Ladies and gentlemen,
I would like, first of all, to express my deep appreciation to the Prime Minister of Sweden,
Mr. Göran Persson,
for continuing to undertake important initiatives, on issues crucial to Humanity, International Justice and Reconciliation.

We are also thankful to the Secretariat for the Stockholm International Forum 2004 for their warm hospitality extended to us and for the excellent organization of this venue.

I would like to convey the warmest greetings and wishes for a successful conference from the Foreign Minister of Greece, Mr. George Papandreou, who is heavily engaged in his current duties and much to his regret was not able to participate in this event.
The selected theme provides the opportunity for deep reflection on our policies and their effectiveness to prevent genocide tragedies.

Ladies and Gentlemen, One of the biggest failures of international community, after the Second World War and the Holocaust tragedy, has been its inability to prevent the repetition of genocide.

Instead, we remain hopeless witnesses to tragedies in Africa, in Asia or elsewhere, of proportions that we cannot comprehend. Despite the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which entered into force in 1951, the international community continues to witness genocides in various parts of the world. Although we slowly have found ways to tackle the aftermath and provide justice for the victims, still a lot remains to be done. The United Nations has a key role to play in the attempt both to monitor and prevent genocide. As the U.N. Secretary General, Mr. Kofi Annan, yesterday declared, that the United Nations is now ripe to integrate more inclusively preventive mechanisms in the tasks of the UN. Greece fully supports the proposals of Mr. Kofi Annan. We believe that the UN should have a crucial role in preventing this phenomenon and implement strategies to monitor and assess the threats.

My country believes that all actions of the international community against perpetrators of genocide should be undertaken only after explicit consent of and authorization by the
United Nations Security Council.

The International Criminal Court is one step in the right direction. Once put into work, it could also become a useful tool towards preventing genocide.

The decisions of the Court could send a sound message to those involved in ethnic, racial or religious conflicts. It would discourage potential perpetrators to act, when facing the certainty of firm punishment. It is, therefore, important to be ratified or accessed, unconditionally, by all States, showing their firm political will to punish crimes against humanity and bring justice to the victims. Providing justice is, however, not enough in order to prevent a repetition. We, still, need new political preventive tools and concrete actions in order to move on and more effectively address the root of these atrocities. Let me underline our four proposals for preventive measures.

First, the Regional initiatives are, therefore, equally important. The EU initiative to create a peace keeping facility in Africa is an important instrument to prevent and resolve conflicts in this continent, in close cooperation with the African Union. Such regional initiatives could serve as models for other parts of the world.

Second, the confidence-building measures can open up a path to peaceful cooperation. Take Greece and Turkey for example. Only a few years ago, rapprochement between Greece and Turkey was a remote vision, to some people even unconceivable. In spite of this, we have succeeded in signing ten bilateral agreements and agreed upon fourteen confidence-building measures.

Third, the promotion and continuation of development aid of the UN, the EU, the DAC member states of OECD, could be used as a preventive tool aiming to discourage atrocities in case there is a danger of an ethnic conflict.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Fourth, the active involvement of the civil society is also vital to this process. In this context, emphasis should be given to education and youth programmes. Engaging in a dialogue of cultures and religions can heal the deepening rifts in how different cultures view our changing world. Recent talks between Israelis and Palestinians in Geneva showed that while their political leaders are locked in a cycle of violence, active citizens are working together to overcome obstacles based on mutual respect of each other. Greece, a country of democratic and humanitarian values, has always condemned any appalling act of genocide, and expressed its abhorrence before any act consisting a crime against humanity. Greece was among the first to sign the 1948 Convention (in 1949), which sets the international legal base and provides a clear definition of genocide. National legislation followed aiming at penalizing any acts of discrimination, hatred or violence against individuals or groups because of their racial, ethnic and religious origin.

Greece is also ready to cooperate in the future and on a global level for establishing measures against atrocities of all kind. It is, indeed, necessary to effectively cooperate on a global level in order to prevent new phenomena of genocide. And it would be a
tragic irony, if the human race enters the 21st century, hoping for global development and better standards of living, without having the capability to further prevent humans from destroying other humans, just because they belong to a different race or culture or religion or because they speak a different language. We would like the future generations to be able to look back at this century and say: “we avoided the worst of the worst”. We owe this to the sacrifices made in the previous centuries; and we owe it to the millions of victims, who are not here today to present their case.

Thank you for your attention.


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