Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-12-12-Speech-2-228"
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"en.20061212.41.2-228"2
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"Mr President, I very much welcome the publication of the 2006 annual report on human rights. This is the first time that this report has really been a combined effort. We have battled for that. Last year we had the debate here in plenary and I said that I would be very happy if we could prepare the report together. I would have liked to have one of the prefaces. Unfortunately it seems it was too late, but I think the Commission should have been visible.
The year 2006 has also been characterised by the pivotal changes seen within the United Nations human rights machinery, with the new Human Rights Council that has already been mentioned. Whilst there was initially great cause for optimism, for example the active participation of NGOs in debates or the desire to move away from the failure of its predecessor the Commission for Human Rights, the overall picture at the end of the year is a cause for concern, not least because of the discouraging signs of politicisation of this new forum. We, the European Union, have to renew our efforts and engage more with a number of actors in Geneva in order to convince them that the international community needs an effective Human Rights Council. We still have the possibility to make this new body work and deliver. Indeed, we have to remain hopeful that today’s special session on Darfur will yield some positive results.
I cannot conclude without indicating once again my personal satisfaction, as well as the Commission’s satisfaction, with the vote that took place earlier today on the proposal for a regulation establishing the new European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights. This instrument will make it easier for the Commission to establish priorities when implementing the objectives contained in the regulation and in keeping with its scope.
However, we know too well that measures to promote human rights and democracy deserve to be as worldwide, numerous, multisectoral and cross-cutting as possible. The fact that the number of beneficiaries has expanded will also have to be taken into account. But the enhanced complementarity with the various tools, which range from political dialogue and diplomatic demarches to various instruments of financial and technical cooperation, including both geographic and thematic programmes, is warmly welcomed.
Finally, we are looking forward to developing more integrated approaches to human rights and democracy under the new instrument. There continues to be some debate about human rights and democracy as if they were two different issues. However, we think that human rights are the foundation for democracy and democracy is necessary to develop and protect human rights. Therefore, let us not create artificial demarcations. In any case, we think this is a good basis for continuing our work in the year to come.
It now seems to be an established practice always to have a special session on human rights and democracy before Christmas. It is a good tradition; it is a noble tradition, to see what has been implemented and what the new developments are.
The annual report this year is again a valuable record of the combined efforts of us all in promoting and protecting human rights around the world, and a reflection of the positive way in which the European Union has come together to produce it.
This debate gives me the opportunity to quickly highlight some activities in 2006.
First, mainstreaming human rights into external policies ranked high on our EU priority list in 2006, thanks to the Austrian and Finnish Presidencies. It is indeed a source of satisfaction to note that all actors within the EU are more and more committed to this very important aspect of our policies. However, let us not forget that mainstreaming or, as I also like to call it, ‘integrating’ human rights into all policies, is not an end in itself, but an approach to achieving overarching goals. For the European Union, these goals have a clear basis in our Treaty, which calls on us to develop and consolidate democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms through our various external policies. In this context, we are particularly pleased that human rights and democracy issues have been integrated into the legal texts of all the new financing instruments under the 2007-2013 Financial Perspective.
Secondly, mainstreaming is a never-ending process; we need to constantly maintain our efforts and introduce new tools. I am happy to inform you in this context that last June the Commission revised the mandates of its heads of delegation, following up on the report by Mr Agnoletto. These mandates now specifically mention human rights and democracy issues, and therefore place greater priority on reporting and acting in this regard.
Similarly, in the context of the ‘human rights clauses’ of our agreements, we have seen the creation of the new forums for dialogue or exchanges of views with third countries. The number of occasions to discuss the promotion of and respect for human rights has been growing, from Argentina and Bangladesh to India, Jordan, Morocco, Turkmenistan and Vietnam. That is in addition to the institutionalised human rights dialogues and consultations and the various political dialogues where human rights issues are regularly raised.
Last but not least, the Commission continues to include the human rights and democracy ‘essential elements’ clause in the negotiation of the new bilateral partnership and cooperation agreements. This is, for instance, the case for the agreement with six ASEAN countries. Likewise, preparations are being made for negotiating an agreement with China, and the Commission remains fully committed to the inclusion of this clause in conformity with our standard practice.
Thirdly, while mainstreaming or integrating human rights issues in all our policies, we also need to focus on some specific aspects of the human rights policy. These have been exemplified by two communications from the Commission: one called ‘Roadmap on equality between women and men’ and the other ‘Towards an EU strategy on the rights of the child’."@en1
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