Det kan vara värdefullt att läsa vad Ban Ki-Moon egentligen har sagt idag, när han talade i Leiden i Nederländerna. Svensk media har rapporterat mycket om Ban-Ki Moons utsagor om Syrien och Egypten, men mer relevant för oss, särskilt inför att Barack Obama kommer till Sverige 4 september, är att Ban Ki-Moon säger följande:

All States have committed to ensuring their people freedom of opinion and expression … freedom of religion or belief … freedom of assembly and association … and freedom of movement.

Yet in far too many places, we see opposition and obstacles to those freedoms. 

It could come in the form of costly law enforcement machinery to sanction or spy on those who speak out.

It could be shutting down internet and media outlets, or detaining dissidents, journalists or human rights defenders.

Think of the reporter imprisoned for having revealed corruption.

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Fear is often the driver for restrictions of freedom.

Fear of the new.  Fear of the unknown.  Fear of what is different.  Fear of allowing others a say in the decisions affecting their lives.  Or sometimes, simply, fear of the truth.

We see this in rising examples of national legislation that restrict human rights defenders and civil society.

There are a growing number of laws being wrongly used to impede their work, including anti-terrorism and national security legislation; laws relating to public morals, defamation or blasphemy; cumbersome laws on the registration, functioning and funding of associations; official-secrets legislation; and legislation regulating Internet access.

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[W]e see [the fear] in  surveillance programmes that have grown ever more aggressive.

Let me be clear.  Concerns about national security and criminal activity may justify exceptional and narrowly-tailored use of surveillance. 

But surveillance without safeguards to protect the right to privacy hampers fundamental freedoms.

People should feel secure in the knowledge that their private communications are not being unduly or unjustly scrutinised by the State.

Those disclosing information on matters that have implications for human rights need to be protected.

Although some in power might claim they need to curtail freedoms to preserve order, this in fact could have the opposite effect.

Yes, protecting freedom is not free. It requires investments.  But curtailing freedom also carries a heavy price.

When people do not have a means to channel their grievances - when they are not allowed to speak out, protest peacefully or exercise their democratic rights, stability will suffer.

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Listen to the concerns, demands and hopes of your people. 

If you do not listen to your people, you will hear from them – in the streets, in the squares, or most tragically on the battlefield.

Is there a way out? Yes.

The answer is more participation.  More democracy.  More understanding.  More freedom.

I once again appeal to leaders across the world to promote dialogue, reconciliation and support for inclusive political transitions. 

This is the way to build stable, democratic, free and united societies.

Det är alltså intressant att övervakning, nationell säkerhet, överdriven militarisering och militär eller polisiär förföljelse av politisk opposition och av medborgare i allmänhet utgjorde huvudtemat i Ban Ki-Moons framförande, och att media trots detta missar den långa röda tråd som löper genom hans anförande. FN:s generalsekreterare försöker vara på oss, människornas, sida och vädjar till nationalstaterna att hålla tillbaka. Det är ett budskap som Carl Bildt skulle kunna föra fram till Barack Obama, om han vågar, om han ids.