Speeches October 2007
Monday 1 October 2007 at
Address by Mr Vujanović, President of
Mr KOX (
Monday 1
October 2007 at 3 p.m
Migration
Mr KESKIN (
Tuesday
2 October 2007 at 10.a.m
Humanitarian
crisis in Darfur
Mr KYPRIANOU (
On
It is our strong belief
that peacekeepers should not act as an intervention force. Additionally, we
consider that the deployment of an EU military force would endanger the work of
humanitarian NGOs in the area. The relentless insistence on the deployment of
UN and EU troops demonstrates the degree to which international law and also
the UN can and have been distorted in an attempt to accommodate the law of the
strongest. Once again, the United Nations is being used as an instrument by
certain states to satisfy their own political agenda. Such measures, however,
will eventually jeopardise any possible peace agreement and fuel violence in
If the African Union had
the necessary funding, personnel and equipment, its contribution could have
been positive for the continent as a whole. Instead, it appears that once
again, third world countries, weakened after centuries of suppression,
corruption and poverty, are being manipulated in order to carry out the whims
and desires of the developed world.
One of the most important
aspects of the crisis is the deteriorating humanitarian situation in
Unfortunately, it appears
that the focus is more on the deployment of a hybrid and predominantly military
force with the belief that this will put an end to the crisis. As we have
witnessed, however, a military intervention cannot stop the deterioration of a
situation. Using force in an attempt to impose a solution will end up causing
more insecurity, more pain and more suffering. The international community has
an obligation to protect individuals, their inalienable right to life, peace,
security and freedom. Such rights cannot be made dependent on the deployment of
a military force or the use of force. We reiterate our belief that a political
solution to the problems in
Address
by Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and all Russia
Mr SOBKO (
Tuesday 2 October 2007 at 3 p.m.
Address
by Mr Vojislav Koštunica, Prime Minister of
Mr KOX (
Current
affairs debate - on the looming crisis
facing the European Court of Human Rights: urgent action needed.
Mr LAAKSO (
The Court’s role
has changed completely over the years. When it was established, there were only
10 member countries that ratified the European Convention on Human Rights in
1953. When my country,
There are many
discussions and proposals to make the Court’s work more effective. My
political group, the UEL, thinks that the streamlining of the Court’s
activities should not take place at the expense of the basic right enjoyed by
individuals in our member countries to apply to the Court. The opportunity to
make an application is the Court’s strength, and there must be no
compromises on that question. As we know, there are many complaints that the
processes in our national courts take too long. Here in
The budget of the Court
is smaller than that of the court of the European Union. Our governments have
increased resources for the Court, which, as we know, will be implemented next
year. Frankly, resources will still be far too limited, and they must be
increased in the near future.
The Court needs more
resources to function properly. In the view of the Group of the Unified
European Left, we cannot implement that policy at the expense of other duties
of the Council of Europe.
Honouring
of obligations and commitments by Moldova
Mr PLATVOET (
The report says that many
things are better. Mr Hancock is right: we cannot just look at the situation on
paper; we must also look at the reality. There are developments in the
broadcasting sector and the media.
On the other hand,
however, there are many things still to do, as was mentioned in the report. I
shall not repeat them except to say there is a great emphasis on local
government – a great deal of attention is paid to that issue, which is
remarkable if one looks at all the other monitoring reports. Perhaps it has
something to do with the fact that, only a few months ago, local elections were
held in
May I emphasise another
issue?
Mrs POSTOICO (
The resolution welcomed
the political stability that had emerged after the 2005 elections and its
recommendations comprised a list of reforms for full compliance with the
Council of Europe’s standards. The Moldovan Parliament had brought in a
range of measures and implementing them was a priority for the Government. Over
the last two years, the main achievement had been political stability, but work
had also taken place on partnership with the European Union concerning
Transnistria and the promotion of democracy, judicial reform, electoral
legislation, freedom of the press and parliamentary procedure. The parliament
had decided to publish a verbatim report of its proceedings on a website and
now many other organs of the State were doing the same. The opposition had a
majority in the central court and the central electoral commission.
There was still work to
be done. In the autumn session of parliament, there would be legislation on
political parties, education and other Council of Europe recommendations. In
September 2007,
Mr LOTMAN (
The main cause of the
continued crisis, I am sad to say, is the presence of the Russian troops
– the so-called peacekeeping army in the region. As far as my knowledge
goes, these troops have no legal mandate whatsoever. We therefore now face the
situation whereby armed forces of a Council of Europe member state are
illegally occupying part of the sovereign territory of another member state,
and by doing so standing in the way of the member state in question in fully
implementing the Council of Europe’s recommendations.
