No Security without human rights, say panellists at Security Days Night-Owl session in Berlin

Berlin, 24 June 2016 – At the Night-owl session of the Security Days event “From Confrontation to Co-Operation: Restoring Cooperative Security in Europe”, held on 23 June, more than 100 participants representing OSCE participating States, the European Union, think-tanks, civil society, the media and the academic community, discussed the importance of protecting fundamental freedoms in times of crisis.

In his opening remarks, OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier said: “We cannot fail to notice the tendency by some governments to limit fundamental freedoms and civil liberties in the name of security.  Their concern for public safety is easily understood.  The question is though, how far do we want to go in compromising those fundamental values that underpin our democratic societies.”

“In European history  - and in particular in the German past - there always was a conflict between individual freedom and security. Too often fundamental freedoms came under government control” reminded Hans-Gert Pottering, Chairman of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. “No matter how great the threat – this must not happen again” he said. 

Ralf Brauksiepe, Parliamentary State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry of Defense highlighted the importance of the OSCE as a central forum for dialogue at a time when fundamental freedoms are under threat.

"Even though OSCE participating States have repeatedly pledged to comply with their international human rights obligations when countering terrorism, state authorities too often need to be reminded that, while providing security to their citizens is an important task, guaranteeing freedom as a fundamental human right is their obligation,” said Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. 

EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn and President of the Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence Sonja Licht called for mobilizing the “silent majority” of people to counter the toxic and dangerous narratives of terror, populism and xenophobia. “There can be no security without strong involvement of civil society. We need to work with citizens to help them realise that "the other" is a partner, and not someone to fear”, they stressed.

The Security Days Night-Owl session “From Confrontation to Co-Operation: Restoring Cooperative Security in Europe” was organized in co-operation with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung