MANY TO MANY
ISSUE Number 76
June 2001
I. DIALOGUE AMONG CIVILISATIONS - Editorial
II. THE CHALLENGE OF FREE TRADE
III. STATE OF THE WORLD'S CHILDREN -UNICEF Report 2001
IV. UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY SPECIAL SESSION FOR CHILDREN- September 2001
V. SECOND WORLD CONGRESS AGAINST THE COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN
VI. FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT
|VII. NEW ZEALAND DELEGATE TO THE HAGUE INTERNATIONAL MODEL UNITED NATIONS January
2001, Joe Connell
|VIII. A PACIFIC WAY TO DISARMAMENT Laurie Salas
|IX. TOWARDS A WORLD CIVIL SOCIETY FORUM
X. FOR THE EARTH-Australian Rainforest Information Centre (RIC)
XI. EDUCATING FOR A CULTURE OF PEACE
XII. UNITED NATIONS YEAR OF DIALOGUE AMONG NATIONS-2001
I. Dialogue among Civilisations
Some time in the early 1980s I decided to make a pilgrimage back to the small town
in Tamil Nadu (India) where I spent the first five years of my life. My parents,
Danish Lutheran missionaries, had lived and worked here for a little more than a
decade, leaving a small church behind. For health reasons, the whole family returned to Denmark
a few years before the beginning of World War II.
This had been my home and Tamil the first language I learnt and spoke - even with
my parents. However, it was not so much nostalgia as a deep sense of guilt that motivated
my return. As a member of the 'white race' I wanted to apologise for our cultural
intrusion and arrogance; for bringing with us wherever we went a mindset, belief system
and a way of life which we seemed to think was superior to that of others.
But with the conscience of the western world waking up to the ugliness of bigotry
and cultural insensitivity and intimidation, some of us are becoming overwhelmed
with remorse and the need for making amends.
After a long journey I arrived at the little church that my father had built, the
church bell still hanging in the tree next to it. At the door stood a young Tamil
priest with open arms and a big smile, and inside the building on a wooden bench
this young man listened intently to the outpourings of a troubled and burdened middle-aged woman
from the north.
After a thoughtful pause he said: "Your race has no monopoly on bigotry, hypocrisy,
and intolerance you know, nor on mental, emotional and physical cruelty". Every civilisation
is marred by misuse of power and selfishness; every religion, culture, ideology or philosophy can be used either to help close, or to open our hearts and minds.
Before I left, he said: "Your father lifted our spirit". And so for me did indeed
this Tamil man, standing under the church bell tree, waving me out of sight.
2001 in the United Nations Year of a Dialogue Among Civilisations. Let us hope that
is is with open and forgiving hearts and minds that we people of all civilisations
meet to talk and work together for a better, fairer and more enlightened world.
". . . wars in themselves do not constitute the central problem for humanity, but
are rather the external symptoms of something graver which is at their root." Meher
Baba
II. THE CHALLENGE OF FREE TRADE
The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA)
The above is the name given to the process of expanding the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) to all countries of the Western Hemisphere, except for Cuba.
It is designed to be the largest and most far reaching free trade agreement in the
world. It was launched by the leaders of 34 countries of North, Central and South America
and the Caribbean in Dec 1994.
From the start the big corporations together with their associations and lobby groups
have been an integral part of the process. |s. Despite the c|aim of consultation
with citizens of the area, these could have been little more than superficial judging
by the massive opposition shown by a variety of nongovernmental organisations and citizens
groups at the Quebec City (Canada) Summit meeting of 18-22 April 2001.
From reports that have been leaked and found their way into the public domain, the
text of this agreement, as was the case with the Multilateral Agreement on Investment
(MAI) (see issue no. 66, December 1998) contains no enforceable safeguards on rights
to protect workers, human rights, social services or health and environmental standards.
The agreement furthermore allows corporations to sue governments directly for regulations
they consider would limit their potential profits. Under NAFTA, Canada in 1998 felt obliged to pay US$13 million to the US company that made MMT, a gasoline additive
known to damage the nervous system and lifted the ban it had imposed- to avoid the
prospect of paying an altogether unacceptable amount of damages through litigation
under a NAFTA tribunal set up by the terms of the agreement and only this year a NAFTA
tribunal ordered Mexico to pay US$19 million in damages to a US company after environmental
officials blocked a planned hazardous waste incinerator that threatened the region's water-supply.
