As delivered by Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

 

It is good to see you here today.

The democratic future of our continent depends on the engagement of its young people –

On their belief in common European values –

And their willingness to embrace and defend them.

As graduates, you will have the good fortune to influence that future –

And your contribution –

Everyone’s contribution –

Will be needed.

Just two weeks ago, Reykjavik hosted the Council of Europe’s 4th Summit of Heads of State and Government.

It was the largest ever gathering of this continent’s leaders –

Signalling the urgency of this moment –

Their support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s appalling and illegal aggression –

And their firm commitment to put Europe back on its democratic path.

Europe’s leaders showed unity of purpose –

And provided strong political backing for the Council of Europe to play its leading role in this shared responsibility.

But before I set out what was agreed –

And how we will move forward –

It is important to be clear about where we are –

And the challenges we face.

The Council of Europe was established in 1949 –

In the wake of two devastating world wars –

And with the aim of securing peace through the greater unity of its member states –

Grounded in common standards of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.

“Never again” would there be violence, destruction and atrocities of the kind that had ravaged and shamed the continent.

From just 10 member states at its founding, the Organisation has grown to 46 today.

Each has ratified the European Convention on Human Rights –

And must implement it –

Just as they must implement and execute the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights –

Which interprets the Convention –

And to which every individual in Europe –

Including, of course, every individual in the Slovak Republic –

Has the ultimate right of bringing an application.

Judgments from the Court have clarified and upheld individuals’ rights on everything from the abolition of the death penalty –

To ensuring the privacy of our communications –

To defining and tackling modern slavery.

This last example illustrates what the Court means when it says that the Convention is a “living instrument” –

Its timeless principles applied to the new and evolving issues that face our societies.

Similarly, the Council of Europe has developed more than 200 specific legal texts to address particular problems.

Drawing from the Convention’s principles, these texts ensure the prevention of torture, cybercrime and the trafficking of human beings and organs –

Through to the protection of national minorities, minority languages and personal data.

Our European Social Charter also makes a vital contribution to Europeans’ quality of life –

Laying out rights to health and housing –

To education and social security –

And so on –

Whose importance was very clear during COVID-19-related lockdowns.

So, the Council of Europe and its convention system provide a common legal area –

Promoting and protecting fundamental rights –

In a way that no other continent has ever managed.

This is a towering achievement of which every government –

And every individual –

Should be proud.

And yet, it is a system under attack.

The Russian Federation’s brutal and ongoing aggression in Ukraine is a failure of democratic security –

One for which Ukrainians are paying in blood –

As violence has replaced rights.

The Council of Europe was swift to exclude Russia from our Organisation when this aggression began –

And we were right to do so.

But it is important to recognise that Russia’s attack was not a sudden break with European standards.

Rather, it was the latest – and most terrible – twist in a democratic unravelling that has taken place before our eyes –

Over many years.

No other European country has descended so far and so fast.

But Russia is in fact the most extreme example of a broader trend.

Over recent years, parts of Europe have suffered from the return of populism and extreme nationalism –

Which seek to undermine human rights and democratic standards –

And the multilateral structures that underpin them.

In this age, this often includes anti-rights movements –

Anti-migrant –

Anti-LGBTI –

Anti-women –

As they pretend that these groups are being given special rights –

When in fact all that is happening is the use of special measures to ensure that minorities have access to the same rights as everyone else –

Given the challenges they often face.

We have seen this in Russia and elsewhere –

Just as we have seen the deliberate erosion of our common standards –

In what amounts to a pattern of democratic backsliding.

Freedom of expression has been undermined –

With action to intimidate, undermine and silence the media –

And increased violence against journalists, including murders –

Often with impunity.

Freedom of association and assembly has been curtailed –

As laws have been used, misused, and introduced –

With the intention –

And effect –

Of preventing legitimate protest –

And shrinking the civic space that remains essential for inclusive, vibrant, and dynamic societies –

And the rise of hate speech –

Fuelled by the reach and anonymity of social media –

Is a potent symptom of an increasingly polarised political environment –

In which individual voices –

And minority interests –

Are often ridiculed and marginalised.

All of this must stop.

More than that, it must be reversed.

Because every time that someone’s rights are violated, it further strains our Convention system –

And if the dam breaks, citizens across this continent will pay a terrible price.

Achieving this requires political will.

Ultimately, it is for European governments to set European standards –

And to meet them.

The hope is that the awful reality of what has happened in Russia will jolt our continent out of complacency and into action.

And there are good reasons to believe that our recent Summit in Reykjavik will be remembered as a turning point –

A moment when leaders acknowledged the scale of the problem and committed to a crucial course correction.

The agreement that they reached is wide-ranging, forward-looking, and ambitious for the people of our continent.

Put into practice, it will ensure that human rights, democracy, and the rule of law are more deeply embedded in our societies –

And more resilient in light of the challenges they face.

Its most immediate priority was support for Ukraine –

And rightly so.

Recognising that whenever peace comes it must be a sustainable peace –

And that sustainable peace must be a just peace –

The Summit agreed a unique package of measures that will ensure accountability for the Russian Federation’s ongoing crimes.

