Mayor,
Distinguished guests and speakers,
Dear all,

It’s a great honour for me to be part of this second European conference on democracy and human rights in Kristiansand.

I’d like to start by congratulating the city of Kristiansand on being the host of such a high-level conference. With distinguished speakers from the Council of Europe, the European Union, as well as important voices from the media and civil society.

“2020 has been a disastrous year for human rights in Europe.”

These are the very opening words of the annual activity report for 2020 by the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Dunja Mijatović.

And the report continues: “While commitment to upholding human rights standards has been faltering all over the continent for several years, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the erosion of the democratic fabric of our society, on which the protection of human rights ultimately depends.”

These are alarming words.

Which is why this is such a timely conference. And why it’s vital to galvanize the broader debate on human rights across the continent also outside the capitals of Europe.

 This crucial debate concerns us all.

Contrary to what we believed around 10 years ago, we now realise that democracy and human rights, and freedom of speech in particular, must be fought for every day. It’s a never-ending job.

These values have been increasingly challenged under the COVID-19 pandemic.

I would like to take this opportunity to address three specific topics Topics which are especially close to my heart:

• Hate speech and its impact on freedom of speech and democratic participation.
• Women’s rights, not least, violence in close relationships, vulnerability during the pandemic, and female representation in politics.
• And finally, interparliamentary cooperation and its crucial importance for democracy and human rights.

Freedom of speech is a fundamental human right. A cornerstone of our liberal democracy.

It relies on open societies. It’s based on mutual trust and the embrace of diversity. It’s threatened by xenophobia and hate speech.

Without free speech, our democracies cannot thrive.

Unfortunately, and deeply worryingly, we can see that hate speech and xenophobia (/zeneFObia/) are on the rise in Europe.

Hate speech leads to stigmatisation and division. It breeds lack of understanding, trust and sense of unity among people.

Hate speech frightens people. It deters them from taking part in democratic work and debate. And, perhaps most alarmingly, it scares off young people from being active in politics.

As citizens of Europe and the world, we are all responsible for fighting hate speech and prejudice for resisting the undermining divisions that stem from this.

As President of Parliament I feel a particular responsibility, and have devoted a large part of my time, to fight hate speech.

I strongly believe in young people’s active participation in democratic debate and procedures. By actually taking part in a democratic society, learning how to debate and contribute in a respectful and upstanding way, young people grow as responsible citizens.

I’m encouraged to see that “The response of the next generation” is explicitly included in today’s conference programme. I have high expectations for the coming generations.

Yet for young people to step up and fully take part, we must all shoulder our share of the responsibility. To do what is necessary to make sure that the culture of debate is healthy and inclusive, free of hate speech, discrimination, xenophobia and derision.

Participation, critical reflection, and the guarantee of free speech is crucial. Not least in times of global crisis, like the pandemic we are currently facing.

Gender equality, and women’s participation in democracy and public debate is another critical element of free speech and human rights.

There’s great progress in some parts of Europe. But I’m saddened to see that in many countries there’s still a long way to go before we have equal representation of men and women in government and legislative bodies.

It should go without saying that such inequality is a serious deficiency in democracy. When women are not equally represented in parliaments, governments and other political bodies, the political debate loses women’s priorities and perspectives. Our democracies and societies are much the weaker for this.

So it’s sad to see what an adverse impact the pandemic has had on the situation of women in Europe. Let me again refer to the words of the Commissioner for Human Rights. She has called the pandemic a magnifying glass; increasing violence against women, increasing discrimination and gender inequalities, and increasing barriers to reproductive and sexual health care.

I fear a real setback in gender equality. This would be a most serious failure of our democratic ideals in Europe. 

Sustainable Development Goal number 5 is to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. This is not just one single goal. Gender equality is in itself fundamental to all dimensions of a sustainable development.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic could reverse the progress in gender equality in all sectors of society. Thus, the pandemic could mean a serious impediment for our common strive to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals all together.

Women’s lives are deeply affected by the pandemic. Women make up a high proportion of those in the front line of the health crisis. As health workers, as cleaning staff, as teachers, and as caregivers, both at home and at work.

Unemployment and poverty resulting from the economic downturn also worsen the situation for women and affect their capacity to fully take part in democratic processes.

The pandemic has led to an escalation in violence against women and in close relationships.

I would therefore underline the importance of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, the Istanbul Convention.

The Istanbul Convention provides the highest standards and essential tools in our common efforts to prevent violence against women and in close relationships.

Unfortunately, we see attempts to undermine and weaken the convention through spreading of misconceptions or fallacious and uninformed claims about it.

All responsible nations should stand together in this vital issue. We must promote and strengthen the convention, not work against it.

Preventing violence against women is a central human rights issue.

As this conference includes so many distinguished speakers from the Council of Europe, and as I’m President of the Storting, the Norwegian Parliament, I’d like to include a few words about the importance of interparliamentary cooperation and diplomacy.

As you may know, there is an active interparliamentary cooperation within the Council of Europe, the OSCE, and the IPU (The Inter- Parliamentary Union).

Parliaments are a core element of the democratic process. They are expected to hold their governments to account on democracy and the rule of law. Together, and through joint efforts within Europe’s interparliamentary assemblies, MPs are strong defenders of democracy, the rule of law and human rights in our continent.

This has been especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic. When the pressure on democratic institutions and human rights has increased, and states have introduced extraordinary measures to deal with the pandemic.

Parliaments all over Europe have had to stay firm in their democratic duty to ensure that representation, legislation and the control of government takes place. Here, interparliamentary cooperation has been invaluable in supporting and reinforcing this crucial duty.

As watchdogs of democracy, interparliamentary assemblies have spoken up, and must continue to speak up when democratic processes are set aside, when human rights are violated and when the rule of law is not adhered to.  

Chancellor Merkel was unequivocal when she recently said that a rules-based international order is the essential foundation for Europe and for our common future. I categorically support the Chancellor words. There is no way around cooperation and there can be no way around democracy and human rights.

The pandemic cannot be used to set aside the rule of law, the protection of human rights or freedom of speech. As MPs and representatives of the people, democracy is our overriding duty.

With these words, I would like to declare this second European Conference on Democracy and Human Rights open.