 |
|||||||||
     |
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
| You are here: 2004 / Plenary Sessions / Plenary Session 4 / Address by the Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Pavel Vosalík | |||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
Participants Countries and organizations Conference documentation Conference programme 
|
|
|
|
Address by Dr. Tarek Heggy Address by the Assistant Director-General of UNESCO, Pierre Sané Address by the Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Pavel Vosalík Address by the Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland, Jakub T. Wolski Address by the Director of the European Training Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, Professor Wolfgang Benedek Address by the Ambassador of Brazil in Stockholm, Elim Dutra Address by the State Secretary for European Affairs of Belgium, Raoul Del Corde Address by the Ambassador of Australia in Stockholm, Richard Rowe Address by the Ambassador of Turkey in Stockholm, Tomur Bayer Address by the Deputy Special Representative for the UN Interim Administrarion Mission in Kosovo, Jean-Christian Cady Address by the Chief of Activities and Programme Branch of the UNHCHR, Jan Cedergren Address by the Deputy Director of the Bureau for Crises Prevention and Recovery of the UNDP, Georg Charpentier Address by the Head of the Central Division in the Directorate General of Education, Culture and Heritage, Youth and Sport of the Council of Europe, James Wimberley Address by Dr. Stephen D. Smith, Aegis Trust and Beth Shalom Address by the Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Pavel Vosalík Vosalík, Pavel Address by H. E. Pavel Vošalík, Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, genocide is amoral by its definition and exterminates not only its victims but it is herewith destructive for society as a whole. It has not been invented by the modern society; it is as old as humankind itself. But the modern society was first able to detect clearly its danger and began to deal with searching for effective ways for it prevention and effective protection of the threatened groups. We have solved the very fundamental questions of the international law more than fifty years ago by the adoption of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide from 1948. The Convention includes relevant definitions and sets clear individual criminal responsibility of the perpetrator. So why it is still so difficult to wash the phenomenon of the genocide out of the surface of our planet and to bring its perpetrators to justice? Is the dedication of the international community to combat the genocide really so honest and truthful? Do we know, how to require the States Parties of the Convention to implement their commitments in practice? We have created the ad hoc tribunals empowered to punish the perpetrators. Herewith, we have guaranteed the highest standard of the right to a fair trial possible. The judgements are delivered after careful examination of evidence. The defendant has the right to a legal counsel and the right of appeal or another effective remedy. We could hardly find another court in the world, which would examine the evidence more carefully than these tribunals. In short, we do have mechanisms and systems for preventing and punishing the perpetrators of genocide. The question is, however, their efficiency and ability of timely action. Time and again, we have seen them hampered and constrained. The most probable reason is the lack of political will. Preventing genocide is primarily the responsibility of the state. It is the legal systems of these states, which must primarily fight against any manifestation of national and ethnic hatred; the state must ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and observance of the principles of the rule of law. All these principles together are, indeed, the personification of the prevention of genocide. Even the smallest states are here to draw the attention of the international community to an imminent or ongoing genocide. And genocide threatening or going on even in the most distant states or regions must not be ignored. In 1994, when the mass killings in Rwanda culminated, the Czech Republic was the first country to clearly state in the UN Security Council that the April events constituted genocide. The Czech Republic also presented its own draft of the UN Security Council Presidential Statement, proposing that the massacre of the Tutsis should be resolutely condemned. The Czech Republic, together with other nine Security Council members, supported the French initiative to create a safe zone in south-western Rwanda for the protection of refugees. We contributed to the Security Council´s unanimous decision imposing an arms embargo on Rwanda, supporting the continued presence of the UN peacekeeping force and establishing the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The Czech Republic is a small country in Central Europe, we still feel co-responsible for what is going on in the world and we want to do our best within our capacities. The first step the Czech Republic is responsible to take towards its own people as well as towards the entire international community, is the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. In his study Genocides of the 20th Century, Yves Ternon says that whilst children watching a puppet show warn puppets in a dangerous situation, the adults realize the danger of genocide but do nothing. Let us disprove this serious accusation. Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for your attention. * * *
>> Back to top |
|
|
|
Introduction Opening Session Plenary Sessions Workshops, Panels and Seminars Closing Session and Declarations Other Activities |
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
| For information about this production and the Stockholm International Forum Conference Series please go to www.humanrights.gov.se or contact Information Rosenbad, SE-103 33 Stockholm, Sweden | |||||||||