These include the creation of a Register of Damage for Ukraine.

This will be victim-centred –

Record harm, loss, and destruction on the ground –

And benefit from the support of 45 members from across 3 continents, with the welcome possibility of more joining.

It will serve a first and necessary step towards any future compensation mechanism.

There was agreement on holding Russia to account for the abduction of children from Ukraine –

Insisting on their return and on upholding their rights in line with Russia’s ongoing, legal obligations –

And on protecting the rights of Ukrainian children who have fled their country and now live in other member states.

Leaders also made clear that the Council of Europe is ready to provide expert and technical support for the establishment of any special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.

These measures build on our other work to help Ukrainians in this time of need.

Our ongoing support for its Prosecutor General in his work to gather evidence of mass human rights violations –

Our joint Action Plan on Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction –

And our assistance for member states in their efforts to meet the physical and psychological needs of Ukrainian refugees.

Securing Ukraine’s democratic future is vitally important.

But so too is the broader challenge of ensuring a fully democratic future for every member state.

For this, Summit leaders agreed the Reykjavik Principles of Democracy –

Among other things, on participation, elections, and referenda –

The independence and effectiveness of democratic institutions and judiciaries –

And support for civil society and full, equal, and meaningful participation in political and public life.

These Principles provide the means to measure the health of European democracies –

And to identify any democratic backsliding that should be addressed.

There was also a commitment to the implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights –

The unconditional execution of the final judgments of the European Court of Human Rights –

And to establish a co-operative and inclusive approach –

Based on dialogue –

To assist States in the execution of Court judgments under the supervision of our Committee of Ministers.

The Leaders also supported the application of the Convention to the new, evolving and defining challenges of our times.

These include our work to end violence against women and domestic violence –

Where our Istanbul Convention – inspired by the Court’s jurisprudence – has played a central role in both defining and preventing these crimes –

Protecting victims –

And prosecuting perpetrators.

Where the Istanbul Convention has been ratified, laws have changed, and lives have been saved.

I hope that the Slovak Republic will soon choose to ratify it too.

Another challenge is Artificial Intelligence –

Where the Summit made clear member states’ determination to advance swiftly with the finalisation of our new, cross-cutting convention on the development, design, and application of AI –

Based on Council of Europe standards.

This is important.

Artificial Intelligence will only continue to grow in importance –

And it has the potential to improve our lives in many ways.

But its use also raises legal and ethical issues.

How, for example, should we respond to the behaviour of algorithms that profile us –

Push us towards certain material –

And withhold other information that might be of use?

When this information is a job advert, might that not be discrimination?

So, it is right that AI should be regulated –

And right that Summit leaders support progress on this from a human rights perspective.

Just as they were right to recognise the environment as a key priority for the Council of Europe –

Acknowledging the political right to a clean, sustainable and healthy environment.

The triple challenge of pollution, climate change and the loss of biodiversity pose an ever-greater challenge to Europe and the wider world –

To people’s enjoyment of their rights –

Including the rights to life, private and family life, and property.

Some domestic courts in Europe have already cited the European Convention in judgments that require cuts in specific emissions.

And the European Court of Human Rights has heard environmental cases –

With more pending.

So, it is right to address these issues head-on.

And I am pleased that we are making progress on new tools in this area –

One on the environment and human rights –

And one on environmental crime, specifically.

These will supplement earlier work done in this area.

These are just examples of the decisions taken in Reykjavik –

Not to mention the other long-standing priorities and work undertaken throughout the Council of Europe.

But, taken together, this is a collective commitment by our 46 member states to recommit to the values and standards of this Organisation –

And to put them into practice.

There is one final point to make here.

If the commitments made signal determination –

Their outward-looking stance also shows confidence in multilateralism and international
co-operation.

The Summit boosted our partnership with other international organisations –

First and foremost, our main institutional partner, the European Union –

With confirmation of the important role that the Council of Europe can and should play in accompanying candidate countries on their path to EU membership.

The Leaders also provided clear political backing for EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights:

A long-overdue step which, will ensure coherence in Europe’s human rights architecture. 

The work on implementing these measures begins now, and the Council of Europe will follow the clear direction that has been set. 

Mobilising resources, working with partners, and ongoing dedication will be needed to achieve our goals –

But the aim is worth every effort.

By living up to the commitments that they have made –

Member states will ensure that Reykjavik is remembered as the starting point for a democratic renewal in Europe –

A clear, positive, and lasting response to the challenges we face now and in years to come.

That legacy will be passed on to your generation –

And those who come after you.

I urge you to hold it close.

It is hard for those born into European democracies to imagine living under any other system –

Where their country would no longer benefit from the legal standards in human rights and the rule of law that seem wired into our national structures.

But however reliable it seems, good wiring should never be taken for granted.

Neglect it and it will become faulty.

Someone might even strip it out altogether.

Look at Russia.

So, always remember that this inheritance is precious, and it is yours.

Demand it, vote for it, nurture it.

It will pay you back with a society that is more peaceful, prosperous, and inclusive than could otherwise be the case –

Where everyone has the chance to live in freedom, security, and dignity.

That is a prize worth having.

 

Thank you.