Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-02-06-Speech-3-137"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20020206.7.3-137"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Mr President, I am pleased to say that I have attended the UN Commission on two previous occasions, with both Mr van Van Hecke and Mr Wuori, who are taking part in the debate this afternoon.
The Council said that we boast a long tradition in Europe on human rights, but it must be recognised that sometimes we hesitate in condemning the human rights abuses carried out by our so-called friendly states. I would urge that we must never hesitate; we must apply the same rules and standards regardless. Double standards undermine our highest ethics and our aspirations for a world free from human rights abuses.
I agree absolutely with everything the Commission has said. However, in relation to the Cotonou and Association Agreements, I would say that we must enact the human rights and democracy clauses when human rights abuses occur. Anything else will be seen as a pitiful endorsement of such abuses. We cannot, and must not, look the other way, for one day people will look the other way when it happens to us.
The young people and the others who look down on the Chamber today wonder what we talk about. We talk about a world where we can celebrate difference, where there is no persecution because someone's colour, creed, belief or sexuality is different from another's.
I would just like to finish, regardless of any prepared speech, on what is absolutely essential and vital to remember. Pastor Niemöller said: "When they came for the communists, I did not speak out because I was not a communist. When they came for the Jews, I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. When they came for the trade unionists, I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. When they came for me – there was no one left to speak out." We must ensure that we are never hypocritical in the defence of human rights, and 11 September must teach us surely that the same rules must be applied regardless of whether a country is our enemy or our friend."@en1
|
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples