118^th IPU Assembly and related meetings

Cape Town, 12-18 April 2008

FIRST STANDING COMMITTEE ON PEACE AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

 

 

 

THE ROLE OF PARLIAMENTS IN STRINKING A BALANCE BETWEEN NATIONAL SECURITY,

HUMAN SECURITY AND INDIVIDUAL FREEDOMS, AND IN AVERTING THE THREAT TO DEMOCRACY

 

 

Deputy Costache MIRCEA

Romanian Inter-Parliamentary Group

 

 

 

 

Ladies and Getlemen,

 

On behalf of the Romanian delegation,

 

I’d like to express the pleasure of addressing this plenary sitting, on such important topic for all of us.

 

National security and lay enforcement represent an important component of Romania’s security policy. The specific actions in this field are aimed at preventing and fighting crime, protecting citizens, private and public property and the infrastructure of strategic interests.

 

Some of the aspects referring to social security include personal insecurity, demographic decline and people’s health, emigration of the educated and highly-skilled youth, insufficient assertion along all components of the civil society, and absence of a strong middle class.The policy in the social security fields aims at all these aspects, focusing on fighting poverty, consolidating dialogue and social solidarity, as well as finding viable solutions in the employment field.

 

The general tendency consists in moving the emphasis from national security to individual security, although both are closely interrelated. Thus, in some countries the real threats are poverty, underdevelopment, diseases unemployment, crime, while in other countries the real threats are terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, interstate conflicts. The main social aspects that have a negative impact on the Romanian society are:

-         - an incoherent legal framework,

-         - weakening of Romanian society, in general, making it more vulnerable to social crises and conflicts,

-         - no viable strategy for the development at the macro-economic level.

 

The fundamental responsibility for the country’s security belongs to the President of the country, Parliament, Government and other state institutions, according to each one’s constitutional responsibilities. Also, it is necessary to involve, in a greater degree, civil, non-governmental, academic and commercial structures, which, in their turn, can contribute to the formation and balance of the internal economic, social, civil and military environment.

 

Mass media, non-governmental organizations and any other associative forms, have a responsible role on moral standards and value in order to represent a fundamental proof of a democratic system.

 

According to Romanian Constitution, the Parliament is the supreme representative body of the Romanian people and the sole legislative authority of the state. In this representative role, the Parliament should scrutinize Government actions. This does not mean access to information or control in the administrative sense. It is limited to the confirmation whether the rights of citizens, stipulated in the Constitution have not been violated. The complaints of the citizens are examined in the parliamentary committees submitting them to state institutions.

 

Referring to the present situation in our country some experts consider that we still have not reached the European standards in human rights protection and public awareness of human rights. The following problems can be mentioned:

-         - lack of political will;

-         - insufficient cooperation among the fundamental state institutions;

-         - misunderstanding by citizens of different European standards;

-         - inadequate implementation of the European legislation.

 

Speaking about other major issues of international policy a real threat to democracy is terrorism. The EU member states have continued to promote ratification and implementation of the UN Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of the Terrorism even if a number of countries, in different parts of the world, have still not ratified the Convention and others do not have means to implement it effectively.

 

In this respect coordination with FATF (Financial Action Task Force), IMF (International Monetary Fond), WB (World Bank) and UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) should be strengthened. The global character of the fight against terrorism has become the necessary component of globalization for all democracies, including Romania.

 

The enlargement of the spectrum of unconventional risks, the diversification of the types of crises and conflicts have been generating multiple challenges that require multi-directional reactions, based on mobility, diversity, coherence and complementarity both domestically and internationally.

 

To conclude with, we can add that recent international evolutions have imposed special attention given to the security of each individual and to rethinking the attributions of the security institutions at national and global level, as well.

 

Thank you for your attention, dear colleagues, and organizers of this important event.