Speech: 'Speak truth to power'
Ladies and gentlemen,
The Quakers are credited with coining and popularising the creed ‘speak truth to power’. To them, it was closely related to the protection of human dignity and the cause of nonviolent struggle. The phrase echoed the methods of Mahatma Gandhi and foreshadowed those of Martin Luther King.
The act of speaking truth to power is a cornerstone of all human rights activity. In this short, punchy phrase, truth and power are diametrically opposed. We picture the image of David facing Goliath or some modern representation of it: a lone individual against an all-powerful Moloch.
The implicit message of speaking truth to power is, of course, that truth can hurt power more than any kind of physical weapon could. Truth here refers not only to demonstrable facts (as opposed to propaganda), but also to the truths that reside in our consciences. It goes beyond the simple fact that a zebra is a different animal than a giraffe, and embraces a set of fundamental, ethical principles. Historically, this kind of truth-speaking is closely related to freedom, human dignity and human rights. Truth in this sense is synonymous with a human rights worldview; with the moral imperative that human beings have certain inalienable rights – the right to a fair trial, the right to voice their opinions and to hold their own religious beliefs. The right to life, physical integrity and liberty. The right not to be imprisoned without due process.
The development of moral sentiments is what drives societies forward. Human beings, as a reflective species, are not slaves to their passions. We are also able to reflect on our behaviour. We make judgments about the world around us and about the society we live in, and we try to live in accordance with its ethical demands, both as individuals as well as collectively.
From their earliest conception, human rights have been part of this process. Many of the values now firmly enshrined as human rights were once ideas so novel that they were viewed with contempt, anger or mistrust, and were viciously repressed. Sadly, in too many parts of the world, this is still the case.
To speak truth to power is to speak up and challenge the status quo. To speak up for the universal value of human dignity. Challenging existing practices and presenting alternative visions of the future are what keeps societies moving forward. Of course, there is always one primary victim of this kind of progress: the powerful and the privileged.
So it is no surprise that tyrants throughout history have always resisted the free flow of ideas and feared criticism of their conduct. Stalin feared journalists and writers, and he viciously repressed those who dared to speak the truth.
Yet he also tried to make use of them. Writers and artists had to propagate official Soviet doctrines or perish in Siberia or worse. Through the craft of writers, Stalin sought to mould ‘new’ Soviet men. He once described writers as ‘the engineers of human souls’.
Stalin’s ominous phrase is a testimony to the power of ideas. And although ideas ultimately find their true expression in practice, change would not be possible without the promotion of ideas, without criticising the status quo, without free and open communication between citizens. Speaking truth to power and speaking truth about power are an integral part of human rights. Wherever open and public scrutiny of the government is repressed, human rights are almost always in a dire state too.
We all know that in many parts of the world human rights defenders are publicly defamed, falsely accused, arbitrarily detained and wrongly convicted. They are threatened, beaten, tortured and executed. And it doesn’t stop there: human rights defenders often see their families harassed and their offices raided. They become outcasts and lose their jobs. They are branded as traitors when in fact they are standing up for their fellow citizens. Human rights defenders are not anti-this or anti-that; they are pro-people and pro-rights.
So it is all the more important to protect those of you here today and the many other human rights defenders out there. You are ‘agents of change’. It is only when pressure is applied by human rights defenders from inside society that we see real change. The Netherlands supports you as key drivers of change.
In many parts of the world, human rights defenders are oppressed and their activities restricted. It is especially worrisome that, around the world, the narrow scope for protest that does exist seems to be shrinking further.
- Legislation regulating NGOs’ fundraising activities is increasingly restrictive. Some countries maliciously presume that funding from countries like the Netherlands could turn NGOs into foreign agents or traitors. They compel NGOs to register, and their access to funds from abroad is restricted. This curbs their right to freedom of association and their efforts to protect human rights.
- In some countries, we see systematic intimidation of human rights defenders. We see campaigns that stigmatise and ridicule them and their organisations. Campaigns that present them as irrelevant to society, or even a threat to it. Laws are created to silence them, and these have a stifling effect on their freedom of speech and their ability to continue their activities.
Dutch efforts
The Netherlands is trying to address these challenges by supporting human rights defenders in various ways:
1. by drawing attention to the position of human rights defenders together with our European Union-colleagues in our contacts with other countries;
2. by providing training to human rights defenders;
3. and by offering shelter for those who need temporary respite from the dangerous conditions they face every day.
Shelter city
This month has seen the expansion of the successful Shelter City programme. The Hague was the first Shelter City, but with the addition of Middelburg, we hope to be able to host up to ten human rights defenders annually over the course of the next three years. The municipalities of The Hague and Middelburg have already agreed to provide homes for human rights defenders and we expect other interested municipalities to follow soon.
I would like to thank Justitia et Pax, who co-organised this seminar with us and successfully set up the Shelter City programme. Thank you also to the Human Security Collective, the other co-organiser of this seminar. They emphasise the importance of an enabling legal and financial environment, and the need to both understand the systemic drivers that impede this environment and find solutions to overcome them.
