Topic: Outlook for international parliamentary co-operation: topical issues on the current international political agenda
Dear Madam President,
Honorable Speakers,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is an honour and a special privilege for me to address the Council of the Inter-parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
As you know, since 1997, PACE and the CIS Assembly co-operate within the framework of a special agreement.
Thanks to this agreement, we have organised a number of joint events, including conferences on such issues as counteracting terrorism, addressing the migration phenomena, fostering intercultural dialogue, and building a Europe without dividing lines. Our sectoral Committees have held a number of joint meetings. Delegations of members of the CIS Assembly regularly attend the plenary sessions of the Parliamentary Assembly in Strasbourg.
Next year, we will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of our institutionalised co-operation and I believe that we could seize this opportunity to take stock of the results achieved so far and reflect together on the ways to strengthen our co-operation further in future.
Therefore, the topic of today's discussion - outlook for international parliamentary co-operation: topical issues on the current international political agenda – is extremely timely and appropriate.
Colleagues,
The challenges our Continent is facing are truly global and require a multilateral, comprehensive and strategic response by all actors. Parliamentary diplomacy has a special role to play in addressing these and let me highlight four issues on which I believe our co-operation should focus.
Firstly, international terrorism constitutes a fundamental, multi-faceted danger. We have to combat terrorism without fear and defend our freedoms and our way of life, in full compliance with our human rights and rule of law standards.
Secondly, we need to find appropriate ways to address the consequences and the root causes of the refugee crisis, in full respect of our international commitments and human rights standards. At the same time, we should not lose sight of the wider migration phenomena which – without any doubts – is going to be one of the major issues of the 21st century.
Thirdly, the "frozen" and "burning" conflicts still unresolved in Europe represent a threat to the security and stability of the whole Continent. I strongly believe that parliamentary diplomacy has a role to play in the search of the solution to these conflicts, especially as regards confidence-building and dialogue between parliamentarians.
Lastly, I would like to mention the wave of left- and right-wing populism, rising nationalism and the erosion of democratic principles and human rights in some places, which affect our cohesion and our capacity for joint action.
These challenges interact, fuelling and exacerbating each other. We have to work together to tackle them and I greatly appreciate the opportunity of holding an exchange of views with you today, especially, with the participation of the leaders of major inter-parliamentary Assemblies – the Inter-parliamentary Union, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Co-operation.
Therefore, let me share with you some information about a few initiatives that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is conducting in these four areas.
Regarding the issue of terrorism, during our June part-session, to be held on 20-24 June 2016, we will launch a "NO FEAR" -the right to live without fear- initiative. Initially, it is going to be a hash-tag campaign to mobilise politicians, civil society actors and ordinary citizens against hate speech, populist rhetoric, stigmatisation of certain groups and communities which contributes to creating a general feeling of suspicion, insecurity and fear within our societies. I hope that the Parliaments of our Member states, as well as our partner parliamentary Assemblies, will join this initiative.
Regarding the refugee crisis, our Assembly regularly prepares reports on the various aspects of the crisis and the ways to address its consequences and human rights implications. In particular, during the April part-session, we held a debate on human rights implications of the EU-Turkey Agreement. As a follow up to this report, we will send a delegation of parliamentarians to Greece in which – I hope – representatives of all member states of the Council of Europe will participate. This visit will aim at raising awareness of the migration and refugee challenges facing Greece and of the living conditions of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, as well as their access to international protection. This is especially important in the light of the existing concerns about the respect of human rights standards in the implementation of the EU-Turkey agreement.
Regarding the issue of "frozen conflicts", following the recent escalation of violence in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, I held separate meetings with the Chairpersons of the Armenian and Azerbaijani delegations to the Parliamentary Assembly. My aim was to listen to their stories, to gain a better understanding of the situation on the ground and to identify issues on which we could work together. I urged both leaders of delegations to de-escalate and refrain from strong rhetoric. I could see from my discussions that their positions were strongly divergent but I shall not give up my efforts because as parliamentarians we must keep doors for dialogue open.
Regarding the dangerous trends of right- and left-wing populism, as well as the raise of radical and extremist political forces, our Assembly launched in 2015 a "NO HATE Parliamentary Alliance" to mobilise parliamentarians against manifestations of hate and provide a platform for exchanging experiences and good practices. The role of Parliaments in combating hate and building inclusive and non-racist societies will be one of the topics of the European Conference of Speakers of Parliament which will be held in Strasbourg, on 15-16 September 2016. I am looking forward to welcoming at this conference the Speakers from our Member states as well as the leaders of our partner parliamentary Assemblies.
Colleagues, I shall stop here and look forward to answering any questions you may have.
Thank you for your attention.