This absurd situation
must be resolved and it must be resolved now.
Wednesday 3 October 2007 at
Realising
both economic growth and social protection in
Mr JACOBSEN (
Economic growth has
normally been perceived as a possible threat to the environment. We perceive
economic growth as a necessity for achieving social protection because it gives
each country the financial resources to provide it.
However, examples from
In
On cheap imported
products, we must ask whether we pay the right price for them or whether the
bill is paid elsewhere. Could the environment be paying the price? Could poor
workers, farmers or even children working in bad conditions be paying the
price?
No to social dumping and
yes to standards must be the answer. There must be a minimum wage and rights
for workers, wherever they are, and at least if they become immigrant workers
in
It is said that ideology
is dead. However, a new one has appeared – “cheapism”.
Everybody wants everything to be cheap. However, where is the price tag?
Pascal Lamy, as a
European Commissioner, gave trade preferences and market access to countries
that fulfilled human rights standards and secured the rule of law. The United
Nations Development Programme report, “Making globalisation work for
people”, states that countries that protect themselves while building a
national capacity to produce and develop technical knowledge have economic
growth and therefore a possibility of reducing poverty, instead of letting free
trade overflow the country with foreign products.
Empowering your own
nation at the same time as opening up, step by step, free trade possibilities
and market access for other countries will create a sort of partnership between
nations, leading to sharing profit and technology development. If we do that
and also ensure social protection, we can perhaps say that globalisation is
good for everyone, whatever their background.
Address
by Mr Abdullah Gül, President of
Mr KOX (
Regionalisation
in
Ms KONEČNÁ (
Regionalisation must go hand
in hand with the process of unification in
How can we guarantee that
regional government will fully respect national and European policy?
We do not need to divide
each country into more or less artificial administrative units to allocate
European funds. That can easily be done but we must remember that in some cases
changes can lead to separatist movements, and nations can develop problems
internally and perhaps with international policy and relations.
I agree that there is
less nationalism in states with a high level of self-government. Regionalism
can positively change the whole of society. It was a characteristic of the
We must be prudent when
we speak about regionalism; it is suitable when the citizens can benefit from
regional policy, but dangerous when the aim of one region is to change living
standards at the expense of its own citizens. In the light of the conflict in
Kosovo, we must be careful about our modern policy of regionalism.
Regionalism should assist
in the integration of
The OECD
and the world economy 2007 (enlarged debate)
Mrs SINISCALCHI (
The draft resolution drew
attention to the cost of maintaining a welfare system, but this should be
considered an investment as much as an expense. She also wished to comment upon
the inactivity within the current round of World Trade Organization talks. The
The Assembly was reminded
that many people in the world survived on less than US$ two per day and a child
died every three seconds because of poverty. Much more needed to be done to
distribute wealth fairly and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
Mr KESKIN (
Globalisation did not
respect individual dignity or human rights and there was no social cushioning.
In 2006, the Council of Europe had debated the rights of clandestine migrants
and concluded that a series of urgent measures was necessary. Countries needed
to sign and ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Migrants and
their Families as soon as possible. He welcomed the fact that this topic was
being debated by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
There were more than 15 million migrants in
Political
Dimension of the Council Of
Mr KOX (The
As the rapporteur states,
we are in danger. We could become the victim of a slow death because our
governments run the risk of jeopardising the Council, the Court and the Human
Rights Commissioner, as well as the Assembly. Governments that depend on our
parliamentary support do not want to spend one more dime on the only genuine
pan-European political organisation that concentrates on the vital matters of
democracy, the rule of law and human rights.
I have addressed this
topic many times on behalf of the Group of the Unified European Left, but Cato
did likewise. Sometimes that is necessary, so we will continue to raise the
subject. Our group fully endorses Mr Wille’s worthwhile proposals to make
requests to national parliaments and to urge national governments to act.
Either national governments decide to get rid of the Council of Europe because
they believe it is of no use and that the European Union is enough, or they
decide that it is a vital pan-European institution. When meeting presidents of
political groups in the European Parliament recently with other colleagues, I
raised the matter again and it appeared that we could gain the support of
European parliamentarians. I agree with Mr Wille that that is not enough, and
that we have to do more. We must do our work at home.
