Nacho SÁNCHEZ AMOR (S&D, ES), rapporteur, speaks to the press on the Annual Report 2023 on Human Rights and Democracy. This transcription is the result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Strasbourg

EU's strategy for promoting human rights (T)

respect for human rights in the world (T)

press conference

SÁNCHEZ AMOR, Nacho (S&D, ES)

Press conference by Nacho SÁNCHEZ AMOR (S&D, ES), rapporteur on The Annual Report 2023 on Human Rights and Democracy

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nacho S&Aacute;NCHEZ AMOR (S&amp;D, ES), Rapporteur, The annual human rights report is a snapshot of the human rights situation around the world. It's not about human rights within the European Union. This is the Commission's responsibility. This falls under AFET and DROI. As you will know, there are no specific references to geographical areas or specific crises or specific cases. Well, some years ago, we did, in fact, break that unwritten rule and introduced a paragraph on Ukraine.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nacho SÁNCHEZ AMOR (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, And this year we will do so again and introduce a paragraph on Gaza and the situation there. Now, the idea is not to give a litany of different cases and crises but rather to give a general overview of what the situation is with regard to human rights around the world. We describe the situation without specific references to geographical areas, individuals or crises.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nacho SÁNCHEZ AMOR (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, And we talk about whether European instruments and policies are sufficient to try and counter the situations that are emerging. We have an ever growing, prevalence of anti democratic systems or authoritarian and illiberal, governments. It's hard to measure exactly what this means, but up to 70% of the global population are living, in fact, under authoritarian or illiberal regimes.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nacho SÁNCHEZ AMOR (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, There's a narrative that we hear from these regimes, and that narrative is being discussed here in the report. This idea of universality of human rights. One of the biggest achievements of human civilisation is that human beings simply by being human beings should enjoy a certain set of basic human rights. It's not a principle that's been questioned since the Second World War.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nacho SÁNCHEZ AMOR (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, The excuses that we're hearing from the illiberal systems is that they're saying that they have various different exceptional situations. Exceptions, religious or others, that would prevent them from applying the principle of universality of human rights. Now we in fact do hear an alternative model from those totalitarian systems. There is an outright denial of the universality of human rights.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nacho SÁNCHEZ AMOR (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, And we're hearing being told that the very system of human rights law is a liberal instrument of neo colonial domination. There is this veneer of legitimacy that's being tried to maintain by those regimes. But they are, in fact, proposing an alternative model, an alternative system. So we need to think about that.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nacho SÁNCHEZ AMOR (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, If you look at these alternative narratives that are coming from China, Russia and elsewhere, we're seeing these projects being funded. China will refuse to intervene saying that they won't interfere. But they don't engage either. If you ask them about the situation in the prison system, for example. And there's also Russia's external foreign agents law, which is difficult to manage. If any kind of agency seeks to get information from within the country, it runs the risk of being persecuted.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nacho SÁNCHEZ AMOR (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, So this is turning into a cultural war. Sometime ago, it was just little clashes, but now it's really an outright cultural war. Two models, two systems pitted against one another. We have the liberal and, democratic system and another system that denies those principles on the other side. And so each system feels empowered to deny the principles of the other.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nacho SÁNCHEZ AMOR (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, So what we need is to realise this and defend what, we believe in. I think this report would be important and interesting to all those working in European institutions. Now there's the realpolitik on the other side of rue Belliard in Brussels. And on our side of the rue Belliard there's the world of parliamentarians and this world of those who try to uphold human rights policy, which isn't, in fact, a policy, it's a legal obligation enshrined in the treaties.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nacho SÁNCHEZ AMOR (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, It's not some optional extra. It's not something that you can simply wake up one day and say it doesn't need to be defended anymore. It's a part and parcel of our external policy, and that's how we need to see it. You can't have a parliament on one side of rue Belliard. Crying out and decrying these human rights violations. And the European Commission on the other side of rue Belliard implementing realpolitik. Those of us working on the human rights agenda, we need to adapt and adjust to a world where security and geopolitics dominate the agenda.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nacho SÁNCHEZ AMOR (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, We need to adapt our narrative to the current reality. So when we talk about human rights in the world, we're not doing this out of only personal conviction or values. We need to make it clear that a just world is also a safer world. So if you have checks and balances, you have the right to express dissenting opinions.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nacho SÁNCHEZ AMOR (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, That's something that we need to really talk about. This idea: when we talk about democracy, the rule of law, human rights in the world... It's not just about justice. It's about making the world a safer place. Thank you. And I'm willing to take your questions now.

Q&A, Question regarding the European Convention on Human Rights and the role of the Council of Europe.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nacho SÁNCHEZ AMOR (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, Those of us who deal with human rights are worried about something. And I'd like to say this publicly. The European Union, the European Parliament, generally put pressure on countries and then the embassies around the world try tov deal with human rights aspects as part of their work. So what's going on? Well, there seems to be sort of an assignment of different roles within the European Union.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nacho SÁNCHEZ AMOR (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, The European Union is there to make people feel uncomfortable, so the parliaments are doing that, making people uncomfortable, asking difficult questions about prisons and so on. And then the diplomats are taking care of the more pleasant side, trade agreements and so on. That's not really a fair distribution of work. The embassies, too, need to be playing their role when it comes to human rights defence.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nacho SÁNCHEZ AMOR (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, It shouldn't be about the parliaments having a more ambitious human rights agenda whilst the national embassies then do the very things that we speak out against in our reports. What you don't need is any timid approach. You need to be singing from the same hymn sheet and to say things loud and clear.

SOUNDBITE (Original), Nacho SÁNCHEZ AMOR (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, Because if you don't have any clear message on all those areas where human right's situation is declining, whether it's prison conditions or others, then I think we can't say that a silent diplomacy has produced any positive results for those people living in countries where the human rights situation is, declining.