 Thank you very much. I'm really grateful for the invitation and for the opportunity to talk to you. Thank you for coming You know human rights is Is you know an interesting topic we will talk about but not as hot as some other major International crisis happening out there Although what people many times don't realize and that includes politicians and includes politicians of the EU is That there's virtually no conflict around the world That doesn't have human rights either as its cause or as a fundamental element of its potential solution so all those who Sometimes create a conflict in the debate between promoting real politic goals and say a foreign policy Versus promoting human rights goals in my view Tend to tend to miss the boat certain tend to meet the the the correct analysis. So thank you for coming the A few years ago a sort of a peaceful revolution happened at the European Union level regarding human rights the 27 member states spoke In one voice and remarkably they did not find the lowest common denominator to do so, but they found the highest One would argue if one reads The strategic framework on human rights that the 27 member states adopted The action plan of about 97 actions that they also adopted in parallel With specific commitments on specific topics to promote on human rights around the world And if one looks at their determination to appoint for the first time a EU special representative on human rights And I was honored to To be the the person that that they selected and that's a quiet revolution because in many ways I think What the EU realized and what the statement that it made more to itself than to the outside world is that human rights indeed is a Crucial element of a successful foreign policy It's a crucial element of a successful values policy that the EU Is promoting around the world and on which values it was itself founded And that a Lot of stuff was happening on human rights But a more needs to happen be needs to happen in a more coordinated fashion seat has been more effective indeed has been more visible and So if you were to look at my mandate, it says that I have to promote the Coherence the effectiveness and the visibility of human rights around the world Coherence is a major challenge Because it mainly addresses human rights as they are promoted by the EU. It's an internal debate The European Commission has a number of commissioners and policies promoting human rights and a lot of money to do so The development commissioner a Lot of money a lot of programs around the world explicitly focusing on human rights or Implicitly affecting them our development policies a human rights policy If you were to think about it in terms of the effects that it has and can have although no one calls it a human rights policy There's the external action service the new foreign. Let's say Affairs ministry of Europe the external action service, which of course does diplomacy around the world with Delegations on the ground in over 150 countries There are member states themselves to go to the council level Who are very active in human rights on their own accord? through their embassies through their Foreign services and what have you but many times will do things without talking to each other and Of course, there's a European Parliament Which is an institution that has no money and no official if you like Engagement in EU foreign policy, but is extremely active and leading power in human rights In the EU and around the world and and very capable of effective international debate in the issue And this is just the institutional framework. You also have major NGOs in Europe Who do human rights and promote human rights around the world and are on the ground often in places where even the EU? delegations cannot be and How it is that one tries to coordinate cooperate learn from the system and make it work more effectively the coherence of Human rights policy And when I put the NGOs in that discussion You understand of course I didn't put them as an EU institution. They're everything, but they're not politics. They are not political But in terms of working with NGOs and the effectiveness of cooperating with NGOs. I am a Fanatic advocate and I think that anyone who doesn't understand the importance of Discussing with NGOs supporting what they do in many cases protect them in around the world from persecution Doesn't get it in terms of what it means to promote human rights Not only because human rights can be most effectively promoted in many cases by the civil society But also because in the end of the day it is only if human rights become the property of a society not an outside Preaching or an outside imposed Fact, but the property of a society itself in any difficult country around the world only then do they have a chance of actually You know flourishing so That's the coherence part of My mandate the effectiveness part well You have to be effective in human rights. That means so many things But if I can just connect it with the visibility part of my mandate Let me just tell you one thing and this I explained to the European Parliament I explained of course to the to the foreign ministers of the EU and you know some of them liked it and others you know were a little surprised because they thought that You know as a politician, maybe I would be thinking different, but I don't I don't intend to try to increase the Appearance of effectiveness of our of our human rights policy by increasing its visibility I intend to try to increase the visibility by increasing the effectiveness It's very easy sometimes to just try to be visible Make statements do events plenty or so pretend to be present, but in fact Although that may give the impression that Europe is present and that Europe is effective In fact in many cases that is not effectiveness And I would much rather for all of us myself included doing human rights in Europe around the world To try to do the ants work the difficult work the a stomach clenching work sometimes of of