Many To Many
December 2005
Issue 94
I. EDITORIAL - Poverty
II. UNITED NATIONS 2005 DPI/NGO CONFERENCE – Report
III. WATER FOR LIFE 2005-2015
IV. 2006 – INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF DESERTS & DESERTIFICATION
V. THE INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION AND RESOURCE NETWORK (IEARN) OF
SIERRA LEONE
VI. RE-COMMITTING TO WORLD PROGRAMME OF ACTION FOR YOUTH
VII. PEACEBUILDING: The UN, National Governments and NGOs – A
Multi-layered Approach
VIII. DEFINITION ON TERRORISM?
IX. PEOPLE’S SUMMIT FOR DEPARTMENTS OF PEACE
X. 2004 STATE OF THE FUTURE – The Millennium Project Report
XI. THE GREAT INVOCATION – in English and Maori
I. Poverty
The images of homeless people living in squalor on barren land, and the
sunken, pleading, eyes of starving children, have finally stirred the
world community to move the issue of poverty to the top of the global
agenda.
We are at last realizing that poverty is casting its shadow over and
affecting all human affairs. And, although being more familiar with the
eye-opening statistics on the obscene and absurd divide between rich
and poor, we are also becoming increasingly aware of a truer and fuller
picture which shows that poverty cannot be explained or remedied by
money or lack thereof alone.
The inherited systemic and systematic devaluation of life and the
learnt dehumanization of people who are seen as enemies or obstacles to
personal or national prosperity, are beginning to lose their power to
persuade and corrupt in today’s interconnected world. Globalisation has
brought with it the opportunity – the necessity even – to restore and
revive a value system that will benefit everyone.
The UN Millennium Summit has proved to us all that in the 21st
century, the world community is ready to see the connection between
physical, emotional, mental and spiritual poverty and how all of these
have allowed selfishness, greed, and lust for power to dominate and
impoverish relationships within the circumference of our global home.
Since then real and genuine efforts have been made to tackle all these
levels of poverty and replace the outdated and debilitating value
system with a new more enlightened one. Building upon the vision in the
Preamble of the UN Charter and acting upon the hopes and aspirations of
humanity, expressed in innumerable documents, resolutions and plans for
action within as well as outside the United Nations system, people
everywhere and within all walks of life are working to restore physical
and spiritual health and prosperity to the world.
In the 2005 Report to the UN Secretary-General, entitled
Investing in Development – A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium
Development Goals, the Director Jeffrey Sachs mentions the rare
opportunity of this Millennium Project to help ‘give voice to the
hopes, aspirations, and vital needs of the world’s poorest and most
voiceless people’ and tells of the countless ‘heroes and heroines of
development’ that the Project team met in villages and slums throughout
the developing world: ‘We have seen people preserving their spirit,
integrity, commitment, and hope for the future even when they have
little else, when tragic circumstances have left them bereft of health,
education, possessions, and a means of livelihood’.
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights makes the
confirmation that: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity
and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act
towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood”.
Together we can free ourselves and the world of the long shadow of
poverty in all its forms. Free and equal, endowed with reason and
conscience, life has given us all it takes to build a friendly, fair,
prosperous and beautiful global community.
II. United Nations 2005 DPI/NGO Conference Report
Meeting from 7-9 September 2005, more than 2,700 Non-governmental
Organization (NGO) representatives of civil society from more than
1,160 organizations in 124 countries came together at United Nations
Headquarters in New York to make their voices heard on implementation
of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), peace and security, human
rights and strengthening the United Nations. The Annual DPI/NGO
Conference, entitled Our Challenge: Voices for Peace, Partnerships and
Renewal, hosting more than 45 featured speakers, for the first time in
its 58-year history brought together representatives of Member States
and national parliaments to interact with NGOs and civil society.
In addition, this was the last chance for civil society voices to
consult formally with Member states before the 2005 World Summit, the
largest ever assembly of world leaders, who would meet the following
week with their response to the Secretary General’s report, In Larger
Freedom. Up till now, as they made preparations for the Summit,
Member States had been caught in a quagmire of bureaucracy
characterized by national interests, stubborn will, and seemingly were
about to squander an opportunity, which was of potentially tremendous
consequence for all people, in all countries. Thus, building on
the momentum of the NGO/DPI June 2005 Millennium +5Network Report, it
became apparent that the NGO participants attending this Conference
were determined to “spare no effort” so that EVERY VOICE COUNTS—to make
the most of this remarkable and unprecedented opportunity for
multi-level partnerships, reform and revitalization at the UN,
compliance regarding the pledged MDGs—and see to it that this prospect
would not be lost, but would continue on as a “call to action”.
