International

In the wake of the tragic events in Paris it could be heard from many different sides: this is an attack on our European values. In my eyes, with this we are falling straight into the trap set by the so-called Islamic State, by ISIS, for this is no attack on European values, it’s an attack on universal values. Values which the international community in the form of the United Nations assembled decades ago and which are laid down in a wide range of international treaties. The terror perpetrated by ISIS is not terror against the west, against Europe, as they see very well themselves, but terror against the whole world.

It’s a well thought-out plan on the part of the europhiles to attempt to embed unity in Europe by constantly talking about the European community of values. That’s significant: not only do they want to get rid of national traditions and differences between member states, they are also turning away from the rest of the world. Other countries are competitors or enemies, or at best allies, if that’s to our advantage. All of which is because the Lisbon Treaty includes a few human rights, a paraphrase of the international human rights treaties, though in the EU text social rights come off worst.

It was a long time before the international community reached agreement on a legal framework in which these human rights could be set down. The first generation of UN treaties in this area were only adopted in the 1960s. Back then we were proud of that fact that in what then as now was a strictly divided world we were able to reach agreement on principles. Human rights organisations drew hope from them and used them against oppressive regimes.

European values are something I can certainly do without, especially if when it comes to social issues all you get is a faint shadow of treaties agreed on a broader stage. A neoliberal Europe is no lover of social rights, as these cost money. I find it even more important, however, that we don’t set ourselves against the rest of the world. Our European values are derived from the values of the international community. We can only win the moral battle against ISIS if we make it clear that this isn’t a struggle between this terrorist organisation and us, but a fight between the terrorists and the rest of the world. So let’s stop preaching European values and work on the re-establishment of the universal values by all UN member states. In that sense it’s encouraging that countries like China have spoken out against this terror. As a universal community of values we stand strong; as a European community of values we are weak.