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Speech by Alain Berset, Secretary General of the Council of Europe
Human Rights Council President Sidharto Reza Suryodipuro,
Excellencies,
International law is either universal or meaningless.
In Ukraine, when aggression struck at the foundations of the UN Charter, the Council of Europe did not abandon law to the pressure of force.
We built accountability where none existed before.
Through a Register of Damage, an International Claims Commission, and work toward a Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression.
To record the truth.
To provide redress.
And to hold those responsible to account.
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International law is either universal or meaningless.
Gaza laid bare the fragility of international law in the face of impunity.
Venezuela reduced the debate to choosing between condemning intervention or supporting it, ignoring what this reveals about the trajectory of the international legal order.
And threats made over Greenland were an open challenge to sovereignty, territorial integrity, and non-interference.
These are all symptoms of a world order in rupture.
A deeper shift where force is normalised and law is weaponised.
But when law becomes contingent, standards are negotiable, and exceptions multiply, double standards take hold.
And this is how exceptions spread quietly, like gangrene.
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International law is either universal or meaningless.
It is tempting to conclude that if rules do not protect us, we must protect ourselves.
But abandoning rules does not protect the vulnerable.
It protects only those strong enough to disregard them.
International law, including international human rights law, remains the last common language capable of restraining power in a fragmenting world.
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Yet too often, democratic backsliding at home translates into weaker respect for international law abroad.
The findings of my latest Annual Report are clear.
Elections are becoming easier to influence and harder to trust, shaped by disinformation, foreign interference, and AI-driven manipulation.
Civic space is shrinking under so-called “foreign influence” laws.
Courts are pulled into politics, including pressures on the European Court of Human Rights.
And economic pressure fuels democratic anxiety and strains social rights, hitting low-income households hardest.
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This moment of rupture, in Europe and beyond, defines the choices before us.
Institutions that protect democracy, human rights, and the rule of law are no longer at the margins of security debates.
They are the foundation of stability.
Europe’s role today is to stand for the force of rules, not the logic of force.
We will not retreat into exceptionalism or silence.
We will not accept a system of rules built on exceptions or double standards.
We will reinforce democratic strength at home and work with partners who are ready to act.