While the Conference was closed to the general public, an interactive
web site allowed for worldwide participation and encouraged NGOs,
youth, the media and the general public to join the discussions before,
during and after the Conference. The web site:
"http://www.undpingoconference.org" http://www.undpingoconference.org
also offered links to related documents, along with the ability to view
live webcasts of the panel discussions.
Jan Egeland, UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and UN
Emergency Relief Coordinator was one of two keynote speakers who opened
the Conference. Noting that technologically we have achieved much
in terms of our ability to meet the huge humanitarian and development
challenges of our day, he added that this is not enough. “We need
to wake up public opinion and wake up decision makers throughout the
world… We need to match this technical revolution with a similar moral
and political revolution so that these resources can reach everyone—all
those who suffer, all those in need.”
The second keynote speaker of the opening session, Wahu Kaara,
Ecumenical Program Coordinator for the MDGs at the Africa Council of
Churches, based in Nairobi, and one of the founders of the Global Call
to Action against Poverty (comprising some 15,000 organizations),
clarified the task ahead: “It is obvious that we as a civilization are
at a critical juncture that calls upon us to rethink our destiny…. We
must wake up to poverty because there will be no excuse by 2015…. The
world is a shared heritage…. The time has come when we have to free
ourselves.” Identifying poverty as a ‘created scarcity’, she
pointed out that it couldn’t be eradicated without a comprehensive
development program. Development can only come from society and
has to be sustainable economic and social development. She ended
by saying that it’s important to acknowledge that we created poverty
and realize that we have a choice to shift from this paradigm and
create plenty for all!
Joseph Donnelly, Chair of the 58th Annual DPI/NGO Conference spoke from
his heart when he said, “This Conference is not about us…(it) is about
acknowledging, uplifting, sustaining and investing further in the
awesome capacities of others…the countless others…peoples, nations,
villages, cities, families, communities and more…. We must be the peace
we seek. We must be the partners we seek. We must be the
renewal we promote…. Our answers must be at least as great in actions
as our questions and challenges to governments and the UN itself.”
In our current world of shared threats and opportunities, everyone has
a vested interest in overcoming obstacles to security, human rights and
development, thus global cooperation among all States is crucial to
ensure that people everywhere enjoy freedom from want, freedom from
fear and freedom to live in dignity. The first panel session In
Larger Freedom: The Challenge of Partnerships looked at the efforts of
governments, global corporations, and civil society to build capacity
in developing countries, promote political stability and good
governance, and encourage innovative solutions to common problems.
The distinguished Anwarul Chowdhury, UN High Representative for Least
Developed Countries, Landlocked Least Developed Countries & Small
Island Developing States, moderated another panel, A Focus on Human
Development: Implementing the MDGs, which focused on respect for human
rights as the driving force behind peace, security and
development. It highlighted the role of NGOs in implementing the
MDGs at the national and international level. Diana Medman,
Founder and Chairperson of the Russian Women’s Microfinance Network
(RWMN) and Co-founder and Director of AO Bioprocess in Russia explained
how in contrast to charity, microfinance proved to be a qualitative
leap, as it introduced a totally different mentality, one that brings
about motivation and initiative, stimulating people to
self-development, creativity and entrepreneurship. RWMN is proof
that micro-lending and social, as well as environmental, responsibility
work in the business place to reduce poverty. Over the last 6
years, by official government statistics, the number of Russians below
the poverty level dropped from 60% to 40%.
A Dialogue: The Future of the United Nations was followed by three
roundtables on envisioning a secure world, eradicating poverty, and the
United Nations and civil society. Referring to a statement made
by the chief scientific adviser to the British Prime Minister that
‘climate change is a greater threat to humanity than terrorism, and no
less urgent’, Felicity Hill of Greenpeace International made the point
that the real question is whether political change can keep up with the
pace of climate change fast enough to protect the security of our
planet. Identifying the development and existence of nuclear
weapons as the ‘ultimate insecurity’ and ‘an embarrassing lapse in
human evolution that threatens our very existence’, she also pointed
out that the Security Council had yet to fulfill a job it was given 60
years ago; that ‘the real MDG’ is in a forgotten part of the UN
Charter—Article 26, which requires that the Security Council develop a
plan for the least diversion of human and economic resources to
armaments. To the contrary, the Security Council permanent
members have been a part of arms races and weapons profiteering.
