Strasbourg, 31 May 2006

Secretary General,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

A human being is born to freedom. This simple truth has not always been evident over centuries of wars, violence and abuse. Our continent has seen the two most destructive and bloodiest wars in the world, which, in fact, compelled us to act to protect human dignity and freedom – the action which was codified in the European Convention on Human Rights, this cornerstone document of our Organisation.

And yet still today many millions of people in Europe are not free. Many millions are being trafficked, exploited and sold as slaves. Since the end of the 1980s, trafficking in human beings has become one of the most serious problems world-wide, and Europe is no exception. The Council of Europe, and its Congress in particular, has been raising the alarm for quite some time, and last year the Committee of Ministers adopted the Convention on action against trafficking in human beings, which was opened for signature during the Warsaw Summit.

Trafficking is a blight on our society as a whole, and it is certainly a scourge for individual territorial communities. Combating it requires therefore not only international texts and national policy measures, but also a complementary, concerted local and regional approach. It is at local and regional level that the drama of trafficking takes place. When it comes to finding solutions on the ground, local and regional authorities are best placed to apply policies tailor-made to respond to the specific needs of their territorial communities. This is why the Congress adopted two texts on trafficking last year, calling for awareness-raising, education and specialised training, and the protection, rehabilitation and reintegration of the victims.

The declaration before us today is another step in, and the Congress’ contribution to, the Council of Europe campaign against trafficking, aimed at mobilising all forces at pan-European, national, regional and local level. We urge therefore a maximum number of local authorities – both members and non-members of the Congress – to come forward and sign it, thus showing their commitment to combating this scourge not only to their citizens, but also to their governments. I wish in particular to thank the Secretary General for his support to this initiative, and welcome all those who will be signing today. Afterwards, this declaration will be available for signature online at the Congress’ website.

A human being is born to freedom. Together, we must make sure that it remains so for everyone.

Thank you.