Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-02-16-Speech-4-226"

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". Mr President, it appears to me that, on this issue, the House is very largely of one mind. If the European Union is to demand of states that they adhere to human rights, then it must do so globally and credibly. Neither human rights nor international humanitarian law are negotiable, and that is something we have to spell out to our American allies, with whom, after all, we share democratic values. I really do find it disturbing that this has to become a cause of dispute with the United States, for it is our ally, but that is the difference between them and the other parts of the world in which we call for respect for human rights. It is fortunate, and encouraging, that the USA is a democratic and open society, and that the same debate is going on there. I think that the majority of Americans would agree with us that one cannot, in these matters, simply suspend the rule of law. It is vitally important that we hold on to the moral high ground if we are to be credible in combating terrorism in other parts of the world and take up the cause of democracy. It is not acceptable that we should turn and look in the other direction, especially in our dealings with this great ally of ours, alongside which, in other parts of the world – in Afghanistan, for example – we are promoting democracy and human rights. It is worth considering the political and moral predicament in which we would find ourselves if we were to keep silent about Guantanamo, when we would no longer be able to maintain any credibility in our dealings with those states where we are trying to promote human rights. That is why it is right to call for this camp to be closed down and for those who are held there to be brought before a regular court. We may well not have put it in such explicit terms, but the conclusion must be drawn that, in the absence of proof against them, these people must be set at liberty, dangerous though that may be in individual cases. Here, too, the rule applies that the accused is given the benefit of the doubt."@en1

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