It would seem that under these bullying tactics citizens are being forced to compensate
corporate polluters for not polluting our air and water. It is essential that such
objectionable trade rules as those enshrined in this draft FTAA are not politically
locked into place before nongovernmental organisations and the public at large have
had the opportunity of coming to understand what this agreement would imply, and
of mustering as much opposition to it as possible. That is how we defeated the MAI
and a similar fate awaits the FTAA provided we maintain our vigilance and together act accordingly.
A Special Report by the International Forum on Globalisation- (website www.ifg. org)
consisting of over 60 researchers, scholars, and economists from 20 countries unequivocally
concludes that the citizens of the Americas and the Caribbean "must work to defeat it entirely". In December 2000 the major trade unions of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay
and Uruguay held the Trade Union Summit where they called upon their governments
to submit the FTAA to national plebiscites which they believe would result in its
defeat. They claimed that the FTAA process was "deepening the already growing poverty
of the region, putting limits on national institutions that should decide the future
of each country, while pushing aside the mechanisms that allow society to ensure
a democratic administration of the state."
The text of the MAI was aptly described as "draconian" and civil society was not having
a bar of it. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) conference in Seattle of December
1999 evoked similar opposition and achieved nothing. In the negotiations taking place around the FTAA there is yet another opportunity for the possibly well-intentioned
but, it seems, nevertheless power-driven architects of such trade agreements to realise
that the day is past when our democratic rights can be flouted with impunity.
It was intended to implement the FTAA by 2005, but some countries, including the United
States, are pressing for 2003 as the ratification date.
The Third UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs)
In striking contrast to 'the text of Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) this UN
sponsored conference, still in session as this newsletter is being assembled, is
marked by greater cooperation than ever between governments and non-governmental
organisations (NGOs). Hosted in Brussels by the European Union at the European Parliament,
it is global and wholistic in design and intent.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in his message to the Conference emphasised that the
well-being of the entire human community was at stake; that what concerns the 48
LDCs - 33 of which are in Africa - and their 600 million inhabitants, concerns us
all (the number of LDCs has just about doubled since this category was created in 1971).
It is, said Kofi Annan, up to the international community to help the LDCs "build
their capacity, get the fundamentals right and become fully integrated into the
global community". At the opening of the conference he stressed that there was not
only a need to increase development assistance but also to open up their markets
"so that we can have access to these markets and trade ourselves out of poverty."
The Secretary-General emphasised that the poor would "much rather trade themselves out of poverty
than live on handouts".
The Nigerian President 0. Obasanjo blamed the developed world for imposing trade barriers
so that international agreements were balanced against the poor.
The juxtaposition in our current issue of these two conferences, one organised under
the aegis of the United Nations and other outside it, speaks, we think, for itself.
III. STATE-OF THE WORLD'S CHILDREN - UNICEF Report 2001
This report contains a passionate plea to all political and economic leaders as well
as the world community at large to wake up to the terrible squandering of human potential
through neglecting to secure the health and well-being of the world's children, especially in their early childhood.
It is a real tragedy, according to the Executive Director of UNICEF, Carol Bellamy,
that so many decision-makers do not seem to realise how crucial the first three years
of life are; and that investments in health, nutrition, education, child care and
basic protection would not merely be a moral imperative but also very sound economics.
But, insists Ms Bellamy, such investments "must happen early - early enough in a
child's life to take advantage of that unique moment in human development."
The report describes how in a child's first 36 months when most brain development
happens, the ability to think and speak, learn and reason is being developed laying
the foundation for its values and its social behaviour later in life.
UNICEF has chosen to focus its 2001 report on these earliest years of a child's life
in the hope that the world community will come alive to the fact that while they
are so critical for the unfoldment of children's full potential they are also the
years most often neglected in countries' policies, programmes and budgets.
Calling on governments, individuals, international agencies and donors to fully fund
early childhood care with particular emphasis on age 0-3, the report specifies that
the yearly sum of US$80 billion will be needed to give every child in the world a
good start in life. "Breaking the intergenerational transmission of poverty, violence,
disease and discrimination is not an unreachable dream" says the report, "if we start
early enough in a child's life. Investing in the world's youngest citizens, as part
of the effort to ensure their rights, is the best choice... great for the children and
their parents and caretakers, even better for their countries."
