Naujienos

Turime visomis išgalėmis ginti įstatymo viršenybę savo visuomenėse, tačiau šio principo taikymas privalo būti grįstas nelygstama pagarba žmogaus teisėms ir demokratijos normoms, teigė ministras A.Ažubalis.

Lietuvos užsienio reikalų ministras Audronius Ažubalis rugsėjo 25-ąją kalbėdamas Demokratijų Bendrijos šalių užsienio reikalų ministrų neformalioje diskusijoje „Teisės viršenybė ir demokratija“ Niujorke pabrėžė, jog taikant įstatymo viršenybės principą, nevalia pamiršti kitų pamatinių demokratijos nuostatų.

„Turime visomis išgalėmis ginti įstatymo viršenybę savo visuomenėse, tačiau šio principo taikymas privalo būti grįstas nelygstama pagarba žmogaus teisėms ir demokratijos normoms, nes kitu atveju įstatymo viršenybė nepajėgia užtikrinti teisingumo ir net gali pavirsti valstybinės priespaudos įrankiu“, – sakė A. Ažubalis.

Jis taip pat pažymėjo visuotinės lygybės svarbą teisinėje sistemoje.

„Teisinėje valstybėje teisingumas negali būti tik turtingųjų privilegija. Turime daryti viską, kad mažiau privilegijuoti visuomenės sluoksniai, ypač moterys ir neturtingieji, turėtų vienodas galimybes ginti savo teises ir interesus teismuose“, – teigė ministras.

Pasak A. Ažubalio, siekdamos šių tikslų, Demokratijų Bendrijos narės turėtų sutelkti pastangas ir vieningai veikti tais pačiais principais grindžiamose Jungtinėse Tautose.

„Diskutuodami Jungtinėse Tautose, turime kalbėti vienu balsu ir kartu ryžtingai ginti demokratines vertybes. Demokratijų Bendrijos ir Jungtinių Tautų tikslai iš esmės sutampa, todėl sąveika tarp šių organizacijų turi būti nuolat stiprinama“, – sakė Lietuvos užsienio reikalų ministras.

Jis padėkojo šiuo metu Demokratijų Bendrijai pirmininkaujančiai Mongolijai ir užtikrino, kad Lietuva ir toliau aktyviai dalyvaus organizacijos veikloje.

Šiuo metu Niujorke vykstant 67-ajai JT Generalinės Asamblėjos sesijai, organizuojami ir svarbūs Demokratijų Bendrijos renginiai, kurių metu jos narės aptaria organizacijos veiklą ir svarbiausius uždavinius remiant „jaunos demokratijos“ valstybes ir pilietinės visuomenės aktyvistus, siekiančius įtvirtinti teisinę demokratinę santvarką.

Demokratijų Bendrija – tai valstybių susivienijimas, skatinantis demokratinių vertybių sklaidą pasaulyje.

2009–2011 metais pirmininkaujant Lietuvai, Demokratijų Bendrija suaktyvino savo veiklą ir tapo reikšminga valstybių, nevyriausybinių organizacijų ir pilietinės visuomenės bendradarbiavimo platforma, reikšmingai ir nuosekliai prisidedančia prie demokratijos sklaidos pasaulyje.

Statement by H.E. Mr. Audronius Ažubalis,

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania

at the UN Democracy Caucus annual informal ministerial meeting

25 September, 2012

Mr. Chairman,
Excellences,
Dear friends and colleagues,

Let me start by saying that it's a great pleasure to be back again amongst friends. We all have worked together in order to make the Community a more active, effective, representative and transparent global forum open to all democracy stakeholders. It is my strong belief that our dedication to the continuous development and promotion of democracy in our countries and worldwide will never falter.  And here I must salute the efforts undertaken by the Mongolian Presidency in further strengthening the Community of Democracies activities, including implementation of the decisions taken at the Vilnius Ministerial Meeting last year.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

There is a great deal of political symbolism that we can draw from the fact that we are meeting today in the framework of the Organization and in a city that is synonymous with international diplomacy and promotion of universal principals of peace, security and human rights. However, symbolism alone is not enough. We need to make some practical conclusions and join together in common effort in order to push forward our shared goals and defend values that we together stand for.

