Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-06-12-Speech-2-337-000"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20120612.17.2-337-000"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Madam President, my apologies to the House and also to the Vice-President/High Representative, as I was slightly delayed at the start of the debate.
I welcome, and strongly and warmly support, the moves that the Vice-President/High Representative has made towards appointing an EU Special Representative for Human Rights.
As I am sure the High Representative said today, and as she has said on other occasions, this is the first ever thematic Special Representative to be appointed in connection with Europe’s common foreign and security policy. So when we say that we take human rights seriously and regard it as a priority, this is a very concrete instance of doing what we say. It also represents a strengthening of the commitment to human rights compared to the excellent work of Ms Riina Kionka, Mr Solana’s former Personal Representative for Human Rights.
The new Special Representative will deal on behalf of the High Representative with the Council, the Commission and – I am sure we will make adequate arrangements for this – with Parliament itself.
I do want to repeat today in the debate, as we said in the resolution and in previous debates, that I would like this post to be a very high-level, visible representation of the High Representative and of the European Union, with a representative who is able to be a big player for Europe with third country governments, in the UN Human Rights Council and in discussions involving the International Criminal Court. I see this as an extremely important means of giving us much greater strength and ‘clout’ in delivering messages on human rights than we have had in the past. I see the Special Representative’s role as something that, for Europe and the European Union, will be akin to the work undertaken by the Under-Secretary for Human Rights in the United States Department of State.
I see this appointment as a very important opportunity to achieve that aim. If I may repeat today what I have already said in private to the High Representative: I want this to be not just another political appointment, but the appointment of someone who is eminent in their credentials on human rights and human rights law. I do not think we as a Parliament should intervene in the process of selecting candidates; I think that should be left to the High Representative, and the High Representative alone. I would, however, like someone who has a serious and unparalleled record of working in human rights and human rights law, with high-level legal qualifications in human rights, to be appointed to this post. I invite the High Representative to give that the highest priority when she makes the appointment."@en1
|
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata | |
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples