Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-06-16-Speech-3-414"
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"en.20100616.28.3-414"2
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"Mr President, I am extremely pleased to have the opportunity to discuss human rights in this House. On many occasions, the House has stated its commitment to this subject. It is a commitment that I fully share.
To name just one success story, when I visited the Seychelles last month, I discussed a range of issues on which they and the EU could strengthen our cooperation, with piracy as a top priority. I also raised the ICC and encouraged the President, Mr Michel, to submit the ratification bill to Parliament. Upon my return to Brussels, I was pleased to receive a letter confirming that the government has now launched this process.
Looking ahead, I want to see what more we can do to support the abolition of the death penalty worldwide. I want to assure this House that work on abolishing the death penalty is a personal priority for me. I will see to it that work advances, both bilaterally and in multilateral fora, beginning with the United Nations in September.
As this House knows, the promise of the Lisbon Treaty is a more coherent, more consistent and hence more effective EU foreign policy. This is also a chance for our work on human rights, democracy and the rule of law. These will run like a silver thread through everything that we do externally. The External Action Service, once in place, will give us the chance to realise our potential and strengthen our ability to speak with one voice. With its integrated structure, the new Service should help to ensure that human rights issues are reflected in all areas of our external action, including CSDP, development and trade.
In this respect, let me refer to the oral question on trade in goods used for torture. The EU takes its commitment to the fight against torture very seriously. Any shortcomings in the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1236/2005 must – and will – be addressed. In that spirit, we have invited Amnesty International and the Omega Research Foundation to present their findings to a meeting later this month of the Regulatory Committee with our Member States.
On human rights, as in other areas, we have to pull together. We need the continued commitment of Member States, of this House and of the other EU institutions. We need to review the work we do regularly and to make sure that we get the best use of all available instruments – from human rights dialogues to EU guidelines, from the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights to our bilateral assistance and our actions in multilateral fora.
Revisiting our overall EU human rights strategy could be a useful exercise, and I intend to launch a consultation process to inform the development of a new human rights strategy this year.
Honourable Members, dear friends, Eleanor Roosevelt used to say, ‘It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness’. This is valid for our human rights policy too. In the European Union, we have many tools to help make the world a better place. We need to mobilise and connect them better. That is what I want to do, maximising the potential of the new Lisbon set-up and continuing to count on your vital support.
For the European Union, human rights matter. They are at the core of our identity and they are at the heart of what we do around the world. Our own history of entrenching human rights, democracy and the rule of law across 27 Member States is a success story and acts as a source of inspiration to others. So it is logical that we have developed a strong set of mechanisms for promoting these values in different contexts – as the report on human rights and democracy in the world sets out.
To give just one example, over the last 18 months, we have provided EUR 235 million in funding for 900 NGO projects in 100 countries. This work is extremely important and it must continue.
But we are not the only actor and ours is not the only economic and political success story. Therefore, as the world changes, we also need to make sure that we ask ourselves what we could do better.
While human rights are universal, a ‘one size fits all’ approach does not work. That does not mean we should change the message on the importance of human rights, but there is room to be smarter in how we deliver it. We will make most progress if we approach the human rights agenda in a focused and realistic way. We need to target our efforts, tackling each case based on a detailed understanding of the country at hand.
We also need a sharper focus on results. Previous resolutions of this House have called for more information to better assess the effectiveness of our policies. I share your concern. We must judge our efforts by outcomes, even if our contributions to improving human rights situations are an investment over the long term.
The work of the Human Rights Subcommittee and its Chair, Mrs Hautala, on human rights defenders is an extremely good example of this and I very much welcome the report and its findings and pay tribute to those who have worked so hard on it.
Let me address some specific aspects by making clear that I will continue to meet civil society actors and human rights defenders, both in Brussels and abroad, as I have done in Gaza, in China and, most recently, in Brussels. I expect colleagues in delegations and here in Brussels to do the same.
A good example of being smart and well-organised has been our work on promoting the ratification of the Rome Statute in the run up to the Kampala conference this year. We have worked with specific countries, offering EU support, at delegation and headquarters levels, working with Member States and the EU Presidency."@en1
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"Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative."1
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