However, such tremendous challenges as poverty, conflict and the HIV/AIDS pandemic
are competing with early childhood care for funding. In the poorest countries, scarce
resources are often used to pay back loans or to buy weaponry for internal conflicts
at the expense of adequate food, health and education for their citizens. Some 170
million of the world's children are today malnourished; over 100 million do not go
to school and of the approximately 129 million children born last year, a third of
them, some 40 million babies, are not registered. In 33 countries the number of unregistered
babies is estimated to be as high as half of all newborn children.
The report contains messages from former South African President, Nelson Mandela and
Graca Machel, former Minister of Education, Mozambique, who together launched the
Global Leadership Initiative to help promote the rights of children. In a joint
letter they write:
"To our only children -
We write to you as a mother and a father, as grandparents and as great-grandparents,
as politicians and as activists. You are the focus of our outrage, just as you are
the focus of our hope. You are our link to the future.
Each one of you is your own person, endowed with rights, worthy of respect
and dignity. Each one of you deserves to have the best possible start in life, to
complete a basic education of the highest quality, to be allowed to develop your
full potential and provided the opportunities for meaningful participation in your communities.
And until every one of you, no matter who you are, enjoys your rights, I, Nelson,
and I, Graca, will not rest. This is our promise.
Please hold us to it."
The State of the World's Children 2001 concludes by stating that "In the final analysis,
making certain that every child has the best possib|e start in life, which is the
legal and morally right thing to do, is the only reasonable choice for responsible
leadership."
Contact: Helene Martin, Communications Assistant, Division of Communication, UNICEF,
Palais des Nations, CH|-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland.
Fax: +1-212/326 7768; website (www.unicef.org)
IV. United Nations General Assembly Special Session for Children -September 2001
Ten years after the 1990 World Summit for Children, the UN General Assembly will hold
another Special Session on Children in New York, from 19-21 September 2001. Here
they will review the Declaration and Plan of Action adopted at the 1990 Special Session
and now ratified by 191 countries (except USA and Somalia).
Regional preparatory meetings have taken place to formulate inputs to the special
session of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom). The next PrepCom will take place
in New York from 11-15 June.
At these sessions a document is being formulated and taking shape, entitled A World
Fit for Children. At the second session of the PrepCom this document met with some
criticism|m from government representatives, NGOs and young people alike. It was
seen as lacking focus and needing more action orientation. It was also suggested that the
document examine new partnerships and alliances between governments, civil society
and the corporate world as well as how to better involve children and young people
in decisions affecting their lives. A revised draft of the document, based on the discussions
and inputs, would be prepared for the third and final PrepCom, to be ready for the
Special Session on Children.
In order to increase public awareness of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
and the upcoming Special Session on Children, UNICEF, together with NGO partners,
has launched the Global Movement for Children, in which is included a number of events
and campaigns, like the Global Leadership Initiative mentioned in previous article. Another
campaign "Say Yes For Children" is also included in this movement through which children
and young people can add their pledge of support for a "Rallying Call" promoting the ten basic demands of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, namely
* Leave no child out;
* Put children first;
* Care for every child;
* Fight HIV/AIDS;
* Stop harming and exploiting children;
* Listen to children;
* Educate every child;
* Protect children from war;
* Protect the earth for children; and
* Fight poverty - invest in children.
Contact: Hourig Babikian, Coordinator of the NGO Committee on UNICEF,
UNICEF House H-8A, 3 UN Place, New York, NY 10017, USA. e-mail: bdoun@mindspring.com
V. Second World Congress Against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children
Another important meeting regarding children and young people will be taking place
in Yokohama (Japan) from 17-20 December 2001: the Second World Congress Against the
Commercial Exploitation of Children (SWC). Organised by the government of Japan,
UNICEF and concerned NGOS, this Congress will review governments progress in implementing
the Agenda for Action agreed upon at the first SWC, held in Stockholm 1996, and focus
on the following six themes:.
Trafficking in Children for Commercial Sexual Exploitation;
Legislation and Law Enforcement;
Prevention, Protection and Recovery of Children
from Commercial Sexual Exploitation
Profile of the Sex Exploiter;
Child Pornography; and
Role and Involvement of the Private Sector.
The organisers hope that grassroots organisations and young people from all regions
will participate in the preparations for this meeting, and it is anticipated that
some 100 individuals under the age of 18 will take part in the Congress.
Contact: e-mail: info@focalpointngo.org website: |(www.focalpointngo.org)
VI. FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT
In order to mobilize the resources, especially financial resources, necessary for
meeting the many commitments made by UN states in their Millennium Declaration, in
particular with regard to global poverty and social and development, the UN General
Assembly has pledged to make "every effort to ensure the success of the High-level International
and Inter-governmental -Event on Financing for Development."
This meeting was recently rescheduled to the first quarter of 2002 and is likely to
be held in New York as a Special Session of the UN General Assembly rather than a
World Conference as many had hoped for. The rescheduling of the Financing for Development final event has allowed for an additional Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) meeting
to be held in New York on 14-25 January 2002.
Apart from the PrepComs five regional meetings (Asia/Pacific, Africa, Latin America/the
Caribbean, West Asia, Europe) are being held and two sets of "hearings" (November
and December 2000) will ensure that proposals and concerns of civil society and the
private sector are being included in the UN Secretary-General's report, containing
a comprehensive set of recommendations for consideration in the Financing for Development
(FfD) process.
The outcome of the civil society hearings was an eight point statement in which the
importance of providing adequate resources for enabling civil society representatives
from developing countries (in particular women and indigenous peoples) in the entire
process, including the final FfD event, was emphasised; stressing also the need for
"national linkage of Finance, Trade, Foreign, Social, Environmental, Labour and Development
Ministries in the preparatory process and the final event on Financing for Development".
The Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) also decided to plan a series of events and
meetings to begin their own orga|nising for the FfD process and to develop relationships
with governments, agencies and the FfD Secretariat.
Mr. Jorgen Bojer, FfD Co-chair, encouraged CSOs to get active in their local communities
and national contexts, adding "The best way to be heard is to have something to say."
One must hope and assume that Mr Bojer's sentiments also apply to the leading finance,
trade and development institutions who are all collaborating with the UN in the preparatory
process leading up to the FfD final event: the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), WTO, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the
UN Development Programme (UNDP), the five UN regional economic commissions, and the
world of private finance.
The UN Secretary-General's report which, with its recommendations, will provide a
starting point for dialogue and negotiations of the PrepCom meetings is, according
to the UN Under-Secretary General Nitin Desai "at the leading edge of a breakthrough
process, in which the global community has decided to use the United Nations as a forum
for discussing one of the most critical and hotly contested arenas of international
relations - economic and financial affairs."
The report contains 87 recommendations, which fall within the six components of the
agenda mandated by the General Assembly for the Financing for Development process.
They are: domestic financial resources; international resources including foreign
direct investment and other private flows; trade; international development cooperation;
debt; and systemic issues.
Among other things, the-report recommends that:
"the international community should agree that special care be taken with
respect to the opening of the capital account in developing countries and countries
with economics in transition, recognising the need for national policy autonomy,
which in some circumstances may call for countries to apply disincentives or controls on
short-term capital in times of surges in capital flows. However, capital controls
cannot be used as a substitute for sound and appropriate macroeconomic policies."
"Member States should consider the convening of adhoc global hearings to discuss the
issues surrounding international investment agreements. Such a dialogue should involve
governments, the private sector and civil society".
Tran|snational corporations (TNCs) and other firms should accept and implement the
principle of good corporate citizenship and should, inter alia, subscribe fully to
the United Nations Global Compact. Global Compact participants should take specific
measures that foster development - including innovative partnerships, linkages and collective
action - and share their experience with all stake holders."
"All developed countries should immediately provide duty-free, quota-free market access
to all non-arms exports of Least Developed Countries (HIPCs) and consider doing the
same for other developing countries."
"A careful, in-depth study should be undertaken, in cooperation with the |MF and other
relevant international financial institutions, of potential means for enhancing tax-related
international cooperation-including mandating a specific negotiating process on international agreements on this subject and the possibility of establishing an
international organisation or forum for cooperation on tax matters."
Global Compact (launched July 2000) is an initiative to promote responsibility and
citizenship involving representatives of industry, |abour and civil society. Participating
'Companies commit to respect a set of nine principles drawn from official government-agreed UN texts on human rights, |abour rights and the environment.
The UN Secretary-Generals report also contains recommendations to examine: taxation
systems to cover socially and environmentally undesirable activities; financial services
for small savers and borrowers; pension funds; the development impact of investment flows; structural adjustment programmes; and strengthening the role of the UN in
the management of global economic integration.
