Marking the 80th anniversary of Raoul Wallenberg's disappearance, the permanent representation of Sweden to the Council of Europe, the Swedish delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) and the Human Rights Directorate of the Council of Europe hosted a round table on Raoul Wallenberg's legacy on the margins of the PACE winter session. The event aims to celebrate the memory and deeds of the Swedish diplomat, while highlighting what they have meant for today's human rights defenders.
Welcoming participants to the event, Head of Swedish delegation to PACE, Markus Wiechel, underscored that Raoul Wallenberg's deeds and fate serve as a reminder "that we must never fail in our defence of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. In times when totalitarian regimes are once again on the rise in the world, we can learn a few lessons: that one person's choice can make a great difference for many other people and that democracies must speak with one voice in their contacts with totalitarian states."
The Director for Human Rights, Clare Ovey, highlighted some of the tools at the Council of Europe for the protection of Human Rights Defenders, such as the European Court of Human Rights and the execution of its judgments, the work with civil society, the new draft Convention for the protection of the profession of lawyer and Guidelines on eradicating impunity for serious human rights violations.
The round table, moderated by the Chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Prize Jury, Rod Liddell, included the Chairperson of the Memorial Human Rights Center before its dissolution, Alexander Cherkasov, PACE General Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders and Whistleblowers, Emanuelis Zingeris and Executive Director of the Raoul Wallenberg Institute, Peter Lundberg. Closing remarks were delivered by Chargée d'affaires a.i., Permanent Representation of Sweden to the Council of Europe Therese Hyden.
In 2014, at the initiative of the Swedish Government and the Hungarian Parliament, the Council of Europe has created a Raoul Wallenberg Prize in order to keep the memory of his achievements alive. A call for candidatures will be announced in the summer of 2025, open to any group of individuals or an organisation that did something extraordinary to defend the human rights of others, or who acted bravely beyond the call of duty. The prize will be awarded in January 2026 at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.
On Raoul Wallenberg:
In Budapest in 1944, Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg used his status to save tens of thousands of Jews from the Holocaust. His actions show that one person's courage and ability can really make a difference, offering inspiration to us all to speak out and to act against persecution, xenophobia and anti-Semitism. Starting in 2014, at the initiative of the Swedish government and the Hungarian Parliament, the Council of Europe created the Raoul Wallenberg Prize, to keep the memory of his achievements alive. January 2025 marks 80 years since his disappearance.
