II SÉRIE-E — NÚMERO 21

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“We now move to the special debate on rule of law. I come from a country that, for forty eight years, lived

under a dictatorship. Many men and women were arrested, tortured and many died for their political ideas. This

year we are celebrating forty years of democracy. Are we a perfect democracy? There is no such thing as a

perfect democracy. Do we know any country where the Rule of Law is perfect? No, there is no such thing as a

country where Rule of Law is perfect.

Our democracies are a permanent construction that demands a constant and vigilant effort. In a community

like ours in the OSCE, built over fundamental values like democracy and respect for human rights - when one

of us fails, everybody fails. As members of Parliament, as legislators ourselves, we take a particular interest in

this subject and play a fundamental role in this daily effort.

As we all know, rule of law is a cornerstone of democracy and therefore should be a major priority for the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. As members of parliament, as legislators ourselves, we

take a particular interest in this subject.

Independence of the judiciary is a topic that has been discussed in this Committee over the years. And I

regret to note, that along with democratic elections – whole regions of the OSCE area are regressing, not

progressing in this regard.

The reason I wanted to focus specifically on rule of law this year, is my deep concern for the situation

regarding political prisoners in many OSCE countries. I know that there is a heated debate in many institutions

and international circles on the definition of a “political prisoner,” and I hope to see a debate on this topic at our

upcoming sessions. What we can say is that political prisoners are the result of a politicized judiciary, selective

justice, lack of oversight and checks and balances, corruption and other factors which lead to governments

abusing power and undermining justice. Potentially innocent people are regularly imprisoned through unfair

trials, or lack of access to justice altogether, from Vancouver to Vladivostok. This is why I wanted us to discuss

this issue today.

To start in the West, I have requested the United States to allow me to visit the Base at Guantanamo Bay. I

hope to be able to visit this prison this year. I am pleased that the OSCE/ODIHR conducted a visit earlier this

year, and I hope that the ODIHR will monitor the legal proceedings for these detainees closely. Our Assembly

has addressed this issue before, repeatedly. Major political forces in the United States have stated on record

their wish to close Guantanamo. Yet, this prison remains open. Many European countries, in coalition with the

United States in the “war on terror” are unwilling to share the burden of resettling men who have been cleared

of all wrong-doing. We must respect human rights in the fight against terror. We must remember what values

we are fighting so hard to preserve. All participating States must work hard to meet their commitments to

respect human rights in the fight against terrorism, by safeguarding rule of law, individual liberties and the right

to equal justice under the law.

I have also requested to visit political prisoners in Kazakhstan and Ukraine. And I have expressed deep

concern in regard to the rule of law situation in Russia, Azerbaijan and other participating States. In Ukraine, I

am following the case of Ukrainian opposition activist, Mr. Dmytro Bulatov, and the allegations of torture. I am

also following the kidnapping case of Mr. Leonid Razvozhaev, where there are also allegations of torture and

gross violations of rule of law. The OSCE upholds freedom of expression and assembly – and I am following

the situation with political prisoners around the so-called “Bolotnaya case” in Russia.

I plan to continue following individual cases, and to make requests for personal visits to those detained.

In our debate today, I am very pleased to have distinguished speakers who have come here from Belarus,

Kazakhstan, Turkey and Azerbaijan.These people come here at great risk to themselves and their loved ones,

and I commend them on their commitment and courage, as well as on their willingness to speak out on behalf

of themselves and others in similar situations.

Other speakers have also been invited, but were not able to make it for a range of reasons. I truly hope we

can continue this tradition of guest speakers from among civil society in our countries at our Winter Meetings

here at the Hofburg. I encourage the leadership of the Assembly, and all my colleagues here in the room, to

work closely with civil society and to maintain regular contact on key issues such as rule of law. I believe this is

an important contribution that our Assembly makes to the OSCE as an Organization, and to the quality of life of

our collective constituencies – across the OSCE area.

I would like to introduce the following speakers: