07/03/2024 Standing Committee | President
"The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was born in 1789 in the wake of the French Revolution. Since then, individual rights and freedom have become integral parts of our societies. However, the reality is that we still have to continue to defend them again and again against authoritarian regimes", PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos today said in Paris a t the opening of the Standing Committee.
"We must defend those rights relentlessly even when it might seem that these regimes are stronger than ever, and their power is immense. We must not give up and we must not compromise, because that would mean a betrayal of the human civilisation and evolution which the walls of this beautiful palace witnessed over many centuries", he added.
"We must not give up, but instead we must carefully reflect why we reached this situation and how we can move forward in such a way that our fundamental principles and values are not sacrifices for the sake of today’s political expediency but are indeed strengthened. We must move forward in such a way that brings closer together those who truly believe in human rights, democracy and the rule of law against dictatorships and authoritarianism. We must start thinking out of the box and search for innovative and effectives approaches to the existing and emerging challenges. Today is a good day to do this as we will indeed debate probably the most important topics of international political agenda – the situation we face two years after the Russian full-scale aggression against Ukraine and the consequences of the murder of Alexei Navalny. And as we approach the 75th anniversary of the Council of Europe, I urge you to be courageous and creative", Mr Rousopoulos concluded.