Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-02-16-Speech-3-117"
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"en.20000216.8.3-117"2
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"Mr President, I would like to try to put a different perspective to this. As you know, on Monday an unmanned spacecraft went into orbit around a peanut-shaped asteroid called Eros which is not very far from earth. Photographs show us that there is no life on the asteroid, but much further out in our galaxy, the Milky Way, there are about 300 billion stars, many with planets. Beyond the Milky Way there are 300 billion other galaxies with countless stars and planets. It is probable, therefore, that there is a lot of life out there, and much of it much more advanced than we are.
Bearing in mind that the first television programmes from earth are now 50 light years out into space way beyond the nearest stars, I invite you to imagine with me what life out there in the stars thinks of us as they look at us. What do they see? They see a beautiful planet, teeming with life, but they see its atmosphere being polluted and warming up. They see forests being cut down and deserts spreading. Of the living creatures, they can see many animals that are treated cruelly, rare ones becoming extinct for ever. How do they see the currently dominant species – that is us? Well, they see the planet's resources being unevenly spread. They see land being fought over, medicine for disease but not in the parts of the world where it is most wanted, books for schools – but not at all in the least-developed areas of our world, 50% of the world's population never making a telephone call in their whole life.
What do they see about the relationships between human beings? They see us killing each other. They see us restricting each other's liberties. They see a never-ending series of local wars. They see some of our children drafted into the army as soldiers, or treated as prostitutes or slaves. They see unequal treatment of men and women, of people of different ages, of minorities, of people of different coloured skins, of races, of beliefs, of immigrants, even neighbours. We all know the picture.
The UN Convention on Human Rights 50 years ago was an attempt to correct this. We should salute it – and I think we do. Only in Europe are human rights enforceable in law. Here in the European Parliament some of the Members do not want the Charter of Rights, which is being discussed at the moment, to become enforceable in law. I say: shame on them! Human rights should be enforceable in law in every country of the world. That is the goal which we have to work towards. Much, as Commissioner Patten said, remains to be done.
Finally, if you asked me: What if there is no life out there among the stars, what if we are alone? – which is an equally awe-inspiring thought – I would say: Do not you think we have a responsibility too to make our children behave properly, before letting them go out to populate other planets?"@en1
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