Courtesy translation
Chairman Kox,
Chairpersons Gardini and Fassino,
Ladies and Gentlemen Members of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you all to Palazzo del Quirinale.
One and a half years have gone by – as you courteously recalled, Mr. Chairman – since I had the honour of participating in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg at a particularly difficult time, only a few weeks after the outset of the brutal war waged by Russia against Ukraine, which marked the resurgence of such a serious conflict within the European continent.
The Strasbourg meeting offered a valuable opportunity to reaffirm our common confidence in democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. These are values that the Council of Europe has promoted with great determination as of its establishment andthat it reaffirmed at the 4th Summit of the Heads of State and Government held last May in Reykjavík.
By confirming the supremacy of law in the relations between States, the Register of Damage for Ukraine – the first tessera in a construct aimed at avoiding the impunity of Russia – is an example of its application in concrete terms.
The Council of Europe continues to represent an inescapable point of reference in the field of the rights of individuals and of peoples.
Its centrality was conquered “in the field”. Indeed, ever since its establishment, it has been able to play a game-changing role, for example in the campaign to abolish the death penalty – a theme particularly dear to the Italian Republic – prevent torture and combat all forms of inhuman treatment or punishment.
The fact that there are independent monitoring mechanisms specifically focused on this aspect is a further indication – should there be need of one – of the value of the Council of Europe and of the role of the Monitoring Committee within it.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
allow me to briefly dwell upon two particularly topical issues that are also the focus of this Organisation, a forerunner in the construction of a platform of European values.
I am referring to gender equality, an issue that falls within the context of promoting and protecting human rights.
Among the instruments adopted by the Council of Europe to combat discriminations against women and to maximise their role in society stands out the Istanbul Convention – which you just recalled, Mr. Chairman – which is grounded on the conviction that achieving gender equality - de jure and de facto – is key to preventing violence against women.
In its preamble, the Convention recognizes that “violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between women and men, which have led to domination over, and discrimination against, women by men and to the prevention of the full advancement of women”. Unfortunately, the news of feminicides which are disseminated so frequently, including in the last few days, are a sad reminder of the intense effort that still needs to be made to put in place a radical cultural change. A change that involves families, society at large, and also governments.
In another context, equally important is the work expedited by the Council of Europe on Artificial Intelligence, a benefit-bearing innovation, which we need to be able to manage to avoid it being used to the detriment of the respect and promotion of human rights.
Under the Italian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers, the first steps were taken to develop an instrument regulating the use of Artificial Intelligence.
What we now need is to work with foresight and ambition in designing a Convention that is up to the task, to be hopefully signed within a scope overreaching that of the Member States of the Council of Europe and define standards that can be taken as benchmarks also in other regions of the world.
I am recalling this aspect in the deep conviction that Europe is not merely a geo-political and economic space for a more or less tight and profitable cooperation between States. Rather and above all, it confirms to be a place that shares values focused on the centrality of the dignity of human beings.
In the post-war period, which was marked by grief and destruction while the continent still suffered from the deep-reaching wounds of the world conflict, the Council of Europe was tasked with reconnecting the European people to their fundamental roots, their common roots, thus converting this sharing of values into its distinctive trait.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We cannot forget that, while we stand here united, two wars are underway: one in the European continent and another one at its gates.
It is our duty not to surrender to war; not to scatter the heritage accumulated; not to forsake the protection of human rights, first and foremost the right to life and the primacy of the Rule of Law.
In the face of unrelenting violence, finding an exit strategy sometimes appears to be an almost hopeless feat. But we must not give up our pursuit as it can be crowned with success if we are capable of empowering cooperation and dialogue within multilateral institutions.
At times their voice appears to weaken although this does not apply to the reasons they express, the only ones capable of assuring lasting security and guaranteeing the right to freedom in a context of peace.
In a few days’ time, we will be celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted through a dispute-settlement process inspired by lofty principles: the recognition and protection of human dignity, and the universality and interdependency of human rights.
Acknowledging the distance that exists between the formal recognition of human rights and their actual fruition in many parts of the world, makes your work within the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe all the more relevant and praiseworthy.
It is with this conviction that I reaffirm my heart-felt wishes for all the success in your work and the appreciation of the Republic of Italy.
