Carl Bildt: "Without the Council of Europe the past 15 years would have been different"
When Sweden takes over the Chairmanship of the Council of Europe, human rights and the challenges to the organisation and its member states will be in focus.
Carl Bildt met with Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg on May 6 in Strasbourg. Photo: Petra Hansson/MFA
Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt was in Strasbourg for the meeting of the Committe of Ministers where the Chairmanship was handed over to Sweden by Slovakia. Bildt said in his speech that the Council of Europe has had an enormous impact on the development of Europe in the direction of human rights and democracy. At the same time, Mr Bildt emphasised that in some places progress had come to a standstill and that there was even some back-sliding.
"Human rights, democracy and the rule of law are by far the best social model. We have to build decent, humane and rights-based societies," said Mr Bildt when he received the key to all the locks in the Council of Europe building from the Slovakian Minister for Foreign Affairs.
High-level attendance
The meeting was the best-attended ever in the Council of Europe in terms of the number of foreign ministers participating. Turkey, Georgia and around another 15 countries were represented by their foreign ministers.
Mr Bildt also visited the Wild Web Woods. This is an online game produced by the Council of Europe to teach children that it is important not to give out information about yourself when you surf the web.
The value of the online game fits in well with Sweden's ambition to give priority to work for the rights of the child during the Swedish Chairmanship of the Council of Europe.