Contact: Frederica Petracci, FfD Secretariat, Department of Economic and
Social Affairs, Room DC2-2336, United Nations, New York, NY 10017, USA
email: pietracci@un.org website (www.un-org/esa/ffd)
VII. New Zealand Delegate to The Hague International Model United Nations January
2001. (THIMUN)
Joe Connell
I remember through somewhat sleep-deprived eyes our journey between Amsterdam Schipol
Airport and The Hague. We'd arrived late at Schipol because we'd been snowed in
at Frankfurt and due to security alerts had been forced to spend the night on the
airport floor. So as our delegation of 16 cold and tired New Zealanders departed down the
Dutch freeways there were a lot of questions to be asked - one main one -what are
we doing here!?!
We found the answer, and I'm not romanticising, watching the sun rise over the North
Sea and beginning to realise that there was another delegation on board our bus.
The delegation of the American School of Ecuador, possibly the most exotic looking
people we could ever expect to find at, six in the morning on a Dutch motorway. They had
just arrived in Europe to represent the tiny Pacific Island, Palau, at THIMUN.
The timezones were obviously on their side because they sang |oud Spanish songs and
babbled to us about Palau's foreign policy with great vigour. And therein lay the answer
to our question. We were there to talk to the Equadorians and later in the week
to the 4,500 other delegates about foreign policy. There to try and find a song that
we could all sing and to try and create genuinely positive resolutions from our talks.
This is not to say, however, that singing songs was all we did. By the time we reached
Holland, our New Zealand delegation had already spent a week in Dublin together,
getting to know each other and Ireland, the country we were to represent. We took
part in such important cultural experiences as stand up comedy in an Irish pub, the eating
of Irish stew, lots of clothes shopping and a visit to the Guiness Brewery and museum
while finding time to see the Book of Kells, Trinity College and countless beautiful
Cathedrals and Castles in between. But we did do some work too! Spending time in the
libraries and government departments of Dublin finalising our resolutions and refining
our policy statements. We had a simply amazing time getting to know each other and
the beautiful and dynamic country we were to represent.
Holland was pretty amazing too. After sleeping off our airport-floor-woes we were
able to make snowmen, on the beach!
In fact, snow featured a lot with my Dutch experience as, at the insistence of my
nine year old homestay brother (who, by the way, and along with everyone else in
Holland spoke perfect English) snow fights with the neighbourhood children took place
every night after dinner.
Of course, staying with a Dutch family was an experience in itself. I was privileged
to be able to have the opportunity to take part in my family's life, learn about
six words of Dutch, help with English homework and enjoy the company of my host mother
and two brothers.
The conference itself was overwhelming. The sheer idea of 4,500 teenagers all in one
place didn't hit me until the first day of the conference, when I was whirled into
a world of lobbying, debate, amendments, rules, regulations, voting and voting again.
On the first day, I almost completely rewrote my resolution with the help of Trinidad
and Tobago and Luxembourg and began taking part in
my assigned committee, the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly on Legal Issues
(GA6).
I had been researching and preparing my resolution on the Legality of Nuclear Weapons
ever since I was assigned GA6 and now was the time to convince everyone I was right.
It took some effort but over the two days of committees my list of supporters gradually grew. At the same time I was trying to negotiate the complicated approval system
for my resolution as it first got a 'D' number and then an 'A' number. I returned
to my host family on the third day knowing that my committee chose it to be debated.
Whether it was a photocopying mistake, that I lent the chair a computer disk or the
inclusion of innovative clauses about Depleted Uraniu|n Weapons, I will never know
- but none the less my resolution was put up for debate. It was the second to last
resolution that GA6 debated and by the time I was called to propose the resolution I really
believed it wouldn't come to the floor.
With voice that was quickly disappearing through illness, I took the stand as the
Honourable Delegate for Ireland. I was both privileged and lucky to be able to address
the issue of the Legality of Nuclear Weapons as Ireland while maintaining my own
viewpoint. My speech went well. I had answered all points of information conclusively.
The floor was successfully yielded to Trinidad and Tobago and then, of all places,
to New Zealand (which was represented by a girl from England). Each speaker supported
my resolution. I received notes of congratulations and support from several countries.
Then the first speaker against the resolution was called, named the world's most powerful
country, a great advocate for the protection of Nuclear Weapons and a global opinion
maker even within the freedom of opinion of the UN. The Honourable Delegate for
the United States of A|merica pulled chunks off my resolution, dammed its disarmament
component and sent my hopes and supporters flying.
