State Secretary for Foreign Affairs speaks at annual session of Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe

Furthermore, a debate took place on the report from the Secretary-General on the Rule of Law in Europe, the Action Plan of the Council of Europe on the fight against extremism and the role of the Council of Europe in response to the crisis and conflicts in Europe, with particular focus on Ukraine and the recent events in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

The Spanish State Secretary reiterated the commitment and work by Spain to make the European Human Rights system more effective, and welcomed the Declaration and Action Plan on extremism and radicalisation leading to terrorism. Ignacio Ybáñez underlined the importance of fostering values such as tolerance in society and among young people, in order to delegitimise and deactivate discourse based on hatred, which serve as a breeding ground for fanatical terrorism. In this regard, he stressed a number of preventive initiatives that already exist, such as the Alliance of Civilizations or the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue, in which Spain plays a vital role.

The State Secretary for Foreign Affairs recalled that Spain has experience and knows it is possible to tackle, weaken and even defeat terrorism when combining the determination of the political class, action from the judiciary and a firm desire from civil society on the bases of solidarity with the victims and absolute respect for the law. He went on to add that the voice and testimony of the victims represent a powerful tool for delegitimising terrorism and the goals it seeks to justify.

Ignacio Ybáñez also referred to the issue of migration and the people trafficking networks, stating that the Council of Europe cannot ignore their abuses and actions against human dignity. To that end, Spain supports the Council of Europe in its attempts to tackle this matter, not only by promoting integration policies in the pan-European space but also by consolidating the Council of Europe Neighbourhood Policy. In this regard, the State Secretary underlined the role of the Council of Europe North-South Centre based in Lisbon.

The State Secretary for Foreign Affairs concluded his speech by saying that the rule of law, respect for and promotion of human rights, together with absolute respect for the principle of territorial integrity, are key elements for enabling the consolidation of a space of freedom and democratic security on our continent.