Dear Madam President,
Minister Landsbergis,
Dear Ms. Chulick,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a real pleasure to be here today and to have the privilege of speaking to you at the opening of this conference. The Summit for Democracy process represents our common effort to strengthen democracy and support human rights around the world. I strongly support and am grateful for the initiative of my Lithuanian colleague to build on this process by organizing this conference.
We live in difficult times. Democracy, the rule of law, human rights, they are under attack. We must find ways to protect them, to promote them. Forums like this are important platforms for discussing new approaches.
Last month, I attended the 27th Forum 2000 conference. Some of you had the chance to join us in Prague for our discussions. The continuing global trend towards the rollback of democracy was one of the main topics. However, the mood was not one of despair. The Forum offered a number of important ideas on how to address some of the current challenges to democracy. We were united in our determination to persist in our opposition to autocracies and to continue supporting emerging democracies around the world.
Let me quote the words of one of the founders of Forum 2000, the late President of the Czech Republic Václav Havel. “Indifference toward others and toward the fate of the entire community is precisely what opens the door to evil.”
He said these words 30 years ago, and yet they are as relevant today as they were then. Thanks to them, we become fully aware of the non-obviousness of freedom and democracy. In the face of Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine, the Lukashenko regime’s cruel oppression of Belarusians, and the growing attacks on human rights defenders around the world, they remind us not to remain indifferent.
Václav Havel had a lasting influence on what Czechia is today, what it represents and the foreign policy it promotes. Its legacy is that support for democracy, human rights and civil society has been one of the main features of Czech foreign policy since the 1990s.
In the current security context, pursuing a human rights-based foreign policy approach also contributes to international security. The protection of human rights can prevent or limit the emergence of security threats such as conflict, terrorism or irregular migration, and fundamentally contributes to the growth of prosperity. Putin’s Russia constitutes concrete proof that states that violate the human rights of their citizens will not respect the rules of international relations. Ultimately, they pose a threat to other states and to the international community as a whole.
We believe that our experience in the transition from totalitarianism to democracy remains an asset to our efforts to defend democracy and human rights around the world.
A key part of our approach is to draw attention to serious human rights violations around the world, including individual cases – harrowing human stories – and to emphasize independent investigations into such cases. We address these cases both bilaterally and in international human rights forums.
We are aware of the limits of these interventions. This is why we strive to provide targeted assistance through Transition Promotion Program projects. These provide practical support and complement rhetorical support within international organizations. The methods may vary: in some cases we try to strengthen democratic institutions and the rule of law, elsewhere we promote active citizenship and civil society, we support independent media, in others we provide concrete support to persecuted human rights defenders, activists and independent journalists. However, the objective of these projects is the same: to increase respect for democratic values, human rights and the principles of good governance in the target countries.
We attach particular importance to supporting independent media and journalists. We still remember the crucial role that radio networks like Radio Free Europe or Voice of America played in opening the first breaches in the wall of communist propaganda that surrounded communist Czechoslovakia.
Independent media remain an irreplaceable component of democracy. We, the democratic community, should therefore be their natural and faithful allies. This is what we strive to do. This is reflected in the commitments we made through the Democracy Summit process, namely:
- Support independent journalists and other engaged voices, both online and offline, by speaking out on their behalf and providing necessary practical support, such as visa facilitation;
- Continue close cooperation with independent media, including by funding scholarship programs to support aspiring independent journalists in the Eastern Partnership countries, Russia and the Western Balkans;
- Strengthen our commitment to the Media Freedom Coalition by becoming a member of the executive group;
- Make financial contributions to the UNESCO Global Media Defense Fund and the Digital Defenders Partnership program initiated by the Freedom Online Coalition, etc.
Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine has worsened the media freedom situation in the EU’s eastern neighborhood. We are witnessing a growing number of attacks and repression against journalists. Targeted disinformation campaigns across the world or misuse of digital technologies are leading to further restrictions on media freedom in many countries.
We have worked hard to support endangered journalists, pro-democracy civil society activists and other engaged voices fleeing Russia and Belarus. In close partnership with Czech NGOs, the Czech government has been implementing the “Civil Society” residence permit facilitation program since last year. Hundreds of journalists and activists in danger from Belarus and Russia were able to settle in Czechia thanks to this program. Others took advantage of the emergency fast-track visa procedure. We have increased national funds to support independent media as well as voluntary contributions to international organizations, including the Global Media Defense Fund and the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media.
Thanks to this commitment, Prague has become an important hub for journalists and independent media. We will continue to provide this support.
Our assistance would not be possible without close cooperation and partnership with Czech and international NGOs which allow us to effectively target our assistance. They deserve our appreciation.
The world changes. With ongoing digitalization and advancements in new technologies, we must focus on protecting human rights in the digital space. Creating an enabling environment and a safe digital space for freedom of opinion and expression is our next challenge.
This is why, together with the Maldives, Mexico, the Netherlands and South Africa, we presented at the current session of the UNGA Third Committee a resolution on the promotion and protection of human rights of man in the context of digital technologies. The aim is to reach a basic consensus on the impact of digital technologies on human rights, including the right to freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of peaceful assembly, access to information, the need to protect women and vulnerable groups, and to reduce the digital divide. or explore the use of algorithms and artificial intelligence.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Let me summarize my remarks using a quote from Larry Diamond, who urged us all, quote: “We must demonstrate that democracy, with liberty and the rule of law, is a form of government morally and practically superior, and indeed the only form of government that has ensured human dignity, peace and prosperity.
It’s a huge task, but I’m confident we can accomplish it. This must be a joint effort by all of us – governments, civil society and the private sector. Let us draw inspiration and strength from the example of the perseverance and strength of the Ukrainian people and their struggle for freedom.
