We are setting up visits by parliamentarians to detention centers for migrants all over Europe, to be organised on 18 December, the International Migrants Day.
During all my official visits and in particular, in Greece, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Portugal, Serbia, the UN institutions in New York and in Geneva, as well as in the EU institutions, I discussed the migration and asylum challenges and I could feel a strong sense of solidarity with the refugees and an understanding of the gravity of the problem and the need to take urgent action. Today, we must act. It's no use to continue talking; we need positive actions in our member states.
On Tuesday, we'll hopefully have a thematic debate about Europe's political and humanitarian response to the refugee crisis, with the participation of Ms Laura Boldrini, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy and former UNHCR high official. In our debates, we will focus specifically on the need to review Europe's asylum policies and regulations, as well as on the challenges the countries of transit are facing.
I hope you will support this proposal when we come to the adoption of the agenda of our part session.
While I would not like to preclude the results of this debate, let me highlight three issues which I believe are crucially important and have to be taken into consideration.
Firstly, our priority must be to save the lives of people and provide shelter and support to all those who require international protection. This is our shared duty and an international responsibility. I welcome the recent decision of the EU to relocate 120,000 refugees. Governments need to stand up to their responsibilities, show leadership and bravely take bold decisions, despite the fact that they may be unpopular and seen as wrong by some. I regret, however, that this decision came at such a late stage, after dozens of thousands of people have already crossed the EU borders.
The figures are significant, but not insurmountable for a continent as large and wealthy as Europe. The solutions we come up with should not just be short-term fixes. We must think strategically and anticipate developments, as there will be many more people coming, we know this with certainty. We must take into account the future implications of the current crisis, by putting in place medium and long term integration measures for the new arrivals but also for the host societies. We must keep in mind the wider context and address not only the immediate consequences of the refugee drama but also the root causes: war, conflicts, poverty, and famine. The refugee drama is a global problem, which requires global solutions and global solidarity.
Secondly, in reflecting about our response to the refugee crisis, we should keep in mind our standards and values. Any person arriving on the territory of our 47 member states is entitled to the same fundamental rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights. I welcome the Secretary General's initiative to forward to our governments guidance on the treatment of migrants and asylum seekers, to ensure respect for their human rights. But rights come with responsibilities and we must help those who arrive to Europe to understand and apprehend these.
Thirdly, as we are talking today about our immediate response to the crisis, we should not lose sight of the wider picture: the migration phenomenon and its implications for our societies. Many asylum seekers who come to Europe will stay as refugees. We want them to become active members of our societies. We want them to contribute to our economy, enrich our cultural and linguistic environment. We cannot afford to marginalize them. I have said on a number of occasions, we must break the negative stereotypes about migrants and refugees, and value the benefits and opportunities they can offer to our societies. This is all the more important as populist and xenophobic rhetoric is on the rise.
We must put in place policies which say no to hatred. Ten days ago, I had the immense honour of discussing this issue with His Holiness Pope Francis who received me in a private audience in the Vatican. I was honored that His Holiness agreed to support our No Hate Parliamentary Alliance.
As you know, I have been actively promoting the Alliance in all my official visits and bilateral meetings and it is with great enthusiasm that I will continue to do so, not only at the European level but also globally, in our contacts with international partners. Together with the Norwegian Speaker of Parliament we launched the idea of establishing a European Day for Victims of Hate Crime and I hope that with the support of the parliamentarians from all 47 Council of Europe member states this initiative will eventually take shape.
Keeping in mind the wider context, I cannot avoid mentioning the issue of intercultural dialogue which is our tool to combat the root causes of intolerance and hate, as well as to promote better cohesion and integration in our societies. As the former Rapporteur on the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue, I have been paying particular attention to the issue of living together in all my activities. This week we will be considering Mr Huseynov's report on "Freedom of religion and living together in a democratic society". This report picks up on the Assembly's earlier idea to establish a stable platform for dialogue with senior representatives of religions and non-denominational organisations in order to foster active commitment by all. I urge you to support this idea.
And this idea was also supported by the Pope when he addressed our assembly in November last year. He suggested establishing an Agora for discussing this issue.
And I'm glad the Bosnia and Herzegovina Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers has chosen intercultural dialogue as a priority, and I look forward to attending the Sarajevo exchanges on the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue in November.
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Dear colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Today, as we prepare to award the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize for the third time, I am sorry to have to report that the dream of Vaclav Havel and indeed of the great Europeans who founded the Council of Europe, the dream of a Europe united by a belief in democracy and human rights, is still a long way from being fully realised.
In some member States, human rights defenders and civil society activists face a whole range of problems. Restrictive laws, complex and inappropriate administrative procedures and, even worse, pressure, intimidation and reprisals… Unfortunately, all too often, human rights defenders and NGOs are forced to operate in extremely difficult conditions, or even illegally and in secret.
This is unacceptable in a democratic society and in Council of Europe member States.
It is important that such abuses be strongly condemned. Ever since I became President of the Assembly, I have always made this my rule, issuing numerous public statements and raising the matters concerned at bilateral meetings.