The concept of a ‘shelter city’ is one rooted in Dutch history. In the eighteenth century, many Enlightenment thinkers sought refuge in the Netherlands. Voltaire’s books, for example, were printed in Amsterdam.
Of course, when human rights defenders have to seek shelter the most favourable and durable option is to support them in their own country or region, so they can continue to act as drivers of change. But when this is not possible, the Dutch Shelter City programme provides a temporary solution.
The initiative’s first year has been remarkable. Sheltering those under pressure in their own countries is a gratifying task, but it has also turned out to be an opportunity for people in the Netherlands to listen to and learn from four extraordinary people.
- Two of the four participants are here with us today: Asha from Sudan and Irène from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- One of the other human rights defenders who received shelter and could not be here today, is Magamed Abubakarov, a criminal defence lawyer (or advokat) from Chechnya. He is widely known for his brave work on some of the most sensitive cases in the North Caucasus, many of which involved strong allegations of abduction, torture and fabrication of criminal charges by law enforcement officials. He won the 2013 Lawyers for Lawyers award in recognition of his immense courage.
Drawing attention
As you know, the Shelter City programme is not the only thing the Dutch government does to protect human rights defenders. The Netherlands also draws attention to the position of human rights defenders in our bilateral contacts, in the Human Rights Council and in our political dialogues within various multilateral and regional fora.
Our government also calls attention to the position of civil society organisations, for instance through the Community of Democracies. There is also our annual award, the Human Rights Tulip, which was awarded this year to Aahung, a Pakistani organisation promoting and protecting sexual and reproductive health and rights.
In addition, the Netherlands supports capacity-building for human rights defenders and their organisations through our network of embassies. As part of International Human Rights Day, on the 10th of December each year, Dutch embassies around the world work together to highlight the important role of human rights defenders. Our embassy in Tallinn, for example, organised a successful ‘Diplohack’, an event in which diplomats teamed up with activists, hackers and programmers to develop practical technical solutions to overcome obstacles to internet freedom.
Provide training
Part of our capacity-building work involves training human rights defenders. Over the next three years, the Netherlands will be funding eight major human rights projects. Two of them will focus specifically on human rights defenders:
- The Netherlands Helsinki Committee (NHC) will provide practical, moral and legal support to individuals under threat or pressure in places like Russia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
- The group Small Media will support human rights defenders in Egypt, Syria and Iran by providing online training and technical support, as well as doing research to further improve the support that’s available.
Internet freedom and security
As the internet and mobile communications have become part of our everyday lives, their role in the act of speaking truth to power has become central. Yet internet freedom is often denied: around the globe, human rights defenders, journalists and ordinary citizens are routinely arrested because of their activities online.
In recent years there has been a crackdown on internet freedom in repressive and transitional environments. During crises and protests, communication lines are cut and critical means of expression are met with censorship, harassment and risk of arrest. In this fast-changing political and technological environment there is an urgent need to protect internet freedom and to give rapid, timely and flexible support to the internet’s critical users. Internet freedom is a primary focus of Dutch foreign policy and we support various initiatives to further this goal. Two examples:
- We’ve established the Digital Defenders Partnership, which provides a rapid response to threats to internet freedom. Through financial support and training, this partnership aims to increase and better coordinate emergency support for the internet’s critical users.
- And I’ve already mentioned Small Media, which provides training, technical support and secure hosting to bloggers and civic activists in Iran.
Conclusion
Again, we can see a historical analogy. The invention of the Gutenberg printing press in 1450 is often cited as a driving force behind the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century. Much in the same way, historians have argued that the democratic revolutions of the nineteenth century were due to the emergence of newspapers, and the growth of a public sphere. It’s hardly overstating things to argue that the internet is generating similar worldwide momentum.
Communication – spreading ideas and speaking truth – is often at the forefront of monumental historical change.
The reason I keep referring to history is that we are now living through a transformative period: a paradigm-shift. A year and a half ago, the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei argued in The Guardian that China could never have invented the iPhone. To him, the reason is simple: a culture that is rife with oppression, hierarchy and censorship could never muster the spontaneity and creative energy to even imagine a device that would allow you to communicate and express yourself like a smartphone does.
Wherever you go in the world, if there is a connection on the internet, it enables action. Smartphones, or just simple phones that allow people to SMS, help greatly to spread news, or pictures. It’s nothing short of a revolution. It changes the way the international community operates and the way we all live.
Your work inspires us all. Your work tells us what we need to do in the field of human rights. Your work also helps us to look critically at ourselves and revalue the things we believe in. This conference strengthens our knowledge about human rights, human rights defenders and what we can do to help them. I also hope that all who are here today feel at ease in The Netherlands, and feel welcome in The Netherlands. We are your partner, and you can call upon us when you need us. We support you. We are your friend. And we will try to do everything to make sure that human rights defenders worldwide, for all of us, can make this world a better place.