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| You are here: 2004 / Closing Session and Declarations / Address by the EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana | |||||||||
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Participants Countries and organizations Conference documentation Conference programme 
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Address by the EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana Solana, Javier Address by Mr. Javier Solana, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Your Royal Highness, Prime Minister Persson, distinguished guests, It is a privilege to join you today and to participate with you in the work of the Stockholm Forum. We have emerged from what many have called a century of genocide into a century whose character is as yet unclear. The genocides of the 20th Century raise difficult and disturbing questions: about the world we live in; about responsibility and accountability; about our very humanity. The Stockholm Forum has confronted these questions directly. Your gaze has been determined and unflinching. In the best traditions of Swedish diplomacy, you have drawn forthright conclusions and made concrete proposals. Our task now is to bring this work forward in our governments, institutions and organisations. As we prepare to do so, there are hopeful indications that the lessons of our recent past are being taken to heart. One of the strongest signs is here in this hall, in the unprecedented scope and level of participation in the work of the Forum. Allow me to share some reflections on how we can bring this work forward together. Last month, European leaders adopted a Security Strategy for the European Union. Our strategy is founded on responsibility, prevention and on effective multilateralism. These themes have been central to your discussions too. They are principles that can guide our future work. First, responsibility. Your have underlined the grave responsibility that we – all governments and organisations represented here - now bear for the prevention of genocide. The first step is taken when we each clearly acknowledge our responsibility. In the European Union, we have responsibilities - for past failures but also for the future. In a few short months, the European Union will grow to a political union of 450 million people and 25 countries producing a quarter of the world's wealth. We are privileged. And privilege brings particular responsibilities. We are beginning to assume greater responsibility for security – in the Western Balkans, for example, and in the Great Lakes region of Africa. We are prepared to do more. Second, prevention. This is at the heart of our approach to security. I believe it was Anna Lindh who first coined the phrase “a culture of prevention” and who sought to cultivate this culture in the European Union. It is a phrase we should take to heart. It is a tough challenge, particularly for political leaders. The failure to prevent genocide has many dimensions. One of the most important has been a failure of imagination. A culture of prevention requires the imagination to see ahead to the consequences of our inaction. And it demands the political will and courage to take preventive action where this is costly, dangerous or unpopular and where the benefits may never be seen. Address a crisis and you will be praised, prevention – because its outcome is unseen - requires a different level of political courage. Third, effective multilateralism. International law is the guiding spirit and lifeblood of our multilateral system. That system is made strong through our commitment to upholding and developing international law. The establishment of the International Criminal Court has shown that the multilateral system can be adapted and strengthened to meet new challenges. We have a responsibility now to ensure that it can do its job. We have a responsibility also to ensure that the UN can do its job; that it is made effective and equipped to fulfil its responsibilities. The United Nations cannot function unless we are prepared to act to uphold its rules when they are broken. Kofi Annan has spoken openly of its failure to protect in Rwanda and in Srebrenica. That failure is our failure too. In the practical spirit of this Forum, he has made concrete proposals on how the UN might be better equipped to identify and prevent potential genocides. In the European Union we too will adopt a practical approach to supporting him. Strong partnerships are the guarantor of an effective multilateral system. The European Union has many important partnerships: bilaterally with the United States but also Russia, China and others; regionally in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America; and on a sectoral basis with civil society and business. These partnerships cannot be taken for granted. They must be built, nurtured and maintained. In order to implement our strategy, we have acknowledged that the European Union must be more active, more capable and more coherent. We are more active, more widely than before. We are becoming more capable. Our means will often be political, diplomatic and economic means. But prevention has a hard edge too. We need military capabilities to prevent imminent crisis and restore confidence. We need police capabilities to maintain public order and to build local policing skills. And we need to develop a strategic culture that promotes early, rapid and – where necessary - robust intervention. Last year, we were able to answer Kofi Annan’s request for troops in Ituri Province in the African Great Lakes region. European police are working to develop local police capacities in Bosnia and they will soon be doing so in FYROM and in the DRC. We could not achieve this without a focus on capabilities. This has been made possible by a focus on capabilities. We cannot do more unless we maintain and deepen this focus. We are conscious also of the need to use our range of instruments – military, civilian, humanitarian, trade and development – in a more coherent, co-ordinated way. The message from this Forum is clear. In countries recovering from or at risk of genocide, we must ensure that our development, trade, political and crisis management instruments all follow the same agenda. We also need to co-ordinate our efforts much more closely at international level. One final word, on behalf of all who have participated in and benefited from the work of this Forum. We owe a debt of gratitude to Sweden, to Prime Minister Persson and to all involved in preparing and hosting this event. You have laid firm foundations. Our job is to build on those foundations. As we prepare to do so, let us resolve collectively to become more active, more capable and coherent. If we do so, I believe we will have made a good start. Thank you. >> Back to top |
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Introduction Opening Session Plenary Sessions Workshops, Panels and Seminars Closing Session and Declarations
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| 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 | |||||||||