I have consistently called for the release of political prisoners wherever they are being held in Europe. The first winner of the Vaclav Havel Prize - Mr Ales Bialiatski – spent three years in prison for standing up for democratic ideals in Belarus, the same ideals promoted by the Council of Europe, even though Belarus is not a member of the Council of Europe. It was a great honour for me to receive him as a guest during his visit to the Council of Europe last year, following his release.
Last year's prize-winner – Mr Anar Mammadli – is still in detention in Azerbaijan and I am sorry that I was not able to see him during my visit to the country. I have, however, met with other political prisoners and members of their families in Baku and Strasbourg, in order to convey our sympathy and support, and I intend to continue doing so. I am not giving up.
Over the past two years, indeed, the human rights situation in Azerbaijan has deteriorated significantly. The people targeted, the type of charges, the length of the sentences and the blatant irregularities in the conduct of the trials all cast doubt on the authorities' willingness to respect the fundamental values of the Council of Europe.
The recent convictions of Leyla Yunus, Arif Yunus and Khadidja Ismailova are deeply troubling. It is high time Azerbaijan changed its attitude to human rights and engaged in a root-and-branch effort to tackle systemic problems in terms of the functioning of the justice system and respect for media freedom and freedom of association and assembly.
With Azerbaijan due to hold parliamentary elections in just over one month's time, this is all the more important.
As you know, this morning the Assembly Bureau considered whether the PACE should observe these elections in the light of the ODIHR's decision to cancel its observation mission. The Azerbaijani authorities' decision to impose tight restrictions on the deployment of long- and short-term ODIHR observers makes it impossible for this institution – our key partner in the election observation and the atmosphere in which the elections are conducted – to carry out thorough, comprehensive observation, in accordance with its well-established methods and practices.
I have voiced serious concerns about this move to the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament who I could also meet in New-York, and urged him to work with the competent authorities in Azerbaijan to ensure that the ODIHR observation mission is fully deployed in the appropriate manner. Most regrettably, the Azerbaijani authorities seem unwilling to reconsider their position.
This morning the Bureau confirmed its decision to send an election observation mission to Baku, on 1 November 2015. This decision was the Bureau's to make and it must be respected.
In my opinion, however, and I am speaking here purely for myself, unless the long- and short-term ODIHR observers are present, it will be very difficult, if not impossible, for our ad hoc committee to make a thorough and comprehensive assessment as to whether the election is consistent with our standards and with Azerbaijan's commitments to the Council of Europe.
We need to review our working methods because we cannot conduct a comprehensive election observation without considering all the factors of the electoral process
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Dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,
As usual, we will be playing host to numerous political leaders this week. I am particularly proud that during my presidency the list of visitors to the Assembly Chamber will include their Royal Highnesses Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria-Teresa, accompanied by the Speaker of the Luxembourg Parliament, Mr Mars Di Bartolomeo, and the Minister for Family Affairs and Integration, Ms Corinne Cahen. I am proud to welcome in this hemicycle their Royal Highnesses.
We also look forward to hearing from the Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr Denis Zvizdic, and the Prime Minister of Serbia, Mr Aleksandar Vucic, as well as from the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers, Mr Igor Crndak, and the Speaker of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Ms Laura Boldrini. I am delighted that the Parliamentary Assembly is continuing to provide a forum for discussion for senior political figures.
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Dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,
This is going to be the last plenary session at which I preside. So, in concluding my introductory remarks, allow me to make a general observation.
The past two years were not good for human rights and for the values that our Organisation is defending. Let me give you a few examples of the many challenges we are facing: the refugee drama, the rise of radicalism and the barbaric terrorist attacks in the heart of Europe as well as in our neighborhood, the conflict in Ukraine and the involvement of Russia.
Regarding the latter issue – the conflict in Ukraine – the end of violence and the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity will remain a priority for us. Equally, supporting Ukraine in its efforts to reform its institutions will remain on top of our agenda, as Ukraine needs solid democratic institutions based on the rule of law to pursue its European agenda.
During the past two years, we have seen some positive developments too and I would like to emphasise in particular the quick and extraordinary mobilisation of all stakeholders against violent extremism and terrorism following the Charlie Hebdo attack, the No Hate movement and the launch of the No Hate Parliamentary Alliance, as well as the entry into force of the Istanbul Convention, to give but a few examples.
Yet, the challenges that our values are facing are enormous.
In responding to these, our Assembly must stay united. Every single voice is important. Every single action we take within our national parliaments, at European and international level counts.
I have seen in these last two years an extraordinary mobilisation of our Assembly whenever the very foundations of our values were challenged. Thanks to our common efforts and commitments, our Assembly has taken bold and principled positions whenever the fundamental principles of the Council of Europe were undermined.
I would like to thank the fantastic staff who supports us and I would like to thank the Committee of Ministers and the Secretary General of the Concil of Europe for their excellent cooperation, and I would like to specially thank the Secretary General of the Assembly, Mr Wojciech Sawicki.
Finally allow me to thank two of our colleagues who will leave our Assembly, Mr Mota Amaral, an outstanding member of the assembly, and Mr Andrea Gross, who are attending their last session.
I wish to thank you all for your support.