At the opening of the Council of Europe Information Center in Yerevan, on Tuesday, July 8, Minister Oskanian made the following opening remarks. The Center is the 21st that the Council has opened, and contains Council of Europe documents (in various European languages, and gradually in Armenian, as well) as well as other material for adults and young adults on the European experience and ideas.

During this visit of Ambassador Ago and his delegation, we have discussed at various levels, and at length, our Council of Europe obligations. Possibly our most important obligation, to ourselves as a country, first of all, is our obligation to create a society where basic human and civil rights are not just respected, but assumed -- taken for granted.

Awareness and understanding of these rights does not come by signing protocols, signing agreements, signing memoranda. The human rights and basic values which we associate with Europe and democracy are those rights and values which come with political, historic and social experiences. On our path to joining the European family, Armenia wants to create the kind of society and why not, the kind of regional neighborhood, where tolerance, cooperation, mutual trust and peace are not just principles, but a way of life.

None of this will be possible without access to information -- a very simple privilege, often taken for granted, but in this part of the world, where social and economic needs are so great, a government works to provide access to food and education, before access to information. So, we are pleased and grateful that this Information Center has opened, to provide access to the texts and documents that lay out the political, historical and social experiences of our friends in the European community, describe our world today and help us design the world we would like to live in tomorrow.

With a common information field, we can together pursue our common goals. And really, our goals are common. Our experiences and resources may not be, but our dreams and destinations are. By using the knowledge contained in the material here, we can chart a common course to a shared future.