Maybe it's that the youthful delegates | didn't care if the US imposed trade sanctions
on them after the conference, because the simulation would've dissolved by then.
Maybe it's that the global youth representing the Global Powers were more idealistic
than today|'s leaders. Maybe they just saw the genuine sense of purpose and hope that
I believe my resolution holds.
Whatever it was, they passed my resolution.
I was fortunate to have the support of many other experienced and able delegates,
lucky to negotiate the approval process and have my resolution picked for debate
by the chair and proud, overwhelmed and relieved to have my resolution passed at
the Hague International Model United Nations 2001.
My resolution was one of only 16 passed out of a possible 4,500. I am so far the only
New Zealander to have ever passed a resolution at THIMUN but more importantly, I
am happy with my contribution to global thinking on the Legality of Nuclear Weapons
and the sentiment that it expresses about global disarmament.
Maybe some day my resolution, or one similar to it, will turn up in the real GA6,
have the real support of enough member states to pass in the real United Nations
and make a real difference to the world we live in.
THIMUN is the most complete, overpowering and empowering experience I have ever had.
The value of youth thinking about the future in a positive way is undisputed and
the power of THIMUN to pursue this is unparalleled.
That is why I want to ensure that the United Nations Youth Association of New Zealand|(UNYANZ)
continues to send New Zealanders to THIMUN and events like it so they too can partake
in such a wonderful experience and come back here to share all they have learnt.
We did talk to 4,500 people about foreign policy, at least with the Equadorians we
did find a song we could both sing and I believe, at least I hope, we created and
passed genuinely positive resolutions.
And we did find out what we were doing there.
For text of resolution or further information: Joe.Connell, c/-Selwyn House,
Wanganui Collegiate School, Private Bag, Wanganui, 5001 New Zealand.
The world is in great need of peace education, says Kofi Annan. Yet, "the world's
record on education for peace has been weak indeed...That is why, in the next generation,
we have a mission to stimulate large nu|mbers of students on every continent to reflect seriously on human conflict, its causes and its consequences, and ways to prevent
its deadly outcome."
VIII. A PACIFIC WAY TO DISARMAMENT
In March 2001 New Zealand played host to a United Nations Regional meeting on Disarmament
in Asia and the Pacific, in Wellington, the first such to be held in an New Zealand
city. Representatives of most countries of the Region were present along with France, the United States, Russia, as well as UN Disarmament officials, academics from
various institutes - a notable contributor was Rebecca Johnson of the ACRONYM Institute
- representatives of treaty secretariats, and members of the NZ Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and Trade, the disarmament division, 'who were responsible for the organisation
of the conference.
The-four sessions of the UN Conference covered:
1. Evolving Security Environment in the 21st Century
2. 2000 Non-proliferation Treaty Review Conference - Implementation and
follow-up Actions
3. Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones
4. Illicit Trafficking in Small Arms and Light Weapons
Rapporteurs for each session subsequently gave useful summaries at the final session
of the Conference.
Parallel with the official conference were several non-governmental|-organisation
(NGO) activities, including a Model United Nations for secondary school students
and an all-day seminar where issues similar to those being discussed officially were
addressed. Much preparation had gone into, the programs, and the content of the papers generated
considerable interest among the participants, which reflected the general concerns
for the topics - small arms trade, licit and illicit, the possibility of a Southern Hemisphere nuclear-free zone, land-mines banning, the results of colonisation in
the Pacific, and the future of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
There was good opportunity for interaction between the officials and the |NGO people,
as several of the speakers at the UN Conference also addressed the |NGO seminar,
while space was allocated at the UN meeting for NGO folk to observe and contribute
if they wished.
Special focus was on the participation of young people, and of Pacific Island people,
who were given opportunities to take active part both at the official level and at
the NGO meet|lngs.
A Model UN Disarmament Conference was organised by the UN Association of New Zealand,
attended by some 60 students. Some spirited presentations were given by representatives
speaking on behalf of countries in the Asia/Pacific Region, also by NGOs and academics, thus reflecting the mix at the official conference (the two venues were in close
proximity). After an address by Dr. Bob White, a former physics professor, on weapons
in space and the danger of another arms race, the students proceeded with a lively debate on the effects of missile defence (including theatre missile defence) and
of abrogating the ABM treaty. The representative of the Marshall Islands, a country
which suffered the effects of nuclear testing in the 50s, said that their country
could be a "dart|board" for missile testing emanating from the West Coast of the United States.
