2019-03-22 19:49 update: 2019-03-28, 12:01
Photo: PAP/Paweł Supernak
Together with Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland opened an international conference on the role of NGOs, at the University of Warsaw on Friday.
The conference, organised by the Polish Foreign Ministry, the Council of Europe, and the University of Warsaw, is debating the role of NGOs in political discourse, as the Council of Europe marks its 70th anniversary.
Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland said that human rights, rule of law and democracy are principles which are closely linked to each other. He added, that when we talk about the rule of law in Europe, it is not the same as the rule of law in China, because the rule of law in Europe is based on human rights.
Jagland stressed that the essence of democracy is that the majority bears responsibility for everyone, including minorities. He pointed out that human rights impose certain limitations on the majority when it comes to what it can and cannot do.
He emphasised that although this majority obviously changes from time to time, as the result of elections, it is still obliged to abide by the law and ensure that minorities and the opposition have their rights, because this is how we understand the principles of human rights, the rule of law and democracy.
He noted that non-governmental organisations cannot be separated from the fundamental rules which govern law, and added that institutions that care for compliance of these rules are very important in any democratic society that is guided by the rule of law.
He added that NGOs are just as important as the independence of the judicial system and the independence of the media and that these three elements constitute a system of democratic control that were and are very important for the Council of Europe.
Foreign Minister Czaputowicz reminded everyone that Poland became a member of the Council of Europe in 1991, and that this was the first democratic institution that Poland joined. "By becoming a member of the Council of Europe, we achieved our main goal – a return to the family of European democratic nations," he remarked.
"The standards of the Council of Europe were then and still continue to be very important determinants for the directions of our country's activities in key areas. Our citizens benefit from the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, and Polish governments are involved in the implementation of the rulings of this tribunal," emphasised the minister of foreign affairs.
In closing, Czaputowicz thanked Jagland for "outstanding leadership and tireless work during his ten years at the helm of the Council of Europe." (PAP)
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