It is easy to be speak
here, but we must deliver at home. I agree fully with the rapporteur that we
must be bad politicians if we take the opportunity to have a national debate
with Foreign Affairs Ministers, deploy all the arguments that Mr Wille included
in his report, but lose the battle. If that happened, there would be something
very wrong with us or with our Foreign Affairs Ministers. However, I could not
envisage a Foreign Affairs Minister who was that bad.
On behalf of the members
of my group, I promise to promote a national debate on the budget for the
Council, the Court, the Commissioner and the Assembly. I urge my other
colleagues to do the same. Of course, we are not that important, but to lose
this battle would be rather silly. When liberals and socialists agree, there
must be something rotten in the financial state of this Council and we must do
something to remedy that.
For a
European Convention on Promoting Public Health Policy in Drug Control
Mr VAN HERVEN (The
Times have changed, but
addictive behaviour is always present. We shall never eliminate it completely,
but the question is how to prevent it as far as possible. The Group of the
Unified European Left considers the report on the European drug convention to be
a good piece of work and is very pleased with it. It deserves to be widely
disseminated.
I have been a general
practitioner for more than 15 years and I emphasise the importance of the
proposed measures on prevention and education, treatment methods, rehabilitation,
social reintegration, and monitoring.
On behalf of the Group of
the Unified European Left, I want to highlight a few aspects of the report that
struck us and that cannot be emphasised enough. First, it is clear that
preventive action and treatment for problem drug use can be effective. For
example, in the
Secondly, neo-liberal
policy in different countries is leading to a hardening of attitude. Daily, one
hears the sentiment that if people get addicted it is their own choice and
responsibility. The answer is often the repression and punishment of addicts
instead of help and compassion. Those marginalised and vulnerable people have a
fundamental right to health care in the context of problem drug use.
Furthermore, one may say it is people’s fault, but people’s actions
are influenced by their circumstances.
Why do people use drugs?
There is a relationship between addiction and poverty and people’s
perspectives. People without a job, homeless people and those without money are
more vulnerable to using drugs to forget their misery. Let me provide some
Dutch data. People who are poorly educated smoke twice as much as highly
educated people. In the
We must invest in
improving the social circumstances of addicts. There must be rehabilitation
programmes for them when they leave prison. If they do not have a home and do
not get a job or receive education, their chances of relapsing into addiction
and criminality are high.
More generally,
education, development, employment and adequate housing are the main
instruments of reducing the number of problem drug users. We are convinced
that, in a more healthy and stimulating environment, people will be healthier.
A better society creates better people.
Thursday 4 October 2007 at 10 a.m.
Towards
decriminalisation of defamation
Mrs MEULENBELT (
I thank the rapporteur,
Mr Bartumeu Cassany, for a thoughtful and timely report, which has convinced
the Group of the Unified European Left of the importance of making a
distinction between laws to prevent democratic use of the right of free speech
and laws that should prevent hate speech. Without a clear demarcation between
those two, either we are unable to stand up for the freedom of journalists to
be critical of the political situation in their country or we miss the opportunity
to stand united against discrimination and hate speech against minorities.
We want the press to act
in good faith and provide trustworthy information, but of course journalists
are not scientists interested only in fact-finding; they select, they make
choices and they comment. As the report states, they are the watchdogs of our
societies. Using the pen and the press has always been the weapon of the people
against dictatorship and oppressive or aggressive rulers. Journalists and
commentators use their wit and we agree that a degree of exaggeration is
permissible in satire, as long as the public is not misled about the facts.
Restraint is required on the part of people in power; they should not strike
back unfairly. On the other hand, those in power also have rights to defend
themselves against defamation if they are accused unfairly.
It is a question of
balance, and most important is the conclusion that measures taken against
defamation should be in proportion. It is not permissible that governments use
their power to punish disproportionately, as a means of frightening other
people from using their right to free speech. Prison as punishment for
criticising a person in power should be considered disproportionate. We
completely agree about that.
We also agree with the
rapporteur that incitement to violence and hate speech are different matters.
It is important that journalists themselves draw up codes of journalistic
ethics. We should spread the work of the European Commission against Racism and
Intolerance more widely in our countries; threats against a person or group of
people on grounds of race, colour, language, religion, nationality or
ethnicity, when committed intentionally, should be a criminal offence. My party
thinks that is the important other side of the debate on free speech.
In many European
countries, we are seeing the revival of a new form of xenophobia, hidden under
the pretext of “criticism of religion” – I am talking of
course about the fear of Muslims and Islam. Much needs to be done to refine our
working definitions of what is permissible in the name of the right to free
speech and what is not permissible because it crosses the line to hate speech.
The report provides us
with an important step in that direction. Unfortunately, I shall be leaving the
Council tomorrow but I hope that it will keep to the spirit of the report and
continue the debate on where to draw the line on proportionality in what people
are allowed to do, so that we can keep our democracy free of hate speech but
free for criticism. Thank you.
The
concept of preventive war and its consequences for international relations
Mr KOX (
Coincidentally, we are now debating
Mr de Puig’s report on preventive war, including unilateral recourse to
preventive war. He says that it is important to discuss it because it is
unlawful under international law. It entails considerable risks for
international peace and security, and it undermines the United Nations Security
Council. His report also states that a debate on preventive war is particularly
timely considering the possible world reaction to
I do not think that anyone will
blame me if I use this opportunity to focus especially on the element of the
anti-ballistic missile shield in relation to the concept of preventive war. It
is easy for me not to discuss the rest of the report because my group very much
agrees with almost everything that the rapporteur says. It is encouraging to
see that socialists in this Assembly, although they are divided between two
groups, are still united on the vital matter of how to deal with the concept of
preventive war.
The threat of creating a missile
shield in
It is the element of an ABM shield
as part of the almost global protection of the
Does the rapporteur agree with my
analysis that the concept of preventive war has a clear relation with that
unilateral act of the
Mr LECOQ (
In the context of armed
aggression, people frequently quoted using “legitimate defence”. However,
the policies pursued by the
Thursday 4 October 2007 at 3 p.m
Address
by Mr H. R. Agung Laksono, next President of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly
Mr KOX (
Prostitution
– which stance to take?
Mrs
MEULENBELT
(
Mr President, perhaps you think that
my remarks about the men present in the Assembly are highly inappropriate. If
so, I apologise. I began my speech in that way because my comments are highly
relevant to the report that Mr Platvoet presented. The fact that no man will
proudly or matter of factly say that he visited a prostitute, but would regard
that as a shameful thing means that prostitution as a profession is
stigmatised, condemned and hidden. It is not likely ever to be regarded as
normal work and let me be clear: we are not willing to accept that it should;
that is not my goal.
I have apologised, so I shall start
again in a more respectable manner. On behalf of the Group of the Unified
European Left, I congratulate the rapporteur, Mr Platvoet, on a serious piece
of work. I should also like to congratulate him on a personal level on being a
true ally of women.
The report clearly describes the
different approaches in different European countries, including their
advantages and drawbacks, to dealing with prostitutes. One big problem that the
report emphasises is that the women and men who offer sexual services are in a
large variety of situations. There are extreme forms of exploitation at one end
of the spectrum – women who are bought, forced and mistreated; at the
other end of the spectrum, there is a relatively small elite who consider
themselves to be totally in charge of their own lives and free to sell their
services.
We have held debates on this issue
for years. Even in the women’s movement, there were opposing points of view.
On the one hand is the idea that prostitution is always degrading and that no
woman with an alternative would ever choose to sell her body. On the other
hand, some prostitutes refuse to be seen as victims and have started to
organise themselves. It has never been possible to agree on one way of dealing
with prostitution. We must accept that there is no single solution for the
broad range of people involved in prostitution.
However, it is clear that focusing
only on women as victims is no longer an option. We must examine the whole
network – the traffickers, the pimps and the clients – if we want
to better the position of prostitutes and view them as human beings with human
rights to a life that is as decent as possible.
The report is clear about several
matters. We should fight the trafficking of women and children, and forced
prostitution under all circumstances. I agree with the previous speaker about
that. We should be clear that child prostitution can never be voluntary. I
agree that the focus should be on supporting women and men who sell sexual
services by protecting their human rights as far as possible, reducing their
vulnerability, providing support on leaving prostitution and offering social
and health services. Condemnation and punishment will only stigmatise women
further
Mr PLATVOET (
Let me go somewhat deeper
into those three headlines. Why should member states of the Council of Europe
formulate an explicit policy on prostitution? There are, roughly speaking,
three approaches in member states – prohibition, legalisation and
abolition. About a third of member states – 17 – prohibit
prostitution, prostitutes and pimps alike, although not always clients. A
substantial minority – nine – have legalised prostitution. Twenty
member states want to abolish prostitution – they penalise procurers and
pimps, and sometimes also prostitutes.
