Back Address to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

Strasbourg , 

Council of Europe Secretary General Jagland: freedom of expression ends where violence begins

Ukraine: no lasting ceasefire without political solution  

As Delivered

Uncertain Times

Friends, we meet in uncertain times – in your nations and across our continent.

A confrontational mindset is taking hold.

The insistence that “I am 100% right” and “you are 100% wrong”.

The politics of compromise and moderation is on the defensive.

What unites us is our common values.

They create a platform for dialogue.

Our work must always be guided by the rule of law and human rights.

This means, of course, the separation of powers within our member states, checks and balances…

… independent courts…

…freedom of speech…

…freedom of assembly…

…free and fair elections...

And it also means that conflicts must be settled peacefully.

This is written into our statute – it is a formal obligation.

Borders cannot be changed unilaterally or by force.

The violence in Eastern Ukraine must therefore stop.

The ceasefire must be upheld.

The Minsk protocol must be implemented in full.

And we must continue to help Ukraine build a solid and democratic state.

In the long-term, this will be the key to Ukraine’s freedom and independence.

The Council of Europe has a vital contribution to make here.

I had a conversation with President Poroshenko in Auschwitz on Tuesday.

You should know how much he appreciates our assistance.

We have 35 experts at our office in Kiev.

I have my own Special Representative in Verkhovna Rada.

He provides advice to the parliamentarians on a daily basis.

We can assist Ukraine in designing a constitution which guarantees its territorial integrity…

…and which, at the same time, gives way to a process of decentralization, opening the way to a political resolution of the conflict.

Our Venice Commission – the most respected in the world on constitutional matters – can help.

Our Charter for Regional and Local Governments provides a legal framework for this process too.

The lesson from history is that ceasefires will only hold when a political horizon is in sight.

We can help create it.

We have our people on the ground in Moscow too.

They are working, in particular, on reforms in the judiciary and combatting corruption.

We must continue to work for the independence of civil organisations in the Russian Federation.

Listing NGOs as foreign agents has no place in the 21st Century.

Yes, there must be full transparency over how these organisations are financed…

…but once that is clear, they are free agents of democracy.

I continue to believe that having true democracies, with checks and balances and vibrant civil societies…

…is vital for building trust among nations.

This holds true for Ukraine and the Russian Federation and the relations between the two nations.

Let us not give up hope.

Too much is at stake for Europe.

Freedom of expression

We must also continue to be the guardians of freedom of expression – now the subject of much debate.

But we must always do so within the remits of the law.

I am increasingly worried about way this debate is being conducted – it is becoming more polarized by the day.

On one side are people who insist that it should be possible to publish anything and everything.

On the other side are those who would prefer that we publish nothing at all!

But both are wrong and I want the Council of Europe to be a voice of reason in this debate.

The only way to defend freedom of expression is to be open about its limitations.

Let me ask you: when the Nazi’s made Jews clean the streets of Vienna, creeping on their knees with their toothbrushes…

…and then replicated these images in cartoons for all to see…

…was that freedom of expression?

No. It was part of the ritual humiliation to dehumanize jews in the eyes of ordinary people.

Ordinary people who then became executioners in the camps.

Racism and incitement to violence is unlawful. There is a line to be drawn.

We already have the rule of law at the European level here – Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights.

The Court of Human Rights has clear case-law, which sets out the boundaries.

So as your nations respond to the terror threat, use this legal framework as your guide.

Terrorism in Europe

And this is the issue I really want to single out today.

Terrorism and violent extremism.

What happened in Paris was shocking...

…but it was not a first.

London. Madrid. Beslan. Utoya.

Each reminds us that Europe is not immune from violent extremism.

And, increasingly, the threat comes from within.

Your governments are now taking action and I commend that sense of urgency.

I have been in government myself – I understand the need to give people answers at a time of fear.

But my message today is this:

Yes, we must move quickly, but we must continue to move together.

We cannot allow gaps or contradictions in our approach on this continent.

In Europe we are all only ever as secure as our least secure state.

And yes, we must protect people from violence, but we must guard their liberty too.

As the world responded to Al Qaeda and the attack on the twin towers…

…we saw how quickly freedom can be sacrificed when security is at risk.

We need a decisive, international response…

…in line with our shared values and our commitments under the European Convention on Human Rights…

…and I want the Council of Europe to help lead the way.

Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism

We have done it before.

Some of the world's best legal instruments against modern terror originated here.

Most people don’t know that.

After September 11th this Assembly was among the first to say: ‘more must be done’.

We negotiated our Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism.

For the first time ever there were international standards criminalizing the recruitment and training of terrorists.

And, crucially, criminalising public provocation for the purpose of terrorism - in other words, indirect incitement to terrorism.

This was the bit that nobody had touched.

Because how do you decide where freedom of expression stops…

…and inciting others to cause harm begins?

And yet we agreed a shared, legal position.

In a matter of months the UN Security Council adopted a resolution drawing on our Convention.

The OSCE followed.

Then the Organisation of American states.

A year later the EU dropped our wording into their counter-terrorism framework.

In the face of a new and unknown terror threat, we triggered a global response.

So to those members states who have still not ratified our Convention...

Today I strongly urge them to do so.

There must be no gaps.

No legal loopholes for terrorists to exploit.

Foreign Fighters

And let us take a collective approach to new threats too.

Homegrown terror. Foreign Fighters. Terrorism tourists.

Syria has been a game changer in this regard.

In September the UN Security Council passed resolution 2178 condemning violent extremism unanimously…

…and underlining the need to prevent travel and support for foreign terrorist fighters.

But, of course, this is an extremely difficult area.

The founding principle of the law is that you are innocent until you are proven guilty.

How do we deal with the intention to commit a terrorist act?

What are the specific standards that can be applied by national governments?

So, to provide you with an answer to these questions, the Council of Europe will prepare an Additional Protocol to our Convention.

…and, by the way, this is something Jean Paul Laborde has also asked us to do - a prominent French judge and the Counter Terrorism Executive Director at the UN. They want our help again.

In this Protocol we will address the ways in which States can cooperate to stop would-be terrorists travelling abroad.

And we need to look at the even tougher dilemma:

What do you do when they come back?

Citizens cannot be rendered stateless – just like that. This is an important protection.

But clearly States must be empowered to deal with returning foreign fighters.

We are working as fast as we can to provide you with a clear and legal solution.

The Committee of Ministers has set a goal for this: namely that the Additional Protocol must be ready by the Ministerial Meeting taking place in May.

So we are working fast – we need to do this.

Prevention

We are also stepping up our work on the prevention of radicalisation.

Not all of the young men and women travelling to Syria leave as hardened soldiers.

They go for their own, personal reasons.

Often they are recruited on the internet, or from prisons.

Therefore the Council of Europe will bring together prison and probation heads from across the continent...

…so that we can support their efforts to stamp out radicalization.

I want us to bring together governments and internet companies…

…to agree measures for tackling hate speech online while we continue to defend freedom of expression.

I want us to bring together Europe’s Education Ministers…

…for whom we will establish a set of competences on democratic citizenship.

That means concrete criteria and standards for teaching young people about their civic responsibilities…

…as well as inter-cultural skills, including teaching about religion.

You will then be able to adapt these in your schools.

And we will bring together leading figures to add some facts to the extremism debate.

To explain how religion is being misused by extremists.

I applaud the many faith groups who have condemned – from their hearts – the attacks on European soil in recent years.

Now we need it written down, in black and white, in one place...

…so that everyone in civil society can say: ‘look, here it is: terror has no religion’.  Full stop.

The long game: building democratic societies

We share the sense of urgency you feel in your parliaments.

And we believe that, in the long-term, the only answer is to tackle the fundamental conditions in which extremism can flourish.

So let me end on an extremely important piece of work that is now nearly complete.

In April I will publish my Second Annual Report:

‘The State of Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law across Europe: A Shared Responsibility for Democratic Security in Europe.’

It will assess how well Europe’s nations can guarantee security for their citizens through their commitment to democratic norms.

It will provide a yardstick for your governments to assess yourselves and adopt a coherent approach.

I can tell you already that our findings will not be exactly what you would expect.

The trends which threaten our democratic security come from across Europe – no state can be complacent here.

So, friends, let us renew our commitment to working together.

The tragic events at the start of the year laid down a very clear challenge.

Emotions are high, threats are real and there is a growing clamour for answers.

As we respond we must be swift and effective…

…but we must hold firm to our values, to our laws, and to one and other too.

That, ultimately, is how we’ll keep people safe.

Thank you.