ADDRESS BY MR MEVLÜT ÇAVUŞOĞLU,

PRESIDENT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY

OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE, AT THE

LEADERS OF CHANGE SUMMIT

Session 2 : “Leadership in Modern Age - Why it has to be international?”

(Istanbul, 14 March 2011)

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

It is indeed a great pleasure for me to take the floor as President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe before this distinguished audience of politicians, academics and scientists.

First of all, I wish to extend my thanks to the İstanbul University and the Turkish Future Researches Foundation (TUGAV) for organising today’s event.

My special thanks go to Professor Yunus Söylet, Rector of the İstanbul University, and Mr. Eyup Özgüç, President of the Board of Directors of TUGAV, for their kind invitation.

We are here to discuss leadership in modern age and its international character.

Obviously, the first question to be asked is - when did “the modern age” start? There can be different criteria based, for example, on time factor, technological progress or prevailing philosophy.

For me, personally, the modern age in Europe was started in the wake of the Second World War by political leaders who shared the firm will to prevent similar tragic conflicts from happening again by putting fundamental human values at the heart of Europe’s future.

Many generations before strived and dreamt of building and uniting their societies around common values and principles, which are universal and apply to every human being.

However, most of these attempts failed in the past and we should therefore take a moment and think why this ideal finally became reality in the second half of the 20^th century? My reply to this question consists in the two key words of the title of this session – it took both firm leadership and an international framework to succeed.

Over centuries, many eminent statesmen have shown leadership on improving the conditions of human existence – but insofar as they acted as individuals, they were bound to fail. Therefore, the commitment of the leaders of the free part of Europe to set up in 1949 an international structure called the Council of Europe, based on democracy, human rights and the rule of law was, indeed, the beginning of a new era.

Yet another element was of crucial importance – the understanding that these fundamental values are not the aim in itself, but a means to ensure long-lasting peace and prosperity on our Continent and all over the world. These are not just abstract principles – their respect creates a general framework for all human activity and general well-being.

Today, we can be proud of belonging to the Council of Europe, an international institution that has so greatly contributed to what Europe represents today – one of the most prosperous and democratically stable areas in the world. The Council of Europe is now the pan-European organisation comprising 47 member states - all European countries, with the exception of Belarus, representing 800 million people. Not all live in the same conditions, but we all share the same values.

The brilliant idea at the origin of the Council of Europe was its conception as a standard-setting institution with its own enforcement mechanisms. What was really unique 60 years ago was the fact that sovereign states accepted the authority of an international enforcement body, namely the European Court of Human Rights. Open to individuals from all over Europe, the Court effectively enforces rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and its additional Protocols through its legally-binding decisions, the execution of which is supervised by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

However, the Council of Europe also needed a political platform - the Parliamentary Assembly - over which I have the honour to preside. It covers a broad spectrum of political ideologies and hosts an immense variety and diversity of languages, cultures, traditions and religions represented on the European Continent.

After 1989 and the fall of the Berlin wall, our Organization played a major role in European affairs, supporting the countries in Central and Eastern Europe in building their democratic institutions and stabilising Europe following the biggest upheaval since 1945. Opening so generously and quickly its doors to the former communist countries was yet further proof of political farsightedness. It was an essential element for the transition in Europe from “hard security” arrangements, which were decisive during the Cold War, towards the “soft security” as we know today. This is why the Council of Europe, amongst others, is often referred to as a “school of democracy” and as the ante-chamber of the European Union.

For me, the Council of Europe is the masterpiece of an international leadership. The fact that, since its creation, it has been overshadowed by the European Union only confirms the truth of this statement – the European Union is a ramification and continuation of the Council of Europe for those states wishing to push their cooperation towards integration – but we are based on the same values and share the same goals.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In the first part of my statement, I spoke about the international leadership which, in the past, laid the foundations for our peaceful and prosperous present age. However, if this is to be continued, we need to show qualities of international leadership that are no less than those of our eminent predecessors.

Although successful, none of our institutions has been able to prevent the evils that our societies are going through: economic crisis, erosion of the social protection mechanisms, growing intolerance and violence. We have neither been able to effectively counter international terrorism and organised crime, nor make a significant progress in stopping further climate change.