Ms. Hill emphasized that Article 26 is the best development and
conflict prevention mechanism ever devised. Because it can be
done [nuclear disarmament, and slowing down climate change] and because
there are opportunities for change today that won’t exist tomorrow, she
advised that we get on with it!
Speaking on “Poverty and Conflict: Our Collective Responsibility in a
Global Village” Anne O’Mahony of Concern Worldwide said, “The link
between poverty and violence is a given. The root causes lie in
inequality and the absence or abuse of human rights. Violence has
a synergistic effect on poverty. Not only is violence a result of
poverty, but absolute poverty creates a sense of hopelessness which in
turn creates an environment which is conducive to a growth in violence.”
On the topic of UN reform, many Conference participants suggested that
there appeared to be a gap in the collective memory regarding the
premise on which the UN was first built. Ms. O’Mahony alluded to
this as well: “The UN was founded on the determination of nations to
save succeeding generations from war, to advance human rights and
equality, and to paraphrase the Secretary General, to promote better
standards of life in larger freedom…. The reforms are a holistic
package. They are based on the recognition that without
development there will be no security, without security there will be
no development, and without respect for human rights there will be
neither.” The establishment of a Peacebuilding Commission and the
proposed smaller Human Rights Council to replace the existing
Commission of Human Rights are key points of importance. She
closed by urging small nations to stand together to prevent the
dominance by a few (also emphasized by several other speakers at the
conference) and to ‘be a positive influence, to enable the global good
to take precedence over perceived national interests’.
In addition to the 7 plenary sessions and 3 roundtables, there were 30
Midday Interactive Workshops sponsored by NGO partnerships and
coalitions from around the world with participation by governments,
intergovernmental organizations and civil society
representatives. The themes of the workshops focused on four
sectors of the Secretary-General’s Report: Freedom from Want (two
sessions), Freedom from Fear, Freedom to Live in Dignity, and
Strengthening the United Nations. The Conference also provided
thematic networking sessions for NGO representatives.
Underscoring the need for partnership at the UN was a statement in the
Conference program by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, “Civil society is
the world’s superpower. Partnership between the United Nations
and civil society is not an option, but a necessity.” In light of
the General Assembly Informal Hearings with Civil Society in June, as
well as the Millennium +5 NGO Network of NGOs formally associated with
the United Nations, the Conference provided a platform for NGOs to
contribute to the 2005 World Summit and beyond. In an unusual effort on
behalf of the participants of the this Conference to make sure every
voice was heard, the Conference attendees put forth the following “Call
to Action” which was delivered to the Member States on the eve of the
World Summit:
We, the hundreds of NGOs meeting at the UN today, urge at this crucial
time in the world’s need for security, peace and development, that you
embrace the larger vision of the UN to benefit all the people of the
world. We urge you to yield narrow interests and to work with
each other for real change, expressed in concrete terms in the 2005
World Summit Outcomes Document. Please do not squander this
important opportunity.
Speaking to NGO representatives and civil society members in a room,
which was so silent you could hear a pin drop, the Secretary General
closed the conference by expressing gratitude, “You and they may never
be fully of one mind, and that’s probably as it should be. But at
least you are beginning to hear, understand and appreciate each other
better, and that is no small thing. We must continue this
dialogue…. You all have a key role to play. You must make
yourselves the guardians of the reform of the international system…
What really matters is what happens out there, in the world and on the
ground…you give true meaning to the phrase we the peoples…. I count on
your support in the crucial time ahead.”
For further information on the 58th Annual DPI/NGO Conference, please
visit http://unngodpiconference.org/.
Iris Spellings, OPTU Representative to the UN NGO/DPI
(Note: Information from UN press releases was used in this article.)
“Technological development has altered the basis for
diplomatic action. Just as the diplomat of today must rule out war as
an instrument of policy, so he must recognize that in the new state of
interdependence between nations, war anywhere becomes the concern of
all. The intricate web of relationships which now exist have as part of
their basis the new means of communication which have overnight made
our world so much smaller than it was in previous generations.
News also reaches us from all corners of the globe
almost as quickly as if we were eyewitnesses. We are parties to an
action practically at the very moment it is undertaken. The nerve
signals from a wound are felt at once through the body of mankind”.
