SPEECH of  PRESIDENT VAN DER LINDEN

3^rd European Ecumenical Assembly, Sibiu, Romania

SPEECH of  PRESIDENT VAN DER LINDEN

Thursday 6 September 2007

3^rd European Ecumenical Assembly, Sibiu, Romania

 Your Holiness, Eminences, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

It is a pleasure and an honour for me to address and take part in this conference.

Part of this pleasure, of course, lies in the location – this beautiful city of Sibiu, whose status is reflected in its being one of this year’s European capitals of culture.

The important contemporary issues this Assembly is addressing – such as peace and justice, European unity and integration, migration, inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue and the relationship between religion and public life – are constantly on the agenda of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

They go to the heart of the European model, of our great and exciting European project.

Europe is a continent not just of progress and development; it is just as importantly a continent of heritage and tradition.

If the European construction is to continue to grow, it must be built on solid foundations; if we are to understand and meet the new challenges of a globalising world, we must first know and understand ourselves.

Day by day, technology is shrinking time and distance.

But even as the world comes together, we are far too often ignorant of, even indifferent towards other peoples and cultures.

By overcoming this ignorance, however – above all, by recognising and respecting our common humanity –, we can build mutual trust and avoid prejudice and misunderstanding.

For our common humanity, is the basis of the natural right to respect for human dignity, a right that underlies all human rights.

Whilst individual rights are essential to respect for human dignity, they need also the acceptance of responsibilities.

Through education, culture and the media, we need to develop a stronger sense of social conscience and public spirit.

And we must protect our children, for which the Council of Europe currently has an intensive, high profile campaign.

It is absolutely unacceptable that, in Europe and around the world, children are still being exploited, through sex-tourism, sweat-shop labour and other appalling abuses.

Poverty and social exclusion are undermining civilised societies.

We, as politicians and the representatives of the churches, cannot accept the continuing existence of these phenomena, which are also amongst the root causes of exclusion and extremism.

The other side of this ugly coin can be seen in the avarice and naked greed that award grotesque bonuses to an obscenely over-privileged few.

The European project – a product of our cultural and historical heritage, whose goal is to ensure peace, justice and individual dignity – was never intended merely to promote economic growth.

Its fundamental principles, however – respect for democracy, human rights and the rule of law –, are the essential preconditions for peace, stability and prosperity.

This is why the Council of Europe, as a value community, was the first European political organisations to be established after the Second World War, and why we remain as vital and relevant as ever.

With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Council of Europe led the way in forging a new Europe without dividing lines.

Today, we continue this historic mission, bringing Russia and the other former communist countries – the sole, and regrettable exception being Belarus – into a close, cooperative strategic partnership with the rest of Europe; a partnership of equality based on shared acceptance of our common values – democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

From Iceland to Vladivostok, form Norway to Turkey, we are leading the struggle on contemporary issues such as terrorism, trafficking in human beings, domestic violence, racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism, respect for the rights of national and other minorities and respect for the rights of refugees and migrants.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Last month I paid an official visit to the Middle East, where I met the leaders of the religious institutions of Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

Jew, Muslim and Christian, they joined together in a call for religious heritage around the world to be given effective, international protection, in all circumstances, whether war or peace.

I fully support their plea, for I have seen myself how the wanton destruction of religious sites causes deep emotional wounds: sharpening hatred, fuelling conflict and obstructing the search for peace.

I now intend to initiate work in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for an international instrument to prevent such outrages from occurring again in the future.

Faith, religion and religious organisations play a vital, vibrant role in society, binding the social fabric together.

Through their profound respect for individual human dignity, they are indispensable to advancing peace and justice in the world.

I believe that politicians must recognise this and strengthen the role of churches and religious organisations in society.

Politicians must not interfere in the affairs of churches and religious organisations, however, just as religion must be kept separate from politics.

But both are directly concerned with values in society and public life; and by complementing one another, they can achieve more through cooperation than they can apart.

One of the most important social and political challenges of today – and the best remedy for the ignorance that causes tension and conflict – is inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has shown how, with the right approach, a political institution can do a great deal to meet this challenge.

With 318 elected representatives from the national parliaments of our 47 member States, we encompass all of the cultures and religions of Europe, making us a privileged, natural forum for inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue.

We receive addresses by world religious leaders, such as Patriarch Bartholomew and, in October, Patriarch Alexis – and I should also mention our invitation to Pope Benedict XVI – as well as statesmen such as Mr Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey, who spoke about the Alliance of Civilisations.

The newly-elected President of Turkey, Mr Gul, will address our next part-session in Strasbourg in the first week of October

As President, I have addressed many high-level international conferences, and brought together national religious leaders during my official visits to conflict-torn places such as the Balkans, Cyprus, the south Caucasus and the Holy Land.

The Council of Europe does not have military forces or even the leverage that comes through trade and economic policies.

But through the credibility and moral authority that come with our mandatory focus on democracy, human rights and the rule of law, we have a soft power that can prove just as effective.

Our soft power manifests itself in subtle ways – through dialogue and parliamentary diplomacy, for instance, whereby Assembly members, sharing a pan-European forum in the home of democracy, can take a flexible approach to international questions, free of the restraints of government policy and instructions.

Similarly, the ongoing reporting processes of the Council’s various monitoring mechanisms are in themselves important occasions for dialogue.

In this way, we can build bridges - sometimes small ones, but always meaningful.

Indeed, we are seeing more and more how this soft power can and must play a leading role in conflict prevention and resolution, alongside – and sometimes before – military force.

Last week, we held a joint meeting of the political group leaders of the Assembly and the European Parliament, as a result of which we have agreed to co-organise a high-profile conference on inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue next year.

I would therefore also like to congratulate the organisers of this Assembly as an excellent example of what can be achieved.

I hope that all of you here this week can be brought into this vital process and that the future will see us working ever more closely together, for the good of us all and for the future of our children.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Democracy, the rule of law and human rights are the pillars of the Council of Europe, on which we are building a common European house.

This gives us the best guarantee for a stable, peaceful and prosperous future.

On our way to this future, churches are our indispensable partners.

We need ethical values to make our political life more respectable and respectful of people.

We must reinforce political and legal action by co-operation with confessional organisations.

We must do everything to raise mutual understanding and respect among different cultures and religions.

We must put inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue at the top of the political agenda in all our member states.

We must work together for peace, social justice and long-term stability, thus also severing the root causes of extremism and terrorism.

Thank you.