This month of June marks one year since the last fatal attack by ETA against two members of the Policia Nacional in Navarre. When weighing up these twelve months without deaths we should be reminded of the unacceptable fact that thousands of people are still being threatened.

The presentation of the Annual Report of Amnesty International deserves special mention. It draws attention to claims of ill-treatment and torture to people held under accusations of terrorism in Spain. Today, like a year ago, the priority is to bring about an end to violence and defend all rights for all people.

On the political scene, the decision of the Spanish Supreme Court to illegalise (once again) the pro-independence candidature in the European Elections, Herritarren Zerrenda, is very bad news for democracy, politics, the normalization of co-existence and peace in the Basque Country. Politics is the noble art of channelling and solving conflicts that affect society in a civilised manner. Democracy is the main tool of politics, a system of principles, rules and procedures for handling peaceful co-existence, integrating pluralism and finding solutions to problems. So, when a political option is illegalised in this manner a breakdown in our co-existence takes place that has serious consequences for society as a whole.

The analysis of the problem within the Basque conflict inevitably leads us to a reality: social and political disagreement. Everyone manifests their solidarity and desire to support these victims, but when it comes to working out the details the result is a wide gulf that is usually accompanied by dreadful recriminations. Even political debates that are not directly related to the situation of the victims often end up in a discussion about them, with each position trying to give the impression that it has a greater commitment to the victims than the others.

Instead of helping to create the right conditions for the victims to overcome this situation, what actually happens is that conditions are created to prolong it. In Elkarri's opinion, however, overcoming the trauma is the most important thing for the victims. From the perspective of society and politics this involves creating socio-political conditions that can help the victims to undertake processes to overcome their trauma. From this point of view, the most urgent need is to reach a wide-ranging social and political consensus on support and solidarity for the victims.

This could be the best way of standing shoulder to shoulder with the victims of violence that society can offer. A great social and political consensus around the victims is the first and most necessary measure of social and political healing that the victims deserve.

The presentation of these signatures means the start of a new phase of the Peace Conference, in which Elkarri will focus its efforts on setting up a process of dialogue at its three usual levels: local, international, and the political arena.

At the local level, this social movement is preparing hundreds of debating forums in which anyone who wishes to participate may do so, to share reflections and make proposals on how to take advantage of this period of opportunities.

At the political level, Elkarri will examine the possibilities for the creation of all party talks. At the same time, we will set up a novel experience called «research seminar into future scenarios» in which we will invite representatives from the social, cultural, economic and university areas to participate.

At the international level, once the initial conclusions of these «spaces for dialogue» have been reached we will organise an International Seminar to hear the opinions of experts in conflict management. In this new phase we will also present the national and international networks of support for the Peace Conference.

The analysis of the changes that have occurred since the 11th September, the recipes that have been applied in the solution of other conflicts and the problems that threaten Human Rights intermingled over the three days with debates and seminars on the reality of the situation in the Basque Country. The results of the congress will be sent to the United Nations and other international institutions so that they can be considered for incorporation into the Universal Declarations of Human Rights. At the same time, work will be done on driving the creation of an «International Network in favour of the Human Right to Peace» in order to keep this debate and demand alive.

Within this framework, Elkarri defended that the Human Right to Peace must be linked (at least) to the following four «fragments» of peace, conceived as social rights in the resolution of conflicts: the social right to non-violence (when the majority of the society affected by the conflict «has expressed itself clearly and repeatedly in favour of the use of democratic means in the resolution of the conflict», the violation of this right involves the violation of the will of the people), the right to plural dialogue (necessary to articulate an inclusive process that does not marginalize any legitimate representation of the people), the right of society to be heard (in a consultation held «within an unequivocal framework of democratic procedures» that help to unblock stagnant situations) and the right to the implementation of humanising policies (i.e. that all the Human Rights of all people should be respected regardless of their «ideological, national cultural, language or religious choice»).