As delivered

I am hardly the first to point to the tragedy, the sadness, that is written across much of Vadim Sidour’s work.

He is rightly lauded across the world for the honesty with which his pieces approach questions of war and death, influenced, as he was by the turmoil and mayhem of the mid-20th Century.

But Sidour’s works equally tell a story of humanity – of the universal and timeless human state; and they remind us as much of what unites us as what divides, as people, when all of the labels, the categories, and the boundaries have been stripped away.

They are therefore a reminder of the universal rights and freedoms that we at the Council of Europe are duty-bound to protect, across our member States.

As some of you may have heard me say before, I am a profound believer in the power of art and culture to immortalize our shared values in this way; and I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to Ambassador Soltanovsky and the Russian Federation for helping us house this exhibition here, in the house of human rights.

It is 20 years since the Russian Federation became the 39th member of the Council of Europe.

Russia’s accession took us a huge step closer to the pan-European ideal, and today it remains an important partner in our European family of nations.

Within that time progress has been made. However, difficult issues and points of disagreement have also arisen. And yet, we are at our best when we remain open and committed to one and other.

It is in this spirit I hope we will continue for the next twenty years at least, together making gains for democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Russia and beyond.