Dag Hammarskjöld, October 1953 (quote from UN Chronicle, No 12
2005) website; www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2005/e
alert/103005 un60.html
_______________________________________________________
III. WATER FOR LIFE, 2005 – 2015
On World Water Day, 22 March 2005, the International
Decade for Action, Water for Life 2005-2010, was launched in accordance
with the UN General Assembly resolution A/RES/58/217.
The Assembly called for the highest priority to be
given to freshwater problems facing many regions. One fifth of the
world’s people still do not have access to safe drinking water. It is
estimated that by 2025 two thirds of humanity will face water shortages.
The United Nations University’s International
Network on Water, Environment and Health (UNU/INWEH) was created in
1996 with core funding from the Canadian Government. UNU/INWEH works
with developing countries to strengthen the knowledge, local know-how
and institutional capacity needed to improve access to safe water.
The Network brings a multidisciplinary,
ecosystem-based approach to water and watershed research and
management, and operates on the philosophy that four inter-related
abilities are essential for sustainable stewardship: to educate and
train; to measure and understand aquatic systems; to legislate,
regulate and achieve compliance; to provide infrastructure, services
and products.
UNU/INWEH seeks partnership with individuals,
agencies, institutions and enterprises with compatible interests and
capabilities.
Contact: E-mail: Hcontact@inweh.unu.edu website
www.inweh.unu.edu
IV. 2006 – International Year of Deserts & Desertification
A new year brings with it a new point of focus in the international
calendar. During the past 12 months the United Nations has been
drawing attention to three themes for the year 2005: microcredit;
physics; and sport & physical education. 2006 is to be observed as
International Year of Deserts and Desertification.
The goal is to shine a light on the serious crisis of desertification.
The dictionary tells us that this refers to the process of making or
becoming a desert and further adds that a desert is a dry barren often
sand-covered area of land, characteristically desolate, waterless and
without vegetation. The dictionary also notes that desertification can
refer to an uninteresting or barren subject, period etc. (a cultural
desert). So there is a rich field of symbolism and metaphor to be found
in the theme, relating the desertification of the environment to an
accompanying process of culture and of heart.
The environmental crisis of desertification is an issue that we all
need to think deeply about because it is one of the clearest signs of
the impact that our collective behaviour is having on the planet, as
well as on the lives of people, animals and plants. One third of the
planets surface is made up of arid regions. These are to be found in
over a hundred countries. In addition to deserts these lands include
vast areas where soils and habitat are vulnerable, requiring great
sensitivity in farming practices in order to provide food for local
people. Yet growing urban populations together with global economic
forces driven by export markets mean that time-honoured farming skills
are being replaced by aggressive agriculture: over-grazing, bad
irrigation practices, inappropriate use of chemical fertilizers.
Poverty gives farmers little choice but to follow the path of
unsustainable, short-term ‘development’ of the finely balanced
fertility of the soils. This is happening at a time when climate change
is causing unprecedented droughts and water shortages.
There is a clear pattern emerging – more and more of the land in arid
regions is becoming desert. Over six billion hectares of agricultural
land is lost to deserts each year, with farming communities losing
their livelihoods – and breaking with traditions of living off the land
that have sustained generations of families. In the past 50 years the
Sahara has spread southwards to cover an extra 65 million hectares. In
the process vulnerable soils and habitat are degraded and much of the
diversity of the plants and wildlife of the region are being lost. It
is a silent emergency that we all need to be more aware of so creative,
positive response can be demanded and supported.
There are many success stories where desertification has been reversed,
giving evidence to sustain our reserves of hope and optimism. On a
global level the issue is under constant international negotiation
through the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. To find out more
about the Convention, and the International Year, check out the
web: www.unccd.int . On the more local front you can find
news of a range of positive stories at:
http://www.unccd.int/publicinfo/localcommunities/stories.php . For
added inspiration check out how the Auroville community in South India
planted so many trees that they have changed the climate:
http://www.auroville.org/environment.htm
The second theme of the Year focuses on desert environments and the
peoples who live in them. We think of deserts, like the Sahara (which
covers 8% of the world’s land area), as being wilderness without life.
They do provide precious wild spaces on the planet, where people are
not so dominant. Yet we may be surprised to learn that 13% of the
world’s population live in deserts and that the Sahara is home to an
estimated 1,200 species of plants. These figures and more are from
Oxfam’s excellent feature on deserts at:
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/coolplanet/ontheline/explore/nature/deserts/deserts.htm
There is surely a link between the desertification of consciousness and
culture in our time and the impact we are having on the earth, turning
marginally fertile lands into desert. This bears some thought. For the
desert experience plays a significant role in the literature and
mythology of spirituality. In part it is recognition of an aridity of
heart and of enchantment with the beauty of life which leads to the
conscious choice to seek out new ways of being and transformation.
