The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, said this Thursday that the war in Ukraine cannot be lost, just like the war to combat climate change, which can be classified as both an urgent struggle of generations and a struggle of generations.
The head of state spoke in the Senate hall of the Assembly of the Republic at the ceremony of presenting the Council of Europe North-South 2022 Prize to the Association of Ukrainian Cities and the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Climate Change.
After listening to the mayor of Mariupol Vadim Boychenko, who received the award on behalf of the Association of Ukrainian Cities, Marcelo Rebelo de Souza agreed that “the war in Ukraine cannot be lost,” including “including in reconstruction,” and stated that “it is impossible to exchange values and principles for a time.”
“Who better than this new generation of Ukrainians with their allies can achieve what is necessary so that the war is not lost. War is not only won militarily, it is won humanly, socially, economically and culturally. this award is an award that symbolizes our solidarity between North and South in a war that cannot be lost,” he added.
Speaking then about the prize given to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Jim Ski, President of the Republic noted that “this is a prize for knowledge, pedagogy, but also for influencing decision” regarding “another war that cannot be lost.”
According to Marcelo Rebelo de Souza, “the war against climate change is one of those wars that is often forgotten in the urgency of the moment,” but which “also has concrete faces in the victims of each day.” , in the victims of the disasters that plague the universe, sometimes unnoticeable when they occur, but inevitable and inexorable.”
“In both cases, the solution is urgent. We have the urgency of rebuilding Ukraine, the world has that urgency. We have the urgency of rebuilding the world in the face of the devastation caused by climate change,” he said.
According to the head of state, the war in Ukraine “moreover, it is also a war of generations, of the new world in relation to the old world, just as the climate war is a war of generations, of the new world in relation to the old world.”
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa pointed to Portugal as a country that “from the first moment recognized the urgency of the war in Ukraine and the reconstruction of Ukraine” and which “was one of the pioneers within the European Union and beyond.” in the fight against climate change, in the fight for transition, in energy, in the quest for cleaner energy, in the quest to define bold, decisive and urgent goals.”
“That is why we are all here so mobilized for your wars, and we are confident that this award is a symbol of our common commitment, yours and ours, to reflect on what unites us, which is not just Europe, it’s not just the North. Southern dialogue is an affirmation of the most important values of humanity,” he concluded.
At the beginning of his speech, the head of state congratulated the President of the Assembly of the Republic, Augusto Santos Silva, for “a prestigious presidency inside and outside this legislative body.”
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa praised the role of the Council of Europe and assigned the European continent “a central role in the balance of power in the world.”
“It is central because it represents freedom, democracy, the rule of law and therefore plays a role in rebuilding the future that we want,” he said.
The Council of Europe North-South Prize is awarded annually to two individuals or organizations for their commitment to human rights, democracy and the rule of law, contributing to dialogue between North and South, promoting solidarity, independence and partnership.
The Council of Europe is an international human rights organization founded on May 5, 1949 and uniting 47 member states, including all countries of the European Union.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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