Jeg er i Wien på OSSEs parlamentarikerforsamling sitt årlige vintermøte. Den viktigste debatten i dag er nok diskusjonen om situasjonen i de arabiske landene. Jeg holdt dette innlegget på vegne av Norge:

Mr. president and dear colleagues,

The UN Charter clearly defines the rights and liberties to which every human being has a natural claim. And there can be little doubt that these rights are being violated, every day, by different regimes and states in virtually every part of the world. The OSCE as a regional organization does a very important job in its work for peace, cooperation, stability and democratization, and it is natural that we pay maximum attention to the current events among our neighbours in the Arab world.

First, we must be very clear about the violence being used against civilians and innocent protesters, which is being commited as we speak. Norway, as many other countries, strongly condemns the Libyan authorities’ ruthless use of violence against the country’s civilian population. The reports that are coming out of Libya leave little doubt that the situation in Libya is extremely serious, and that the civilian population is being subjected to atrocious brutality and clear human rights violations. The international reaction to the violence in Libya must be crystal clear.

The people of Tunisia, Egypt and many other countries have recently experienced its own people’s desire for liberty and democracy. The governments of both Egypt and Tunisia have fallen, and are now in a critical transitional phase. It is the Norwegian delegation’s clear opinion that should the OSCEs experience and competence on democracy, human rights and institution building be needed, the organization should offer its assistance in the important processes that will now take place in Egypt and Tunisia.