Aridity leads to the quest for delight. And there is clearly a sense in
which the environmental crisis is doing this for humanity – forcing us
individually and collectively to dig deep into our reserves of mind and
heart in search of a meaning and purpose, a love and vision that will
enable us to step up to the challenge of healing of the earth. In
spiritual terms this is the initiatory challenge facing our societies.
It is what is driving evolution at this time, pushing us as a species
to grow and be rooted in our sense of the interdependence and unity of
life.
To see deserts as part of the human ‘shadow’ would seem to be an error.
For deserts play a vital role in human experience and in the life of
the planet. They are to be respected. They offer some of the most
challenging environments for human beings, requiring an authenticity
and simplicity and a lifestyle that is intimately tied to the
landscape, that cannot be lived as if the natural world were irrelevant
or apart. In spirituality the desert experience is sometimes chosen
because of its silence, marking a time of retreat from the human world;
and because of the opportunities it provides for single-minded focus on
‘the quest’. There is, perhaps, a need to be aware of the
desertification of ones inner life (and of the inner life of a culture)
before there can be a genuine turning towards and choice for life,
beauty, delight and diversity.
In an insightful paper Thinking About Deserts, Angela Lemaire writes:
The times are urgent today. We surely are in danger of dying in the
wasteland. We are all in this together now, it is global, and this is a
journey that humanity as a whole is undergoing. Although this is a slow
process, the time is ripe today, and appropriate, to do something about
the increasing desertification of the environment which so accurately
reflects the inner void. There has been a growing momentum of awareness
which probably began as long ago as the early twentieth century. Today
there are many more people, and groups, with an enlightened
consciousness with regard to our ecological responsibilities - not to
mention our political and cultural ones - than there were, say fifty
years ago. This must speak volumes for our inner landscape. We are
addressing the outer crisis gradually, though of course, not nearly
enough, and far too slowly, and yet this must be good, for it means our
inner voids, our inner deserts, are beginning to bloom.
V. The International Education and Resource Network of Sierra Leone
The Sierra Leone chapter of the International Education and Resource
Network (IEARN) was founded in 1999 on the initiative of Andrew Benson
Greene. Since its launch IEARN Sierra Leone has become a catalyst for
bringing education to the young people of the country, using
information communication technology and psychosocial rehabilitation to
help restore health and hope to children whose lives have been
devastated by war, in particular child soldiers.
Mr. Greene, International Programs Director of IEARN Sierra Leone and a
Suave Scholar, McGill University Canada, sent Peace through Unity an
article entitled “Elements of Terrorism Can be Groomed At Early Age”,
and the following are some excerpts and quotes from his article:
“The recruitment of child soldiers around the world can be a breeding
ground for terrorism. Whilst children are in themselves terrorized by
violence, they continue to be dangerous to the lives of others when
conscripted as child soldiers, and forced to even turn their guns
against their very parents, families and friends upon whose survival
their welfare once depended.”
“I remembered that my country was locked in the quizzical position of
beauty, wealth, brutality and poverty, which existed side by side in a
decade of war that has now completely ended. The sustained peaceful
pace and democracy in Sierra Leone today has ushered in a new glimmer
of hope to stop the drafting of children into soldiers. It is my wish
that this will be a shining example in other dozens of countries around
the globe today.”
“I came to North America, as a research scholar at McGill’s Scholars
Program, and realized that these issues and problems affecting children
used in armed conflict have not been granted the full attention it
deserves in this part of the world. I knew that Canada’s strategic
place in the world, its history and record of human rights and peace
can be a powerful pedestal for me to launch my campaigns to calm the
rough tides of warfare in which children were adrift… In my inquiry, I
had the chance to speak with a group of sensitized students who
believed that they can join in my efforts to help make a better place
for the children of the world.”
Having seen children change dramatically for the worse and the problems
of small arms readily available falling into their hands, Mr. Greene is
resolved to help transform “tragedy into positive elements on which
children’s lives can be made whole again”.
For children and youth who survived wars and hostilities as child
soldiers, a long-term process of re-instating them into society remain
a mammoth task, says Andrew Greene. Alternatives to involving children
in armed conflict must be found to help them resume life in the
community, by teaching them to be responsible, and discover their
talents and inherent strength. “This re-integration and rehabilitation
process will mean the provision of not only relief and food, but also
education and training on all fronts, psycho-social support, and
appropriate strategies for economic livelihood”.
