Welcoming remarks by Hon. Patricia Lalonde, Member of the European Parliament, at the European Leadership Conference in Strasbourg, France.
Hon. Patricia Lalonde was unable to attend due to a pressing engagement and, therefore, her welcoming remarks were read by Dr. Ali Rastbeen, Founder and President, “Académie de géopolitique de Paris”, France. This is a translation of her original remarks in French.
| Listen to the audio recording of Hon. Patricia Lalonde's welcoming remarks in English. |
Dear Guests,
I wish to thank for the Universal Peace Federation who organised this important conference on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Indeed, never have Human Rights been threatened all over the world as they are today, and I would like to particularly draw your attention to what is going on in Yemen. In this war, where everything seems permitted when it comes to Human Rights violations; I’m thinking of course of the bombardments, in particular the bombing of a bus with schoolchildren last summer, which killed 40 children. I’m thinking of the starvation that many Yemenites are experiencing today, and I hope that this conference will help us to identify new ways of fighting for Human Rights in this world where terrorism is causing victims among our fellow citizens. And I’m thinking of course of what’s just happened in Strasbourg where 3 persons were killed and 6 others are in critical condition. Interfaith dialogue is more than ever necessary. I wish you a fruitful conference today and I thank you.
Patricia Lalonde