Remember journalists who lost their lives - Hannigan
World Press Freedom Day is a time to remember those journalists who lost their lives doing their jobs, Meath East TD Dominic Hannigan said in a speech at the Anna Lindh Foundation Conference on Media and Intercultural Relations in the Euro-Mediterranean Region, in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin. His speech is reproduced here.
From the Dead Sea to Dún Chaoin, from the Arctic Circle to the sands of the Sahara….many languages and diverse beliefs, but a common European tradition, a cultural heritage that is multifaceted but which unites rather than separates.
It is a great pleasure to have this opportunity to address you today in the wonderful setting of the Chester Beatty Library. I would also like at the outset to commend the Anna Lindh Foundation for hosting this conference on a topic – Media and Intercultural Relations in the Euro-Mediterranean Region- that is of such importance for the region and beyond. Human rights and fundamental freedoms, in particular freedom of expression and opinion, are the essence of any democracy. A strong and free media promotes civilisation and culture. It supports values and a consensus which underpins and binds together our societies.
The twenty seven, soon to be twenty eight, countries of the European Union have led the way in creating a framework for close cooperation between nations, in establishing a basis for friendly relations in our neighbourhood. As you will know, Ireland currently holds the Presidency of that Union, an opportunity the Irish Government and people have always valued.
The Presidency has allowed Ireland to demonstrate that we are a constructive and committed Member State that belongs at the very heart of the European decision-making process. We are now over halfway through our term and we remain firmly committed to ensuring that our seventh Presidency leaves a positive, strong and lasting legacy both for the EU and for Ireland.
The overall theme of the Irish Presidency can be summarised in three words – stability, jobs and growth. The theme reflects our determination to drive forward both the Irish recovery and the European recovery. The financial and social implications of the economic crisis have been felt throughout the Euromed region and the crisis has demonstrated how interconnected our economies are. At EU level we have adopted a range of measures to fight the crisis. The Presidency is determined to oversee effective implementation of the new tools of economic governance we now have at our disposal, in particular in relation to budgetary and economic coordination.
The economic crisis that has gripped Europe is having devastating social consequences. Across the EU, unemployment and particularly youth joblessness remain at record levels. Today there are 26 million people across the Union without work, 5.7 million young people, and 115 million in, or at risk of, poverty and social exclusion. The threat that unemployment poses to our young people is one that resonates with many countries in the southern neighbourhood. The scarring impacts of youth unemployment will be with us for decades if we don’t act urgently.
For this reason, the Irish Presidency has put job creation right at the top of the agenda. EU leaders have agreed that addressing unemployment is the most important social challenge we face.
We are especially pleased at the agreement reached in the European Council in February on the Youth Employment Initiative, and the subsequent proposals from the Commission to make it operational by the start of 2014. Central to this initiative is a Youth Guarantee that will ensure all young people under the age of 25 receive a good quality offer of employment, education, apprenticeship or training within four months of being unemployed.
Enlargement is another high priority for the Irish Presidency, seeing this not only as a historical responsibility but also as fundamental for the peace and security of our continent. We hope to see Croatia join us as the 28th member of our Union as planned on 1 July, and we will continue to work hard to the end of our presidency… and beyond!...to advance the process for those countries in negotiations – Iceland, Turkey and Montenegro.
In the foreign affairs area we are actively supporting the work of High Representative Ashton and the EEAS, particularly in pursuing the Union’s values of democracy and respect for individual rights and human rights abroad. Ireland was recently elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council which gives us a global role in promoting human rights.
Humanitarian assistance is another integral element of our presidency programme. Ireland has long prioritised our programme of humanitarian assistance as a bilateral donor - a programme which we are proud to maintain, despite the economic challenges with which we, along with fellow Member States, are currently faced.
As a country, we are equally proud of the leadership and generosity of the European Union – both the European Commission as well as Member States – in providing ongoing life-saving humanitarian assistance to those communities, countries and regions around the world who are most in need. Taken together, the Union and its Member States represent some 45% of the global funding for humanitarian aid.
Over the past couple of years, the issue which has undoubtedly received the closest and most sustained attention from an EU and Irish foreign policy perspective has been the political transformations in the Middle East and North Africa linked to the “Arab Spring”.
The dramatic events of 2011 led to a major review of the European Union’s relations with the region and forced a reappraisal of the policies and programmes it had pursued up to then.
Our own history left us uniquely positioned to fully understand what drove the citizens of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria and elsewhere to challenge the continued denial of their basic rights and to demand a say in the decisions that shape their future. A feature of the uprisings - and one which needs to be sustained post conflict - was the prominent role played by women and youth. Their voices have now moved closer to the core of the discussions on their respective country’s future.
As the citizens of the region pushed for rights and freedoms that had been denied to them for so long, it became clear that the Arab Spring offered an historic opportunity to help build a stable and safe Mediterranean which respected diversity, freedom and prosperity in equal measure.
I think it is fair to say that the European Union has risen to the challenge presented by the new political, social and cultural realities of the region. A revised policy entitled ‘A New Response to a Changing Neighbourhood’ was published in 2011. It commits the EU to provide greater support to partner countries who are engaged in political reform and building deep democracy. It recognises that a new narrative is required for countries in transition which emphasises dialogue and civil engagement based on shared democratic values.
A key feature of the new policy is the adoption of an incentive- based approach. This promises closer political association, increased economic integration, improved mobility and additional financial support to those partner countries genuinely committed to political and democratic reforms. New funding streams to the tune of almost €700 million have been made available to Southern Mediterranean countries for this purpose. During 2011 and 2012 Task Forces, involving all EU institutions and the private sector, were set up for Tunisia, Jordan and Egypt to act as a focal point for assistance to these countries. In 2011, the EU appointed a Special Representative for the Southern Mediterranean, Bernardino Leon (who was in Dublin this week), who was tasked with enhancing the EU’s political dialogue with the countries in the region engaged in transition.
There is ample evidence that the ENP works best when a political willingness to reform exists and when civil society, including the media, is allowed to play an active role in the national reform process. We all appreciate the key role that civil society plays in social and economic policy reform, in promoting women’s rights, in supporting freedom of expression, in pressing for media freedom, in striving for greater social justice and in holding governments to account.
For this reason, a stronger partnership with civil society is central to the revised Neighbourhood Policy. EU support for civil society has increased significantly since the Arab Spring. A new instrument was created – the Civil Society Facility – with a budget of € 45 million for the period 2012-2013. The EU has also established a European Endowment for Democracy, which provides flexible support to civil society organisations advocating for democratic change that might otherwise find it difficult to access funding.
While the most recent annual review of the implementation of the revised ENP showed a mixed picture, overall the results were encouraging. The review confirmed that the EU has deepened its support for partners committed to genuine political and economic reforms. Indeed, despite the current economic crisis in the EU, financial resources allocated to the region have increased. We have also intensified trade relations with countries in the south. Negotiations with Morocco on a deep and comprehensive Free Trade Agreement have recently commenced, while similar talks with Tunisia and Jordan are expected to start shortly.
Politically, the situation remains positive with clear democratic progress in Libya, Tunisia and Egypt, while basic freedoms have been advanced in many other countries. Ireland and its EU partners have had a clear and consistent message of support for these democratic changes while respecting that the countries concerned are best placed to determine their own pace of reform.
Arab transformation has been a somewhat painful process as demonstrated by the horrendous situation in Syria over the past two years. The scale of the humanitarian crisis now raging in Syria and across the neighbouring region is of staggering proportions. Well over 70,000 dead; more than 1.3 million refugees; and over 4 million within Syria who are in need of humanitarian assistance. Ireland and the EU have been to the fore in responding to this major humanitarian crisis. Ireland’s total aid over the past year amounted to €8.15 million and the overall EU assistance is almost € 600 million. The generous and humane manner in which Syria’s neighbours -- in particular Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq -- have dealt with the huge outflow of refugees from Syria has to be repeatedly acknowledged.
The EU and Ireland want to promote the earliest possible political settlement in Syria. All Member States strongly support Joint Special Representative Brahimi in his efforts to find a political path forward, based on the communiqué agreed in Geneva last June. We have already made clear nationally on a number of occasions that Ireland does not favour any actions which could contribute to greater militarisation of the conflict.
In looking at enhancing our collective action in the region, Ireland believes in closer cooperation with our southern neighbours and in taking the lead internationally on political issues such as the Middle East peace process and safeguarding the two-State solution.
The Arab transformation will remain a major priority for the EU and Ireland at all levels of our international engagement. We will certainly use whatever influence we have in our current EU Presidency role to support and promote European and UN efforts and initiatives towards promoting democratic progress and equitable economic development among the countries in transition in the region and a peaceful resolution of the Syrian conflict.