This has been Mr. Green’s major pre-occupation for the last six years,
using the power of educational telecommunications technology tools:
“IEARN’s incredible global learning network has inspired such
trans-border and trans-cultural online interaction of youth from Sierra
Leone and around the world.” It is Mr. Greene’s hope that this
network of young people exchanging peaceful ideas (like creating “No
War Zones”) and concerns for human rights “will usher in world peace in
the near future”.
“I feel strongly that all of us can help to stop the use of child
soldiers and that we must no longer be silent about it, as the elements
of terrorism can be groomed at such an early age.”
Andrew Greene concludes his article with a quote from an interview with
a McGill University student on this subject who stated that: “If we
don’t fight to stop child soldiers, we are basically promising
ourselves that there will be child soldiers in the future and that will
be a poor future for all of us.”
Contact: Andrew Benson Greene, e-mail:
andrewgreene_c21st@iearnsierraleone.org
Website: www.iearnsierraleone.org
VI. Re-committing to World Programme of Action for Youth
Ten years ago the UN General Assembly adopted a “World Programme of
Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond” (A/RES/50/81), and in
2005 the UN has re-committed itself to continue the work specified in
the resolution’s 10 priority areas: education; employment; hunger and
poverty; health; environment; drug abuse; juvenile delinquency; leisure
time activities; girls and young women; and full and effective
participation in society and in decision-making.
Of the 2.8 billion young people under 25 today over 200 million are
living in poverty, 130 million are illiterate, 88 million unemployed
and 10 million living with HIV/AIDS.
The Outreach Division of the UN Department of Public Information and
the Millennium Campaign have jointly created a new website for youth
which not only provides a comprehensive source of information to youth
but also includes content written by youth from around the world on
actions they have taken to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
The website (accessible at
www.millenniumcampaign.org/youth) aims to become a place where youth
can learn about the issues that concern the world today, express their
ideas, and find inspiration and encouragement for involvement in
building a better local and global community.
The Outreach Division of UNDPI’s main objective is to build a global
online community of teachers and students, to make the issues the
United Nations deals with more accessible to young people, and to
provide opportunities for them to participate in finding solutions to
global problems. This is done through making available materials for
schools around the world about the UN, its achievements and the social
issues on its agenda on www.cyberschoolbus.un.org. - or
e-mail: yotive@un.org
___________________________________________________________
VII. Peacebuilding: The UN, National Governments and NGOs – A
Multi-layered Approach
Article by Rene Wadlow
The French Prime Minister during the First World War, George
Clemenceau, said that “War is too important to be left only to the
generals.” Likewise, peacemaking is too important for it to be left
only to the political leaders who had created the violence in the first
place. Thus, there has to be movements and efforts beyond and outside
the parties in conflict to help bring about negotiations and a climate
in which peace measures are possible.
The recent United Nations Summit meeting in New York – the largest
gathering of heads of state and government – had a double task. The
first was to re-affirm the poverty-reduction goals that had been agreed
to in September 2000 and which are generally known as the Millennium
Development Goals. The basic aim is the reduction of poverty,
especially through the strengthening of institutions providing a
prerequisite for poverty reduction: education, health, employment, debt
relief, and a healthy environment. There is a broad intellectual
agreement on the aims and the methodology. This reaffirmation is
contained in the “Outcome Document” but there is little sense of need
for a new drive to reach these goals in all parts of the world. As with
many UN statements, there is a high level of abstraction which needs to
be incarnated in specific situations. Unfortunately, there was no
agreement on disarmament issues, and so the draft section on
disarmament and nuclear weapons was just dropped from the final
document.
The second task of the Summit was to reach agreement on certain
modifications of UN structures to be able to carry out better the
issues assigned to the UN. The enlargement of the UN Security Council
to reflect the power relations of today and the transformation of the
UN Commission on Human Rights into a smaller, more effective body, a
Human Rights Council, were the most widely discussed. There is, as yet,
no agreement on how these reforms will be carried out.
Also proposed in the series of reforms is the creation of a
Peacebuilding Commission. The idea of a Commission arises from repeated
experiences underlined by the old saying “out of sight, out of mind.”
Once a conflict is no longer in danger of spreading, it is taken off
the “international agenda”. There is usually a short period of good
will and funds for relief, but the interest of national decision-makers
is displaced by another crisis. There needs to be long-term efforts and
observation, for there is often fire in the embers, and conflicts can
flame up again.
