Intervenția video a ministrului afacerilor externe Bogdan Aurescu în cadrul celei de-a 35-a reuniuni a Consiliului Guvernator al Comunității Democrațiilor (CoD), în calitate de Președinție a Comunității Democrațiilor, este disponibilă aici: https://www.mae.ro/node/59101.
Excellencies,
Dear Secretary General, Dear Thomas,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear friends,
Let me welcome you at the 35th Governing Council meeting. I would like to express my pleasure of co-hosting, together with my dear colleague Thomas Garrett, the Secretary General of the Community of Democracies, another ordinary meeting of the Governing Council, which is the 5th and the last of this kind under the Presidency of Romania.
Before starting our discussion, with your permission, I would like to take a moment to pay a small tribute to the memory of Hon. Madeleine Albright, the parent of our Community of values, who enlightened and inspired us with her wisdom and vision all along the existence of our Community. We were very much honored to have her as a keynote speaker at the 20th anniversary Conference of the Community of Democracies, which I hosted in June 2020. Her words that day are as actual as ever. And I quote: „We come together as a Community of Democracies because we believed in freedom, but recognized its fragility. Today, democracy faces a new round of tests. And it is more important than ever for democratic nations to help one another and work together in solidarity.” This is indeed the essence of our work, as we strive to uphold and defend or values and principles.
I welcome the incoming Canadian Presidency of the Community of Democracies and I congratulate the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Canada for taking up the mantle. We will hear more from Mr. Robert Oliphant, Parliamentary Secretary, who will say a few words after my intervention. Myself and my team are very open to share good practices and ensure a swift transition; you can count on us. Our intention is to organize a handover ceremony in September, perhaps during a special Governing Council meeting in New York, in the margins of the 77th UN General Assembly session. I am looking forward to meeting all Governing Council members in person.
Mr. Secretary General, dear Thomas, I take this opportunity to convey to you, one more time, my gratitude for your constant support and friendship and I commend you for the active engagement in service of our Community.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We are undergoing a very complicated international context. One in which the very core of the international rules-based order is openly challenged. This represents an acute threat to democracies around the world. Since February, the war in Ukraine has brought multidimensional consequences for this country, for Europe and for the world. The brutal, unjustified, and unprovoked illegal military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine has already caused extensive damage and irrational loss of life, triggering massive displacement, with consequences that will affect the Ukrainian people for generations. The continuous horrific attacks on innocent civilians continue to shock us all. This aggression is an unacceptable attack on the Ukrainian people’s unequivocal choice for democracy. And they represent an attack on the very core values and principles of democracy.
Defending and upholding fundamental values, respect for human rights and democratic principles are the main goals of the Community of Democracies. Over the past months we, the Community of Democracies, have come together and vocally stated our support for Ukraine and its people. But as this becomes a war of attrition, it is high time that the Community of Democracies states come together to also provide concrete measures for defending and protecting the young Ukrainian democracy and, at the same time, for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
For example, since the beginning of the war, more than 1,450,000 refugees entered Romania, mostly women and children. For them, we ensure access to medical assistance, school enrolment and free transportation, as well as a series of consistent humanitarian aid. We have also tackled the severe food insecurity generated by Russia, with impact around the globe. Romania is actively involved in facilitating the transit of Ukraine exports and, due to our geostrategic position to serve as a hub for these grain transports. We are also trying to find the best solutions to ease the transit, through our railways and the Black Sea Port of Constanța and our ports on the Danube.
Beyond the current multi-faceted support the global community is offering to Ukraine, we need to also continue to support reforms in Ukraine, the rule of law, for a free, modern and democratic Ukraine.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Ukraine is a signatory of the Warsaw Declaration and has fully demonstrated its determination, not only to become a well-respected democracy, but also to defend the European democracies. As Presidency of the Community of Democracies, we strongly believe that this is the right time to have Ukraine as a member of the Governing Council. This would facilitate having Ukraine as a model and inspiration for young democracies around the world, and also to closely and consistently support its democratic governance throughout these challenging times. If Ukraine decides to join us, it is my special kind request for all of us to facilitate this request for a swift accession process. At the same time, we must also maintain our vocal exposure of Russia’s flagrant abuses in all international fora. As I have said before – statements must be firmer, sanctions must be tougher and our defense must be stronger.
