Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-04-24-Speech-3-084"
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"en.20020424.4.3-084"2
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"Mr President, everywhere in the world, people are persecuted, tortured or humiliated. I applaud the fact that the European Union wants to stand up for these people. After all, the European Union wants to be a community of values. This also means that it employs the instruments it has at its disposal in order to protect the oppressed elsewhere. Mr Van Hecke rightly calls for a more structured approach to this problem.
However, I should like to make two observations regarding this human rights debate. Firstly, we must be cautious. In our Member States, racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism still constitute a considerable danger. As such, it is not appropriate for us to set ourselves up as a benchmark for the rest of the world. This is why I feel that some statements, particularly in the report by Mrs Díez González, go too far. Without disputing the fact that every state must adhere to international law, I call for more respect for other choices and for other cultures.
A second observation concerns the question whether the protection of human rights is best served by an approach which is as centralised as possible. Unlike Mrs Díez González, I do not think so. The interests and contacts of the Member States are too diverse. Gathering all these too tightly would only lead to an internal competitive battle. In the final analysis, this would be at the expense of the protection of human rights. If every Member State and every European institution employs its own instruments wisely, a great deal could be improved today in the fight for recognition of human rights."@en1
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