crimes committed by totalitarian regimes - Ministrstvo za pravosodje
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crimes committed by totalitarian regimes - Ministrstvo za pravosodje

crimes committed by totalitarian regimes - Ministrstvo za pravosodje crimes committed by totalitarian regimes - Ministrstvo za pravosodje

mp.gov.si
22.11.2013 Views

Crimes committed by totalitarian regimes 278

Crimes committed by totalitarian regimes Guy De Vel* 1 The role of European institutions in the process of reconciliation I would first of all like to thank the Slovenian Presidency and the Commission of the European Union for having invited me to this hearing which, I hope, will contribute to promoting a spirit of trust and reconciliation not only in the Union but all over our continent. Allow me to explain that I am speaking as an independent expert and in no way represent the Council of Europe, where I worked for 35 years. I will, however, refer extensively to the incomparable experience of that organisation in the building, since 1949, of a Europe based on the constitutional state (Rechtsstaat), the rights of man and democracy, on the ruins left by totalitarianism. During this hearing we have followed, with the greatest interest, speeches and discussions on the “Recognition of crimes committed by totalitarian regimes”: How to improve knowledge of them and how to heighten public awareness? Allow me on this subject to make a brief aside and to remind you that in 2000, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted a Recommendation (R 2013) “On a European policy regarding communication of archives” which should make it easier to establish the facts. We have also been informed about certain national experiences – many quite varied – concerning reconciliation in order to learn from successful experiences. All through this hearing we have thought with much emotion about these millions of victims that totalitarian regimes have left behind them, and of which some, still alive, bear witness to this unacceptable horror. The moment has come, however, to broach the subject of our last session; how, despite these horrors and suffering, can we reach reconciliation? How to prevent the resurgence of totalitarian regimes or rampant nationalism? Because let us not forget, as Tocqueville said “Democracy is a fragile plant that deserves all our care …” Curiously, while the Council of Europe has contributed so much to reconciliation, its Parliamentary Assembly, in two Resolutions (one in 1996 (1096) “relating to the measures for dismantling the legacy of former communist totalitarian regimes”, the other in 2006(1481) on the “necessity for international condemnation of these crimes”), gives indications concerning the way to help countries to free themselves of their totalitarian legacy, at the same time respecting the constitutional state, but only deals fleetingly with reconciliation. It declares international condemnation of these crimes, expresses its compassion for the victims, its understanding, and recognizes their suffering while considering, it is true, that “the clear position adopted by the international community will encourage reconciliation to be pursued …”. I will therefore concentrate particularly, due to my personal and professional experience, on the role that European institutions can play in reconciliation. I belong to the generation whose childhood was marked by the crimes of Nazism that also left victims in my own family. After the war, we lived through reconciliation – sometimes difficult – recognised by the creation in 1949 in Strasbourg of the Council of Europe. In its Statutes, its founders declare themselves to be “unshakably attached to the spiritual and moral values that are the joint heritage of all peoples and are at the basis of the principles of individual liberty, political freedom and the preeminence of the law, upon which all true democracy is founded”. World conflict was unfortunately followed by decades of cold war and our continent remained torn apart by an Iron Curtain, swept away in 1989 by the wind of freedom that blew across our continent. The Council of Europe was then progressively able to welcome new democracies, at the same time assisting them with indispensable reforms, and to continue its work of reconciliation all over our continent; with 47 members it now reunites all countries in Europe except Belarus. This considerable geographical enlargement did not take place without difficulties and was even punctuated by crises, in particular in certain countries or regions having been part of the Soviet Union or Yugoslavia. The Council of Europe saw itself therefore once again confronted with an enormous task of reconciliation. Totalitarian organisations had to be dismantled and to be replaced by pluralist democracies. * Guy De Vel, Independent expert, former Director General of Legal Affairs for the Council of Europe. 279

Crimes <strong>committed</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>totalitarian</strong> <strong>regimes</strong><br />

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