Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-01-13-Speech-1-113"
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"en.20030113.6.1-113"2
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"Madam President, I personally am very happy that Mrs Swiebel’s report sums up the human rights situation in the European Union and even within the Member States. I believe it to be a cornerstone of the work of this Parliament because it enables us to take a step back, which is so unusual here, and consider a clear, coherent policy with specific actions to achieve the goals we proclaim so often.
I shall not insult you by citing the various conventions and treaties that we must observe or by restating our will to anchor the Charter of Fundamental Rights unconditionally in European consciousness in order to establish the rights and freedoms of these European citizens. Each year, however, when we draw up a report on human rights, when we lament the violations that have taken place, when we adopt resolutions, we only talk about third countries. How can we have credibility and impose these rights in our relations with these countries, if we ourselves do not respect them?
Some Members here will be horrified at the thought of naming certain countries in this report. We must not, however, shy away from this. As democrats, we are representatives of our citizens; we are not protectors of the policies of our national governments. We must confirm, here in Parliament, that the defence of fundamental rights and freedoms in the European Union is more than just words; it affects every aspect of life, for all human beings, wherever they may be, whether or not they live in an area of freedom. Defending human rights is a duty and a right which must not be hampered by the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of the Member States. The purpose of this report is therefore to assess the situation. It is our role to act if this situation does not satisfy us, so that these fundamental rights might be a fact of everyday life in our own Member States.
I shall end on two points: first, I am very happy that economic and social rights are assessed at European level and I believe this Convention should take inspiration from that. I would then ask our Member States to do what it takes to establish clear statistics, sorted by gender, in every area, and provide them to our next rapporteurs."@en1
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