Borut
Pahor
Prime Minister of Slovenia
Speech made to the Assembly
Thursday, 25 June 2009
greeted the Assembly and thanked the President for his kind welcome. He was happy to be present in the Chamber, which he knew well, and it was a pleasure to be returning as Prime Minister of Slovenia. He was also honoured to be addressing the esteemed Assembly as Prime Minister of the country which currently held the chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers. In 1993, Slovenia acceded to the Council of Europe and it was in that same year that he was head of the Slovenian delegation.
Today, Slovenia was celebrating its national day. Indeed, the principles which underpinned the Council of Europe had been Slovenia’s main guidance in achieving its goal of independence. This had required profound structural changes at crucial times. The people of Slovenia had understood that change had been necessary and it was thanks to them that Slovenia had realised its dreams of independence. Even with a favourable national response to change, the transition to a democratic state based on respect for human rights and the rule of law could not be achieved without the active will of the people behind it.
The Assembly had provided very good foundations for a new state learning to build a democracy. The Council of Europe had provided a great opportunity, following the fall of the Berlin Wall, for states from both east and west to engage in dialogue and learn from each other. In joining this process, Slovenia had learned a considerable amount, and this had contributed to a better understanding of Slovenia’s sense of belonging to Europe.
Slovenia’s national day in 2009 marked 18 years since independence. Slovenia had acquired both skills and experience in that time. In recent years, Slovenia’s role in the international community had evolved and it had been involved in international organisations at many levels. This had strengthened his country and prepared it for the tasks which it faced today. Slovenia’s chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers was proof of its commitment to international co-operation, respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
This year also marked the 60th anniversary of the Council of Europe and the 50th anniversary of the European Court of Human Rights. These anniversaries should remind us of how successful the Council of Europe had been and of the expertise and experience it had gained over the years. Numerous organisations were regularly faced with doubts about the reasons for their existence and they were sometimes subject to accusations that they existed for their own sake. In relation to the Council of Europe, there was concern about perceived competition from the European Union and about the effect of the economic crisis on its budget. He had spent eight years at the Council of Europe and knew it well. He considered it to be indispensable for the 800 million people whom it united and he could not imagine a Europe without the Council of Europe. If the economic crisis did raise doubts, these doubts should lead the Council of Europe to question whether its assistance for those most oppressed and needy had been adequate and timely.
History was not over. Someone’s past was another person’s present, yet the future belonged to everyone. Problems should be met as challenges and the Council of Europe could find a new place for itself by setting new standards in new fields. The Council of Europe should remember that the will of the people was paramount in a democracy and this should be the guiding principle as it strived to remain unified and committed to common goals. This guiding principle should also be paramount when considering recent developments in relation to the election of a new Secretary General and when planning further measures to address these problems. Only constructive dialogue between the Committee of Ministers and the Assembly could lead to achieving these common goals and he was in favour of constructive dialogue in looking for the best possible solution.
Slovenia was in favour of constructive dialogue in order to find the best possible solution to the problem. The Secretary General must be someone who had the confidence of both the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly.
A priority of Slovenia’s chairmanship was to reform and improve the efficiency of the European Court of Human Rights in order to preserve its leading role in protecting human rights. Slovenia had ratified Protocol No. 14 to the European Convention on Human Rights and had agreed to the provisional application of other parts of the Convention. Protocol No. 14 bis, the interim solution to case load management by the Court, had been ratified by three Council of Europe members, including Slovenia, and signed by six further states, and would come into force – in relation to cases from those countries who had ratified it so far – on 1 October 2009. This would increase the efficiency of the European Court of Human Rights.
In some parts of the world, human rights remained a serious issue. Slovenia had supported the Council of Europe’s work throughout south-east Europe. However, the condition of the Roma people and of democratic standards in this region needed to be highlighted. Slovenia was committed to working with the Council of Europe to combat corruption and organised crime in the region as well promoting human rights.
With regard to Kosovo, Slovenia supported Council of Europe monitoring of the situation and had noted, with pleasure, the inclusion of children’s rights in the Kosovan curriculum.
Furthermore, Slovenia supported Council of Europe, EU and other international monitoring in Georgia. The international community had to be involved in Georgia and the problem of access to post-conflict areas needed to be addressed. Slovenia had supported the creation of the Council of Europe information point in Minsk opened by Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, and Samuel Žbogar, the Chair of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and Slovenian Minister of Foreign Affairs, this month. This was available to all citizens of Belarus and would promote the values of the Council of Europe. Tuesday’s debate in the Assembly confirmed the Council of Europe’s interest in Belarus and restoring its special guest status was an important step. Slovenia would act to encourage Belarus to abolish the death penalty and work with that country to achieve progress on other democratic reforms.
Slovenia had been worried by the conduct of the parliamentary elections in Moldova held on 5 April 2009. The Council of Europe’s actions in Moldova were welcomed and Slovenia would continue to encourage democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights in Moldova. Updating voter lists and improving media coverage of elections had improved the situation in Moldova. He looked forward to demonstrable improvements in the arrangements for the fresh elections planned for 29 July.
This week the Parliamentary Assembly had discussed south-east Europe. Europe, east and west, shared a common future and the Council of Europe had recognised this for a long time. The fall of the Berlin Wall had been an important event but unfortunately differences remained between east and west.