Ladies and gentlemen,
As we are approaching the end of our Presidency’s mandate, I would also use this opportunity to share with you some of our main achievements and lessons learned:
First, assuming the Presidency, as well as the one-year extension, Romania demonstrated its strong and enduring commitment towards furthering the Community of Democracies’ work, vision and mission. We are grateful for the level of confidence our country has enjoyed within the Community of Democracies and the recognition of Romania’s continued efforts to support the rule of law and fundamental rights and freedoms.
Second, during its mandate, Romania has actively promoted the principles of the Community of Democracies, and together with Secretary General Thomas Garrett and the Permanent Secretariat, has implemented an intense calendar of events, despite the difficult circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
We organized the 20th Anniversary Conference of the Warsaw Declaration, the 10th Community of Democracies Ministerial meeting, in the margins of the UN High Level Week last year, five ordinary Governing Council meetings, and a few other extraordinary meetings, imposed by different international circumstances threatening our democratic world, such as the developments in Mali and Ukraine. Under the Romanian Presidency, the Governing Council held thematic meetings and also adopted several declarations of the Community of Democracies, in order to advance democratic principles and values, and to better position the Organization to deal with challenging situations.
Third, Romania’s main objectives for the Community of Democracies Presidency have been, inter alia, to facilitate the participation of young people in democratic processes, to promote democracy globally as the only political system that guarantees prosperity and sustainable development, and to advance the relationship between democratic processes and information technology. I am proud to say that Romania has actively contributed to advancing all these priorities. With the support of the Permanent Secretariat, we launched and organized yearly meetings of the Community of Democracies Youth Forum – Connecting Youth Democracy Leaders. This offered the best opportunity to advancing youth engagement in public life and in democratic processes, including through using information technology. We hope this important project will continue. We also held excellent meetings on the impact of malign influences and hybrid threats on democratic governance, on the role of technology in promoting democracy and also on advancing women’s empowerment.
Fourth, Romania supported the US-led efforts in globally promoting democratic renewal and the Summit for Democracy organized by President Joe Biden last December. In this capacity, Romania remains determined to promote democratic values and principles around the world, including by working with partners, during this “Year of Action” for concrete deliverables that will set the stage for to the second meeting of the Summit for Democracy in December this year.
Dear members of the Governing Council,
I would like to thank all of you who financially support the activities approved in January by the Governing Council, including those related to the operational costs of the Permanent Secretariat. However, on behalf of the Presidency, it is my task to kindly ask all of you, who have not yet committed, to contribute, and we will hear later today, from the Secretary General about the financial situation, but I feel obliged to throw the weight of the Presidency remarks so that the Community of Democracies’ work not be delayed, waiting for voluntary announcements every now and then.
Romania has contributed every year since 2019, and for this year its contribution amounts to 100,000 Euros, both for activities and for the functioning of the Secretariat. We also plan to continue our voluntary contributions beyond our mandate as Presidency, and we intend to dedicate our funding next year for the activities of the International Steering Committee Secretariat.
Dear friends,
I thank you all for your support, cooperation and availability that you have shown to the Romanian Presidency. I encourage you to intensify the exchanges in the Working Groups of the Community of Democracies, maybe to extend them with some topical subjects – such as climate change or food insecurity, as well as to actively interact with the International Steering Committee.
Before closing my remarks, I want to reiterate what I have said for many times: we need a stronger, more present and vocal Community of Democracies.
We need to consolidate the resilience of our democracies and to have a more resilient Community of Democracies. We must be vigilant in defending democracy at home and abroad, and to sanction any attempt of hijacking democratic processes. We must observe the implementation of the principles enshrined in the Warsaw Declaration and to keep our citizens involved, safe and engaged in our democratic processes. We especially need to focus on young generation.
And we need to react promptly and vocally, whenever the democracy is threatened in a specific country or region.
Romania will continue, beyond its Presidency mandate, to stand for the principles underpinning the Community of Democracies. The results of our 2019-2022 Presidency of the Community of Democracies reflect our resolve to play an active role in this respect.
Let me close my intervention with another inspiring quote of the Hon. Madeleine Albright: „History teaches us that individuals and groups who crave, then abuse authority will always be present among us. But to them, we now have answers. And one of those answers is the Community of Democracies.” So we have the answer, especially in these challenging times.
I thank you for your attention and I am looking forward to our discussions today!