The United Nations is a right and very important arena for doing just that. I assume there is no need in stressing once again the important role that the United Nations, as well as other regional and international organizations, can play in promoting of democratic governance thorough the world. We should be more than happy to see role of the Community of Democracies at the United Nations strengthened. Excellent co-operation between our Community and the United Nations Democracy Fund is just one concrete example of how Community‘s activities in supporting and promoting democratic governance might be expanded and strengthened by joining forces with others. And we need to further enhance our engagement within the UN to make our voice stronger and our ideas more visible. The UN also is a very useful platform in which we could help other countries that are now in the process of transition to democracy, including by sharing experiences and identifying best practices. In addition to this we must engage ourselves actively into general debate of the UN political process. This is necessary if we want our position and our views on consolidation of democracy worldwide to be heard and prevailed.

 Ladies and Gentlemen,

 Now let me turn to the main topic of our today’s gathering, which by the way, is the same as the UNGA high level meeting – that is: Rule of Law. This is a topic that is being fervently debated in the UN. And it is a very important one, because the way in which we understand the very concept of the rule of law might have far reaching consequences. It might have an impact on our definition of democracy and on how we implement its principles. 

I have no doubt in my mind that everyone in this room believes that the rule of law needs to be defended, and it needs to be rooted into fundamental human rights and basic principles of democracy, otherwise it will fail to deliver justice and risks turning into a tool of oppression.

 But what is rule of law in practical terms? I’d better try to say what it is not. It should be clear to everyone: Rule of law is not about increasing efficiency of governments to impose their will and wishes upon society and individual; it is not about enhancing ability of police to suppress discontent of citizens when they peacefully demonstrate against the policies of their rulers. No, this is not what rule of law is about. It is about our compliance with international obligations and commitments which we have undertaken to protect the human rights of people, especially of those who are particularly vulnerable to the state’s influence and pressure. It’s about ensuring transparency and fairness of the proceedings of justice system. It’s about creating safeguards to protect independence of the courts, making prosecutors to comply with a set of rules and principles based on justice and principles of democracy and respect for human dignity. It’s about society where each of its members can live free and without fear, where laws and state institutions are trusted by the people where people are equally aware of their rights and responsibilities. It’s about transparency and accountability of the government. It’s about ensuring equal rights for access to courts and justice for all people, especially for women in vulnerable situations, as well as for those weak and most vulnerable members of society such as poor and disabled.

 All these elementary principles that I’m mentioning must became the basis for each and every state. As long as this is not the case – we will have a big, persistent problem.

 How the Community of Democracies could respond to this challenge? First of all, as I’d already mentioned, we need to take an active and strong position within the UN debate on this issue. Secondly, we should integrate the rule of law aspects into our efforts to assist countries seeking guidance and support during democratic transition and in the consolidation of democracy. In this regard, I would propose to share information and best practices on strengthening the rule of law, inter alia in the following areas:

 -        Independence of the judiciary,

-         Effective administration of justice,

-         Right to a fair trial and access to justice, in particular to courts,

-         Accountability of state institutions and officials,

-         Right to legal assistance and respect for the human rights of persons in detention.

Education and awareness-raising for issues related to the rule of law in courts, law enforcement agencies, police and penitentiary system is no less important area of work.

 Finally, Ladies and Gentlemen, let me say that our commitment to the Community of Democracies, as demonstrated duringLithuania’s Presidency, remains very strong.  Let me add here that Lithuania’s candidacy for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for the term 2014-15 also underline our strong commitment to promoting the Community of  Democracies’ goals and ideas which indeed coincide with those of the United Nations. If elected,Lithuaniapledges to work very closely with you, all together.

 This Community is an ambitious enterprise, it‘s vision - is the challenge for the years ahead. I believe, we are capable of translating this vision and this ambition into reality

 I thank you.