Human Rights
Nataliya Novakova, SPP, MPA 2016 reports
Security, human rights, energy, democracy, EU, Russia – they were the most frequently mentioned topics during the intensive five-day workshop, Policy Development and Confidence Building for Civil Society Leaders and Policy Makers from the Black Sea Region. The discussions were very much shaped by the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Opening the workshop, Ambassador Piotr Świtalski, Director of Policy Planning, Council of Europe stated: “We are going through the deepest political crisis since the end of the Cold War.”
The issue of values became the basis for a discussion on the role of institutions and alliances. Gerald Knaus, Chairman of the European Stability Initiative, formulated the question boldly. “The big issues for the Black Sea region,” he said, “is to distinguish what is the violation of the norm and what is suspension of the norm.” The problem is that regular violations of democratic standards and a drift from democracy by big regional players and an inability (or lack of interest) by the EU to stand for democratic values has led to a rollback from democracy in the region. We often hear that pragmatic interests prevent protection of these values. And thus, having a bunch of energy suppliers in the region makes it harder for the EU to actively advocate for democracy. But, as SPP Distinguished Visiting Professor Thomas Carothers, stated: “There is no real contradiction between interests and values. There is a contradiction between short-term and long-term interests.” According to this logic when we close our eyes to democracy and negotiate security settlements in the region, or a good gas supply deal, or a favorable trade operation, we are thinking of our short-term interests. It is beneficial for current interests, but will surely hit us in the long-term when our partner becomes so wealthy and influential, that his discontent with the democratic values will become a threat to the regional or world order. Putting values first is actually a very pragmatic step, as it ensures that we are not nurturing a future enemy.
Together with criticizing the current institutional set-up in the region and the lack of efficient instruments for conflict resolution, workshop participants engaged in a very serious discussion about human rights. It is customary to take as a given that human rights is the common and dominating narrative in the western world. But did we not miss the point when human rights went from being a guiding principle to becoming a buzzword with no power? In fact during the last 20 years, very little progress in human rights in the Black Sea region has been achieved. We still have political prisoners, people are threatened and become targets of violence due to their political views, and basic freedoms are often not respected. And even collective institutions like the Council of Europe is chaired by countries with dozens of human rights defenders in prison. As Gerald Knaus put it, “we live beyond shame now.” Once again, western governments are appealed to as a last resort when human rights are violated. NGOs like Amnesty International are appealing to the international community to shame governments that shake hands with dictators. What do we see now? Protesters all over the world supporting political prisoners in Azerbaijan and Russia and the awarding of human rights prizes to imprisoned men and women are simply ignored. European politicians often engage in business as usual keeping silent about many human rights violations. The work of regional security institutions is impeded only when it comes to sensitive questions of respect for human rights in particular countries in the Black Sea region.
Five days was obviously not enough time to come up with solutions to these problems. But if there is a solution, it will emerge from increased communication and greater networks among new generations of leaders in the Black Sea region and Europe, who, sooner or later, will lead us out of the current deadlock.