The Peacebuilding Commission will be an advisory body. We will have to
see what structure it takes and what facilities for relations with
non-governmental organizations are created.
From the quality of the governmental discussions, which are still going
on, I would suggest that the creative drive of governments is limited
and that now “the ball is in the court” of those of us in
non-governmental organizations to find ways of being able to be active
in a speedy and timely way in conflict situations, to analyze and
respond to conflicts in constructive and creative ways. The NGLS
Development Dossier mentioned in the last “Many to Many”, Tobi P. Dress
“Designing a Peacebuilding Infrastructure” (ngls@unctad.org) provides a
good overview and merits close study.
Rene Wadlow is editor of the on-line journal of world
politics: www.transnational-perspectives.org
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VIII. Definition on Terrorism?
In order to provide the UN with ‘moral authority’ to fight against
terrorism, the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change has
come up with a proposal to define terrorism which is as follows: “any
action that is intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to
civilians or non-combatants, when the purpose of such an act, by its
nature or context, is to intimidate a population, or to compel a
Government or an international organization to do or to abstain from
doing any act, cannot be justified on any grounds and constitutes an
act of terrorism”! Any other proposals for a definition on
Terrorism?
IX. PEOPLE’S SUMMIT FOR DEPARTMENTS OF PEACE
London, United Kingdom – 18 and 19 October, 2005
This first People’s Summit for Departments of Peace was organized and
sponsored by:
The UK based ministry for peace (mfp), whose motto is “Putting Power
into Peace – Peace into Power”. mfp was launched in the House of
Commons on 1st July 2003, and in October the same year Labour MP John
McDonnell introduced a Ten-Minute Rule Bill for the creation of a
Ministry for Peace in government. The Bill was passed unopposed but
fell due to lack of time at the end of the Parliamentary session. mfp
has since its launch held sixteen public meetings; it is managed by a
National Coordinating Committee and has an increasing membership
throughout the country. In its Manifesto for Peace mfp identifies three
main aspects of violence: direct violence is the physical or verbal
violence most people recognize; structural violence refers to
political, social and economic structures that repress, harm or kill
(dictatorship, racial discrimination, poverty..); cultural violence is
the type of violence normalized by religions or ideologies..
www.ministryforpeace.org.uk)
The Canadian Working Group for a Federal Department of Peace, also
founded in 2003, is gaining increasing support from prominent Canadian
leaders, academics and NGOs as well as from the rank-and-file of
Canadians throughout the country. The main aim of such a department
would be to work for the implementation of the UN Declaration and
Programme of Action for a Culture of Peace. (
www.departmentofpeacecanada.com)
The Peace Alliance Foundation, USA aims ‘to reveal and foster an
expanded awareness of humanity’s interconnectedness manifesting our
culture of peace’. Thousands of citizens in 43 states with over 230
congressional district team leaders are working together to build
support for a federal cabinet-level Department of Peace, which would
serve to strengthen and support non-violent solutions to domestic and
international conflicts by addressing the underlying root causes of
violence in society. It would also work towards the establishment of a
national peace academy. ( www.peacealliancefound.org)
The sponsors stated in their invitation to the People’s Peace Summit
that the meeting would be held ‘in the spirit of the United Nations
General Assembly’s Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of
Peace (A/RES/52/13) and its main aim be to ‘strengthen and grow the
international movement for a culture of peace and for government
departments of peace and ministries for peace through:
Building a global network of, and a sense of community among,
country-level campaigns
Developing coordinated strategies for strengthening and financing
country-level campaigns and for encouraging the establishment of
campaigns in other countries.
Forty people from twelve countries attended the UK People’s Peace
Summit, who also participated in the 2-day training which included
insights into the latest methodologies
and developments on conflict transformation and peacebuilding. Both the
Summit and the training programme were facilitated by Kai Frithjof
Brand-Jacobsen, founder and director of the Peace Action, Training and
Research Institute of Romania (PATRIR) and co-director of Transcend. (
http://www.transcend.org/)
The Summit deliberations resulted in the launch of an ongoing
partnership for global action, the People’s Initiative for Departments
of Peace, and ended with a public meeting in the Grand Committee Room
in the Houses of Parliament, where a Declaration was presented to
Labour MP John McDonnell, with the following text:
First People’s Summit for Departments of Peace.
London, 19 October 2005
Today, we announce the launch of an international initiative for the
creation of Departments of Peace in governments throughout the world.
Violence of all kinds is increasing.