It is also important to remember that we are at the start of a process, one which will be long and difficult. Much work remains to be done, not least in helping to lay the foundations for economic growth and job creation. There will be setbacks – the constraints facing civil society organisations and the restrictions on media freedom in some partner countries are just two examples - but no one should doubt the EU’s commitment to the region and its determination to see the Neighbourhood Policy act as a catalyst for real change that will influence people’s lives in a concrete and positive way.
Ireland is a strong supporter of the work of the Anna Lindh Foundation within the Union for the Mediterranean. Since its inception in 2005, the Foundation has been tireless in its efforts to support and nurture intercultural dialogue and the vital work of national networks across the Mediterranean. By promoting tolerance, mutual respect and non-discrimination, the Foundation has sought to impact on mutual perceptions among people of different cultures and beliefs. I am pleased that Ireland was in a position, despite severe budgetary constraints, to provide funding of €15,000 to the Union for the Mediterranean and €10,000 to the Anna Lindh Foundation in 2012.
Since 2010, the ALF network membership in Ireland has been coordinated by Triskel Arts Centre in Cork city. Triskel is one of the oldest multi-disciplinary arts centres in Ireland having recently celebrated its 30th birthday.
I am told there are currently over 50 members of the Irish network with an increasingly broader geographical spread. The membership is composed of cultural, educational, religious and other non-governmental civil society organizations.
I would like to congratulate the ALF on the success of the 2013 Mediterranean Forum in Marseilles last month. This landmark event was the largest civil society gathering since the Arab uprisings. It brought together over 1,500 citizens from 44 countries of the EuroMed region under the banner of Citizens for the Mediterranean to promote dialogue, cooperation and citizenship in the Euro-Mediterranean Region.
The Forum enabled participants to share experiences, to learn from each other, to make connections and to strengthen people-to-people contacts. The energy, enthusiasm and dynamism in such evidence at the Forum was further proof, if such were needed, of the importance and relevance of the Foundation’s mission to promote intercultural dialogue across the region. The emphasis placed on turning good ideas into concrete actions is especially important in this regard.
The ongoing contribution of noted Irish journalist and academic, Paul Gillespie, who is with us today, has been instrumental in highlighting the close links between media and intercultural relations in the region. I commend him for his leadership role in seeing this seminar come to fruition.
Media, in all of its various forms, have the potential to play a major role in a renewed Euro-Mediterranean dialogue. This is why today’s conference is so timely. Media issues are now more prominent in Anna Lindh’s work, reflecting a better appreciation of their role in inter-cultural relations and their prominence in the Arab uprisings and reform programmes. It also reflects the greater strength of civil society movements in the southern Mediterranean region and the importance of media in giving countries in the north a proper appreciation of the changes that are taking place there.
There is great scope for media north and south to liaise and work together on a range of issues such as reporting, media analysis, media freedoms, regulation, training, professional ethics and safety and security. The Foundation’s mandate on inter-cultural relations means that it is well placed to play a lead role. Indeed, the work done so far by media representatives and experts within the ALF context shows the potential that exists to make real progress in this area.
In conclusion, it is not by coincidence that today marks the twentieth year of World Press Freedom Day. Every year, May 3rd is a date which celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom and promotes the global freedom of expression. It serves as an occasion to inform citizens of violations of press freedom and as a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom. It is also a day of remembrance for those journalists who lost their lives in the exercise of their profession. In the MENA region, the reality is that media and journalists are under real pressure, despite the great increase in freedom of expression there. Many have been prosecuted, jailed or attacked for doing their work. They need to be protected and their role respected. Freedom of the press, in particular, has been a major topic in its own right in the past year. At today’s conference, you will have an opportunity to examine and discuss this in greater detail.
Freedom of the media is paramount and should be universal in application. But with the exercise of that freedom comes responsibility. Ireland has shown how it can be done. The Press Council model which we have adopted in Ireland has served us well and is being studied by other countries for their possible use. It would seem appropriate that on this, of all days, you would consider, in your deliberations, initiating a network-sharing of such concepts with a view to implementing a sustainable, sound and sensible framework within which press freedom can be encouraged.
The participation of so many distinguished journalists and scholars will no doubt, generate a stimulating debate and thoughtful conclusions.