Little by little Engaging and building up true human rights successes than to pretend that I have them when I don't I think that in order to Close this brief introduction. I'd like to mention to you for Maybe five I'll decide as I go on major challenges that You know, there are many That I think that human rights Policy around the world for the EU as a whole and I should say for Ireland in particular And I'm so I'm so pleased that Ireland today has the presidency of the EU and that Ireland got elected to the Human Rights Council not an easy feat but also I Was saying some NGOs I met before it's almost like the EU getting the Nobel Prize It's the you know, it sounds great being elected the Human Rights Council is great But it's the beginning of a difficult process not the end of it. Now you have to prove that you actually deserve it You know that the Europe deserves a Nobel Peace Prize that the island deserves, you know being at the Human Rights Council the major challenges First shrinking civil society space around the world if you were to look at anything from is a whole string of laws in some member states of the Council of Europe if You were to look at the way that a number of African countries deal with NGOs today how they attempt to Restrict their funding restrict their ability to register Restrict or supervise their activities under a number of pretexts let alone in many cases Persecute their members silence them or in some extreme cases kill them all over the world today We have I'm sorry. Is this my phone and it's on silent, but still it's still annoying Ah Okay shrinking shrinking NGO space is a major challenge and that involves for the EU a number of things The first thing is to think about how it is that we can support NGOs around the world And support them. I don't mean financially Only but also in capacity building the many NGOs that will tell you it's not an issue of Funding as much as it is an issue of you telling us how it is that we can best function How it is that we can best do the report we have to how it is that we can best network in order to be able to Promote those issues and that's the kind of thing we have to do second thing I have to do with NGOs it goes without saying again is Engage them better as the EU So forget what third countries do we have NGOs in many countries around the world that we should be talking more to Without you know embassies on the ground the human rights defenders. We should be more visible with Engaging more in the neighborhood we have European neighborhood policies and there again it would be Ideal if NGOs could be even more integrated in official fashion in advising the EU on Human rights situations in the country before annual reports of European neighborhood policy get created Truly be engaged with NGOs as the EU not simply for the family photo as it were But because we honestly believe that we cannot be effective unless we have that sincere engagement It doesn't mean and I tell this around the world I was telling it in in In Moscow not in Moscow in St. Petersburg a few a few months ago when there was a big NGO Conference EU and Russian NGOs, you know It's doesn't NGOs can be nice if they want to but I don't have to it's not their job Their job is to push the system in Many cases and in every topic eventually politically Because even if I'm an NGO that simply deals let's say with the retirees rights You know and I don't do politics at some point if a government decides that it's going to Reduce the pensions I Have to be involved in trying to convince those people who pass this legislation not to do it I'm not a political NGO if I do this But there's always engagement Involving politics so NGOs don't have to be nice Their job is to actually promote and protect what they see as fundamental interests for their societies It's in their own field Now and no government of course is obligated to listen to everything NGOs have to say or to agree with You can disagree as a government But you're absolutely obligated to ensure that an NGO can engage in that kind of adversary Can be listened by you as a government can talk to others around the world about Their issues that concern them and their country and can do all those things without being termed traders to the country without being persecuted without being in prison without being ridiculed Without having their families or friends threatened and that is the obligation every state has second challenge a Major attack around the world today and the universality of human rights Human rights are universal that is what everyone who has signed the universal declaration of human rights And that's virtually every country in the world says and at the same time in the past ten years you see a number of arguments developing from all quarters from all different countries in all different Continents not a majority argument necessarily, but certainly develop an argument that human rights are not universal That anyone who says that ignores traditional values Ignores the fact that not countries are the same in fact it goes even further to portray human rights as a Western construct That was imposed upon other parts of the world who now rebelling against it and Although everyone who comes with an argument like that and it could be Either to repress women in one country or not to have fair elections in another or to Violate LGBTI rights in a third everyone who comes with this argument tends to come very well prepared to promote it My feeling is that Europe is rusty That we have taken this for granted in fact you can not anymore be going around the world telling people But of course they're universal because we all signed the universal declaration and you agreed to it as well It's true. It's absolutely true But there's an argumentation battle happening and for me indeed One of the main reasons that I was so look forward to coming to a setting like this So the more academic one if you like a more think tanking one was to throw this on the table And to see if