There is an urgent need to find responsible solutions, expanding on
past and present peace-building successes.
This international initiative will both provide resources and support
for existing national Department of Peace campaigns, and assist new
ones as they appear in other countries:
To foster a culture of peace;
To research, articulate and help bring about non-violent solutions to
conflicts at all levels; and
To provide resources for training in peace-building and conflict
transformation to people everywhere.
We, the undersigned, joyfully vow to support and encourage each other,
to share information, to enrich each other’s experience, to listen to
one another and to celebrate our commonalities and differences in our
journey together towards a culture of peace.
Department of Peace, Australia.
Working Group for a Federal Department of Peace, Canada
ministry for peace, United Kingdom
The Peace Alliance, Campaigning for a US Department of Peace, United
States of America
Delegation from Israel
Binnie D’egli Innocenti, WWGHM, Italy
Federation of Damanhur, Italy
Global Peace Campaign, Working for a Ministry of Peace in Japan
Ank Mesritz, House of Peace, Netherlands
Paul van Tongeren, European Centre for Conflict Prevention, Netherlands
Zoughbi Zoughbi, WI’AM, Palestinian Conflict Resolution Centre,
Palestine
Romanian Department of Peace Initiative
Jo Berry, Building Bridges for Peace, United Kingdom
Rolf C. Carriere
Simonetta Costanzo Pittalug
____________________________
The Second People’s Peace Summit for Departments of Peace will take
place in Canada, hosted by the Working Group for a Federal Department
of Peace, 21-22 June 2006, in Victoria, British Columbia, immediately
prior to the World Peace Forum in Vancouver.
________________________________________________________________________
X. 2004 State of the Future – the Millennium
Project Report
In 1996 the American Council for the United Nations University (AC/UNU)
established the Millennium Project, for the purpose of serving as “an
international utility to assist in organizing futures research by
continuously updating and improving humanity’s thinking about the
future and making that thinking available for feedback as a
geographically and institutionally dispersed think tank.”
Through regional “Nodes” (each consisting of groups of individuals and
institutions) – 25 in all – scholars, futurists, business planners,
scientists, and decision makers who work for governments, private
corporations, NGOs, universities, and international organizations are
brought together from around the world to identify the issues,
opportunities and challenges of the world, the result of which is
subsequently published in a yearly report.
The 2004 State of the Future report, launched in August this year, has
identified 15 Global Challenges facing the world in the 21st century:
How can sustainable development be achieved for all?
How can everyone have sufficient clean water without conflict?
How can population growth and resources be brought into balance?
How can genuine democracy emerge from authoritarian regimes?
How can policymaking be made more sensitive to global long-term
perspectives?
How can the global convergence of information and communication
technologies work for everyone?
How can ethical market economies be encouraged to help reduce the gap
between rich and poor?
How can the threat of new and reemerging diseases and immune
micro-organisms be reduced?
How can the capacity to decide be improved as the nature of work and
institutions change?
How can shared values and new security strategies reduce ethnic
conflicts, terrorism, and the use of weapons of mass destruction?
How can the changing status of women help improve the human condition?
How can transnational organized crime networks be stopped from becoming
more powerful and sophisticated global enterprises?
How can growing energy demands be met safely and efficiently?
How can scientific and technological breakthroughs be accelerated to
improve the human condition?
How can ethical considerations become more routinely incorporated into
global decisions?
The executive summary of the report points out that although these
challenges are transnational in nature and transinstitutional in
solution, and will require ‘collaborative action among governments,
international organizations, corporations, universities, and NGOs’,
such transinstitutional mechanisms to focus these global actors are
missing. The report stresses that the Challenges are interdependent: an
improvement in one makes it easier to address others; deterioration in
one makes it harder to address others, and underscores this point by
saying that: “Arguing whether one is more important than another
is like arguing that the human nervous system is more important than
the respiratory system. “
Among the issues explored in the report are:
The worldwide race to connect everything not yet connected is just
beginning
The sheer number and intricacy of choices seems to be growing beyond
our abilities to analyze and make decisions in the old ways
The annual gross income of organized crime is more than twice that of
all military expenditure worldwide
As science and technology are growing so rapidly along several fronts,
the possibility of them growing beyond human control must now be taken
seriously
Improving the status of women is one of the most cost effective ways of
addressing global challenges discussed in the report.
More information on the State of the Future, and on the CD, containing
a comprehensive overview of each of the Global Challenges,
regional views and other relevant information are available at
www.acunu.org/millennium/lookout.html .
