Interview with Walter Schwimmer, former secretary-general of the Council of Europe (1999-2004).
Q: Azerbaijan marked its 10th anniversary as a full member of the Council of Europe in January. What results has Council of Europe membership brought for Azerbaijan?
A: Azerbaijan became a member of the family of European democracies. This brought advantages in particular for the citizens of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is now part of an area of democratic security, with the commitment to pluralist democracy, rule of law and human rights. Like every other European, an Azerbaijani citizen has the right to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. Azerbaijan is sitting together with other European states, through its foreign minister, in the Committee of Ministers where he will very soon, in about two years time, hold the position of chairman. Azerbaijan's MPs participate with equal rights in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which is Europe's most comprehensive parliamentary body. Of course, Azerbaijan has also some obligations as a member of this pan-European organization, but all these obligations are for the benefit of its citizens!
Q: And what contribution has Azerbaijan made to the Council of Europe?
A: Membership means rights and duties. The duties are mainly, beside very moderate financial obligations, to implement the values and principles of the Council of Europe, pluralist democracy, rule of law and human rights. That includes respect for the fundamental rights of its citizens as laid down in the Council's main documents: the European Convention of Human Rights, the Anti-Torture-Convention, the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, and others. As I pointed out, these are not obligations towards the secretariat of the Council in Strasbourg, but towards a country's own citizens who benefit from these obligations.
Q: Four to five years ago many people in Azerbaijan were accusing the Council of Europe of double standards, but this criticism has stopped recently. Is this because double standards have ended or is there a different reason?
A: Double standards did not end, because there were never double standards. What some people considered as double standards was the fact that the Council has to rely on the means of "soft diplomacy" and of "parliamentary diplomacy"; that means one has first to try to convince those who fail to comply with their obligations to change their mind and their policy. The proverb says that nobody is perfect. And no member country of the Council of Europe is perfect. But shortcomings and deficiencies are different and of different levels.
Q: The PACE Bureau adopted a decision to revive the subcommittee on Karabakh, but the Armenian delegation to PACE said it would boycott the subcommittee. This being the case, will it be possible to get the committee working fully?
A: I don't think that a boycott is the right way to react to decisions of the Parliamentary Assembly and its structures. European policy and European spirit needs the cooperation of all. This is the nature of democratic decisions that one may disagree with decisions taken, nevertheless one should comply with them.
Q: Is the Council of Europe already familiar with Karabakh conflict? What kind of role can the Council play in the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia?
A: Right or wrong, the role of the Council of Europe in the Karabakh conflict is limited, as the international community decided to entrust another organization, the OSCE and its Minsk Group, with the solution of the conflict. On the other hand, the admission of the two neighbours, Armenia and Azerbaijan, together to the Council of Europe was an important contribution to a non-violent solution of the conflict, as it sent a message to the parties of the conflict, now you both belong to the same family and please behave as such. To some extent, this strategy worked and the message was at least heard. But as I said 10 years ago on the day of the admission to both presidents, in my view the solution of the conflict has to be found by the parties themselves. The international community can help and assist through its organizations like the OSCE and the Council of Europe, but without the will of the parties concerned the conflict will not be solved. But I am still optimistic. Just as "old enemies" like France and Germany became friends and partners in today's Europe, I hope to see Armenia and Azerbaijan in a similar development, with open borders like at the Rhine. And perhaps I can take a train one day from Baku to Yerevan.
Leyla Tagiyeva
News.Az
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