Furthermore, new powers are emerging in a global world and the balance of power is shifting. Despite undeniable economic success, the political models of these new global players are not necessarily the same as ours, nor are their values. Europe has therefore to reassert itself in this new environment, without making concessions on the democratic acquis that it has granted to European citizens over the years.

First of all, Europe has to stabilise and reinforce itself in its “new” frontiers now reaching from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans. At present, a number of “dividing” lines still exist – they can be formal - members and non-members of the European Union, members and non-members of NATO, members and non-members of the Euro zone, or less visible ones – old and new democracies, but also stemming from different geographic locations, different history and different religions.

It seems nowadays that our differences are again becoming more important than what we have in common. In my opinion, that is why we need to show international leadership again. And, believe me, our challenge is not smaller than that of 60 years ago.

There is no better way to face this challenge than keeping to the same principles on which Europe was re-built after the Second World War.

First, let us concentrate on our common future and not revive the evils of history again. Unfortunately, we increasingly witness politicians using past hatreds to compromise future relations.

Secondly, we can build our relations only on partnership, strict respect of equality and by avoiding double standards. Nobody is perfect and we should be frank and open in our dialogue – but always as friends and partners bound by a common destiny.

Thirdly, the foundations of our common European home must be built on an open society based on respect for diversity and not on exclusion, not on discrimination, not on fear and certainly not on hatred. I regret to say that all forms of intolerance towards those considered “different” are on the rise again. When human hatred and the concept that “might is right” start setting the rules of the game, nobody is really safe.

As politicians, we have to defend and promote these principles in our home countries. However, as history has taught us, individually we cannot succeed. We need a strong international leadership, again and again.

As regards the Council of Europe, we are, on the one hand, pursuing close relations with those member countries that are particularly in need of our assistance to consolidate their democratic institutions and strengthen the protection of human rights. On the other hand, we are stepping up the reflection on our response to global challenges which affect all European societies, such as migration and integration, the rising trends of extremism, xenophobia and racism, the fight against terrorism and respect for human rights or the urgent need to intensify intercultural dialogue.

Let me stress that I consider inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue as one of the most topical activities of the Parliamentary Assembly as well as one of the key political priorities of my mandate. All world religions are based on tolerance, compassion and respect for human dignity and therefore they can make an important contribution to inter-cultural dialogue and understanding among people of different origins.

That is why, in April 2011, the Assembly will hold a debate on religious dimension of inter-cultural dialogue with the participation of representatives of different religions - Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Muslim and Jewish. I am confident that this debate will offer us an opportunity to have a fresh look at the problems we are facing and come up with concrete initiatives which will help make our societies more tolerant, respectful of differences and, ultimately, more democratic.

In order to be ready for the new challenges, our Organisation is undergoing a reform process, aimed at enhancing the Council of Europe’s action and its practical and political impact We are not changing our main objectives but aim to be more pro-active, more relevant and more efficient.

With a view to strengthening human rights protection in Europe, we are currently preparing the accession of the European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights. As the powers of the European Union continue to extend, it is essential to ensure direct access for individual citizens to the Strasbourg Court if they consider that their rights have been violated by the EU institutions.

But our leadership has to go beyond the geographical frontiers of Europe, respecting the same principles which we have fixed for ourselves – mutual respect, no double standards, no discrimination.

Our Assembly is constantly pursuing a strategy of bringing non-member states closer to the Council of Europe and to our standards. In this respect, we have established a new status, called “Partnership for Democracy”, for the Parliaments of neighbouring non-member states.

We have received official requests for this status from the Parliaments of Morocco and Palestine and the Parliament of Kazakhstan is currently considering making such a request. We also plan to explore possibilities of strengthening the Council of Europe’s co-operation with Arab countries which are now so strongly demonstrating their willingness to modernise their political systems. We are sure that the Council of Europe expertise can be of great use to the people in this region.

Ladies and gentlemen,

At the end of my address, I wish to make an appeal – let’s not underestimate the challenges ahead of us. We have entered, both in Europe and the whole world, into a challenging and, at the same time, uncertain period of global restructuring. It would be very dangerous to take for granted the successes achieved by our great former leaders. We need to assume our responsibilities and demonstrate that we are as strong, virtuous and far-sighted as our forefathers.