The big problem with the
countries which prohibit or want to abolish prostitution is that there is often
the practice of double standards – prostitutes are chased and
criminalised, but clients are not. Having paid sex itself is not prohibited,
but offering paid sex is. In many cases, sex workers do not have easy access to
health care. And authorities, such as policemen, often show a male chauvinist
approach towards sex workers, no matter if they are male or female, and there
is often a misuse of power. So, no matter which approach a country takes, an
explicit policy should be based on the principle of human rights, which should
be effective and universal, including for sex workers.
As an organisation based
on human rights and respect for human dignity, the Council of Europe should
take a stance on prostitution which reflects its core mission. Basing
one’s judgment on respect for human dignity does not mean taking a
moralistic approach, however – it means respecting people’s
decisions and choices as long as they harm no one. In my report I therefore
concentrate on the human rights aspects of voluntary prostitution. That is the
most human way to deal with people who are in a marginalised zone.
In many countries,
prostitution is forced to go underground. As a consequence, organised crime
more often than not becomes involved, and prostitutes are made more vulnerable.
Most cannot work independently and become dependent on pimps and procurers, and
are totally at the mercy of their clients, who may demand unsafe sexual
practices that cause STDs, and HIV and AIDS. For that reason, international
organisations such as the World Health Organization have abandoned moralistic
approaches and instead have adopted a pragmatic one.
The principle of a human
rights approach towards prostitution is reflected in the proposals in my
report. The following measures should be taken in the context of an explicit
policy of member states: stop the criminalisation of prostitutes; address the
structural problems which may lead to prostitution, such as poverty, war or
lack of education or resources; address prostitutes’ personal
vulnerabilities such as mental health problems, childhood abuse or drug abuse;
develop programmes to assist prostitutes to leave the profession if they wish
to; ensure access to health care and safe sexual practices; and respect the
right of prostitutes to organise themselves.
Paragraphs 3 and 4 of the
draft resolution strongly condemn the trafficking of women and child
prostitution. It is clear that, in these cases, one cannot speak of voluntary
prostitution. It is also clear that the trafficking of women often has to do
with forcing them to work as sex workers. The UN convention of 1949 addressed
that – at a time when in no country in
However, in the draft
resolution and draft recommendation there is no plea for regulation,
prohibition or abolition. The stance that member states should take is to
acknowledge the human rights of sex workers, stop their criminalisation and
empower them.
Mr PLATVOET (
Some speakers have said
that there is a thin line between voluntary prostitution and forced
prostitution. I think that that is true, but there is still voluntary
prostitution. Mrs Rupprecht, Mrs Graf and others emphasised that voluntary
prostitution occurs, but that does not mean that the circumstances are always
good. However, let us be honest about the issue. Consider someone who is
engaged in very dull work in a factory for many years. That person also does
not have the choice of doing other work. The issue does not only concern
prostitution, because it is a more general problem.
Mrs Meulenbelt, Mrs
Papadopoulos and Mrs Čurdová have pointed out – I strongly
underline this – that women are not only victims and that we must empower
them, which is part of our proposals. If we do so, it is important that we have
a strong local government policy towards the pimps and criminals who are behind
prostitution and, in particular, forced prostitution.
Some colleagues have
emphasised the economic power of prostitution, given the sums of money
involved. I have not paid much attention to that issue, because I want to
emphasis that it is important to prevent prostitution going further
underground. It is important that the member states of the Council of Europe
follow the proposals, which will lead to a more open discussion and policy on the
human rights of prostitutes
The
dangers of creationism in education
Mr ROSSI (
Although he was not able
to evaluate the ins and outs of creationist ideas, he considered it to be an
unpleasant philosophy. At the same time, the group which he represented was
against the report and the draft resolution, which he considered to be
ill-thought-out and reactionary. The recent Episcopal conference had discussed
creationism in schools and had sent a message to members of the Assembly asking
them to vote against the report.
It was important to teach
proper structured science first and to expound religious beliefs in a separate
and different manner. He hoped the Assembly would undertake a proper discussion
on the subject and reach a balanced conclusion.