11/06/2010 President
In his opening speech at the European Conference of Speakers of Parliament, organised in Limassol from 10 to 11 June, PACE President Mevlüt Çavusoglu told the some 300 participants that increasing intolerance and discrimination were one of the biggest challenges of the era of globalization. “With the consequences of the economic crises, these problems have become even more acute,” he said underlining that the foundation of the common European home had to be built on an open society based on respect for diversity, not on exclusion, not on discrimination, not on fear and certainly not on hatred.
In light of one of the main topics of the Conference, ‘the implementation of the principle of non-discrimination’, the President recalled that only 17 out of the Council of Europe’s 47 member states had ratified Protocol No. 12 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms enshrining the principle of non-discrimination, 20 more had signed but not ratified it, and several countries had expressed reservations. “It is important that we examine together what might be done more generally to embody human rights principles of non-discrimination within our national legislations,” he reminded participants.
“In order to fight discrimination, legal instruments are, of course, necessary. However, we must also strive to improve the general climate in our societies. Therefore we must enhance inter-cultural dialogue including its inter-religious dimension. We must eradicate racism, xenophobia, anti-semitism, Islamophobia and all kinds of similar phobia leading to discrimination and intolerance,” Mr Çavusoglu continued.
The President also called on participants “to identify various areas where we can do better than we have so far in safeguarding the rights and responsibilities of an opposition in parliament”, the other main topic on the Speakers’ agenda. He recalled that PACE had been the first international parliamentary assembly to demand that its delegations ensured a fair representation of the political parties or groups in national parliaments. “This requirement reflects the importance that our Assembly attaches to political pluralism and the interaction between majority and minority groups, between political forces supporting the government and those opposing it,” the PACE President stressed.
“For what is government - what is indeed democracy - without a lively, constantly questioning, irksome, irritating opposition? Political life seems to be best when there is at least a degree of compromise between the majority and the minority, and this presupposes a certain give-and-take between them. When the opposition feels that its views get heard and it is respected, it will also feel greater responsibility for the business at hand,” Mr Çavusoglu said.
The PACE President finally thanked President Garoyian for hosting this Conference “on this beautiful island of Cyprus, a crossroads for civilisations over the millennia,” recalling that the aim of the work of PACE had been, and still remained - in the words of PACE Resolution 1628 of 2008 - to find ‘a lasting and comprehensive solution for a peaceful and united Cyprus, which would guarantee the legitimate rights of both Greek and Turkish Cypriots, in full compliance with the values and principles of the Council of Europe’. “We are heartened that talks between the two sides are now again in progress, and we hope and trust that they will bear fruit as soon as possible,” the PACE President concluded.