Statement by MEP Miriam Lexmann on the adopted Report on human rights and democracy in the world and EU policy in this area:
“Protecting the dignity and rights of every person in the world is the basis of my daily political work. Calls for the inclusion of the so-called I consider the rights to artificial abortion in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights gradually penetrating various parliamentary reports to be unacceptable. For this reason, I could not even support the extensive annual report on human rights, which the European Parliament adopted at the current plenary session. This step puts the very principle of human rights in complete opposition to its own essence, as it threatens the protection of human life and the basic human right, which is the right to life. Such an erosion of the universally applicable system of human rights threatens the main instrument by which we protect these rights. To all those who want to literally turn this system upside down in such an unprecedented way, I would like to pay attention to the words of Ronald Reagan: “I notice that all those who support artificial abortion have already had time to be born.”
In the plenary session of the European Parliament, during the debate on the state of democracy and human rights in the world, Miriam Lexmann drew attention to the growing attempts of non-democratic regimes not only to suppress the human rights and dignity of their own citizens, but also to how they spread this terror beyond their territory to other countries.
“We cannot close our eyes to suffering. Putin’s crimes in Ukraine, the inhuman oppression of ethnic and religious groups by the Chinese Communist Party, or the overall increase in persecution based on religion and belief. These are the visible consequences of a perverted mindset,” Lexmann points to current events.
Even a few days ago, we saw a sad example of this happening when terrorists attacked a parish building in Nigeria. One priest was shot while fleeing and at the same time a house was set on fire, in which another lost his life.
“Today I am convinced that it is not only our moral duty to help others. This help provided is also in our own interest. Persecution for faith or suppression of human rights often leads to wider instability or mass migration. This is also why the European Union must support democracy and freedom in the world even more strategically and purposefully. With such support, we must abandon any ideologization of human rights. One example is the aforementioned constant attempts to recognize the so-called right to abortion. I strongly reject such steps. Let’s focus on real help for those who are in need, struggling for recognition of their own dignity or freedom,” concludes the Slovak Christian Democratic MEP.
Record of Miriam Lexmann’s speech in the EP plenary on this report from Wednesday 18 January: Plenary session of 18/01/2023.
Cover image: https://op.europa.eu