you could have some discussion some debates to get those European arguments Unrusty in fact human rights are the universal language of the powerless Against the cultural relativism of the powerful That's what human rights is You will almost never hear a woman being beaten up by a husband Tell you that you have no right to intervene in this because that's cool in her tradition You will almost always hear the husband Tell you that you may not intervene Because that's the way that things are done You will almost never hear a journalist being persecuted or killed in a country Say that Europe has no right to intervene But you will office here often hear a government say that Europe doesn't get it and shouldn't get involved Human rights is the language of the powerless against the relativism of the powerful human rights is the language of a Continent because Europe also participated when human rights were developed and the universal version was developed of a continent That not only was not trying to impose Western values on anyone, but at the time was telling everyone please do not do what we did Do not do what the Western values values did with Nazism and with genocides and therefore we need a Context not to promote Western values But in fact to ensure that no one makes the mistake that the West made at that time Human rights is the language that anti-colonial movements used rightfully so To get rid of colonialism that scourge Anti-colonialism was certainly not a pro-western Battle it was certainly an anti-western battle So anyone around the world today that claims that human rights are not universal should be able to have a Battery of arguments to counter that and I think that we need to be able to think smart on what of all that is true and convincing third challenge economic and social human rights I Think I feel that Europe has to be talking more about them around the world We do not and we need to first of all because People in many countries that we go care about them more than anything else And if you're going to be effective in your human rights argumentation, you have to be trying to address Problems that people face all problems Secondly because that gives us Greater credibility to be able to continue addressing as we must and we ought to with vigilance and In my view with greater vigilance in today violations of civil and political rights But if you go around the world as I have in the past only four months it feels like four years already But you know if you just do that and you go and you talk to people Many times either openly or more politely on the side that will tell you know what? You're absolutely right to point out that in many of our countries, you know, we violate You know NGO rights and we ought to do something about this and Democracy certainly is not working as right as it should know that but at the same time You know freedom of expression and the Internet Big issue we get it But you have resolved in Europe the issue of food and the issue of shelter More or less and in our countries. These are hugely unresolved issues So can you tell us something about those human rights? And not just tell us something in terms of finger-pointing, but tell us something in terms of Things you could give to us transfer to us capacity Development aid other things that could help us address those issues and Indeed, I think that Europe has nothing to be embarrassed or afraid of when it comes to economic and social rights on the contrary I think of all the continents in the world. We are the EU is the biggest You know safety net social safety net provider that exists Today our labor rights are particularly advanced You know a health and education systems are particularly advanced and out of decades of experience of changes of doubts I mean, it's not as if we have reached the pinnacle dissolved on debate But we have that expertise and they're country around the world that could use that expertise and we have it And we have something else as well. We're the biggest donor of developmental aid around the world today by far About 55 percent or 6 percent I forget of developmental aid around the world today is European aid EU member states and of course an EU Centrity we don't call that humanitarian aid, but it is it can be its effects if it breaks poverty cycles If it gets women in the labor force if it builds better schools and better hospitals its effects are both economic and social right effects and civil and political right effects It's humanitarian aid extraordinaire But there of course we have a big debate that is a fair one and we're having it. We should have it more You know, what strings attached do you bring to an aid like this? Do you should you make sure that you have an impact assessment and human rights before you just give it? Should you even if you give it make sure that you try to monitor as much as you can Objectively through indicators if human rights issues are getting better or worse in the country give the aid to etc. Etc And is it your obligation might I believe yes? Final challenge You realize there are thousand challenges, right? I just say for there are many more but I have to I have to You know be very, you know, it's a sink for this It is indeed the way that we conduct our Human rights discussions with third countries Europe has the EU About 40 40 plus human rights dialogues a year with different countries or different regions organizations the African Union for example, I I conducted that dialogue a couple of months ago and There are two things there many things that there is a couple of things I think we have to do a little different And that if you like also will give you in ties with things I said before We have to be very strong in our discussions with foreign countries on human rights violations when they exist especially in civil and political rights I think those who say yeah, but you know They may get upset if we actually push that too much. It's not really right. Let's be smarter and all that stuff I'm making a big mistake. I think many countries around the world appreciate you in fact if you are consistent and consistent in raising issues and Being even if you are actually unpleasant about them what they do not appreciate or respect that much if you wish you wash if they sense You know that you can be in some cases really tough when you don't need that country's money or investments But in other cases you can be pretty, you know lack so forget the human rights discussion because you know You know that you have many things to sell there That no one respects. They know you know, you cannot be taken seriously At the same time we have to be much smarter and engaging with our partners in the true dialogue And I believe we can do a lot more than we're doing today to do that a True dialogue is useful It increases our credibility in those discussions It creates an atmosphere in a climate in which perhaps some of our suggestions or criticisms can be listened to a little more calmly by the other side It can also allow us to be helpful as opposed to just accusatory If you look at countries around the world today some countries for example for which civil political rights freedom of expression all that stuff are anathema You can also look that that they're dying to get some dialogue going in expertise on other rights such as labor rights because the Economies are developing and they having suddenly strikes and they want to be able to deal with that kind of you know, right out there environmental rights And how civil society can actually play a hugely important role in flagging those things to governments who otherwise don't have a system in place But when an environmental crisis breaks out their people even in authoritarian societies can get extremely upset with their ineffective governments So there's a lot of major issues in which we can engage with countries around the world And we have not done as effectively as I think we should have to date We have to find other words. I said before issues that their people care about In addition to issues that we care about and our people care about So human rights dialogue should not simply be about posturing We should not simply be going around Being pressured by our own public opinions to come out and said yes, of course I talked to that country I told them that they're terrible here terrible They're terrible there and many times our press and our public opinions demand that of us primarily But that is not really how you can be most effective. You have to do that You have to be as I said firm, but that's not the only thing Second thing we have to do is we have to engage them in it seems to me big countries difficult countries in a broader debate than just the bilateral If you think of discussions that you can have with a number of major countries around the world and I have had I've conducted some dialogues up to now And you think of you know, you take the you know, what's happening with human rights after the Arab Spring? This is an issue that the Chinese the Russians the Mexicans the Germans the Greeks the South Africans Everyone could be fascinated and interested in in the human rights dialogue You should be able to engage in that kind of a change as well. And let me close with a third thing My mandate is absolutely a third thing relating to those dialogues and an interaction My mandate explicitly says that I have nothing to do. I cannot get engaged in human rights in the 27 EU member states So I do human rights in the EU's foreign policy The fact is that anyone who's conducted any human rights dialogue with any country around the world Knows that after we go ahead with listing the issues that we find troubling They usually turn around and start beginning increasingly raising issues. They find troubling in us Or they want explanations for What's happening with the Roma here? What's happening with racism there? You know and racist violence. What's happening with the police brutality there? What's happening with the prisons here? now The way we have dealt with those issues in the past mostly is to say Well, thank you for raising the question, but frankly, this is not EU competence So, you know, if you have a question to ask why don't just go ahead and call the relevant European You know government and ask them directly, but that is not a human rights dialogue anymore It's the EU going and saying ten things from which to expect answers But then When the questions asked about EU member states in situations the answer is well, I'm not going to tell you anything about that It's not my business. I Think we have to be much more engaged in third countries. In fact, we have nothing to be embarrassed about on our own Member states and Europe's human rights record We have to be able to tell them precisely what it is that we've done to make things good in this continent when in fact They're not good virtually everywhere else because that's basically what Europe is in human rights I hate to sound a little arrogant about this, but we are at the forefront But my arrogance quote-unquote is not one stemming from a sense of perfection It's an arrogance stemming from the knowledge of imperfection I know that we are not perfect in Europe heck for seven years as a vice president of the European Parliament I mostly spent attention in Attacking European governments and the Commission on what I felt were major violations of fundamental rights that were happening in Europe The point is not to be perfect. The point is to have the system in place The debate in place the willingness to interact in place without feeling a threat for doing so To make sure that you can identify problems and try to fix them and That is what is missing in so many countries and parts of the world today And I think that even if we are able to achieve that little in the next few years to infuse more of that understanding in spirit and institutions that can do that job It would be in and of itself enough Success Thank you so much for your attention