Later discussion centred on the proliferation of small arms both in New Zealand
and in countries which were currently experiencing unrest or conflict such as Fiji
and the Solomon Islands.
In a later full session of the NGOs addresses were given, on small arms by an expert
academic from Bradford University, Dr. Owen Greene, and on the possibility of a Southern
Hemisphere nuclear-weapons-free zone by Llewellyn Richards. There was further discussion on banning landmines; on nuclear weapon development and testing - we should
express our moral outrage at the continued existence of these weapons, said Ambassador
Roche; on the availability of small arms in Bougainville and the Solomons, a legacy
of the fighting in World War II; on the effects of militarisation and colonisation
in the Pacific: people need sovereign rights over their own land, and all must work
together to put peace back into the Pacific, said the representative of the Nuclear
Free and Independent Pacific movement.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs cooperated well with the NGO coordinating committee,
ably chaired by Chris King, so that the major official speeches were heard by many
non-officials, and useful discussions took place between the two groups. The UN
Under-Secretary for Disarmament Affairs, Mr. Jayantha Dhanapala, who was principally responsible
for the conference, paid particular attention to the views of young people: he said
we need to engage youth in the concerns of disarmament, because, particularly after the Cold War, there is a false assumption that the proble|ms of the world have
disappeared: we still have some 30,000 nuclear warheads in the world, many of them
on alert status. He stressed the role of civil society in promoting real disarmament;
"public opinion can apply pressure on governments to reduce their military expenditure,
and to enter into and honour agreements on disarmament".
During the Conference impressive public addresses were given by Ambassador Douglas
Roche and by Judge Weeramantry, formerly of the International Court of Justice at
The Hague. The planting of a kauri tree in Wellington's Botanic Gardens by the
Director of the Regional Centre for Disarmament, Mr. Ishiguri, provided the opportunity for
four students who assisted in the planting to say a few words on peace and disarmament
each in the language of their countries of origin: Samoan, Sri Lankan, Maori, and
South Korean. A plaque will later be placed on the tree to commemorate an historic gathering
of people dedicated to bringing about universal disarmament and peace.
Laurie Salas,
Wellington.
IX. TOWARDS A WORLD C|VIL SOCIETY FORUM
In May 2000 about 1400 people representing over a thousand civil society organisations
met in New York in the "We, the Peoples Millennium Forum", to discuss and come to
an agreement on a Declaration and Agenda for Action, entitled "Strengthening the
United Nations for the 21st Century".
The suggestion in the final paragraph of this document was to create a Global Civil
Society Forum to meet at least every two or three years in the period leading up
to the annual session of the General Assembly; that this forum be conducted in a
democratic and transparent manner and become truly representative of all sectors of civil society
and all parts of the world.
At this meeting it was agreed that the Millennium Forum Executive Committee, the Conference
of NGOs (CONGO) and the NGO Department of Public Information (DPI) should gather
suggestions on the possible structure of a future world Civil Society Forum from
their constituencies, to be gathered and discussed alongside other suggestions at a
consultation on 15 March 2001.
Among the many suggestions were stressed:
- the need for the Forum to become ever more inclusive; reach out, listen to and seek
to involve people who have never before heard of the United Nations, including children,
and include in fact everyone interested;
- the central structure must be "loose" and able to take into consideration "different
realities, interests, and cultural points of view, and provide opportunities for
people to determine their own destinies";
-coordinate UN Peoples Millennium Forum follow-up efforts with the Millennium Summit
follow-up efforts.
Preparatory Forum of the World Civil Society Forum
This forum will take place in Geneva from 18-20 July 2001 with "promoting the Role
of Civil Society in Global Governance" as the working title , in preparation for
the 2002 World Civil Society Forum.
The Geneva venue has been chosen for the presence there of numerous UN specialised
agencies and other international organisations and the month of July, because the
UN Working Group on Indigenous Peoples and the Sub-Commission on Human Rights, also
meeting then, will offer the opportunity for delegates from these, groups to participate
in the forum discussions.
-To strengthen link and cooperation among NGOs, Indigenous peoples organisations
and other, civil society entities from all over the world working in the various
domains of activity
-To facilitate and strengthen cooperation with the UN system, including specialised
agencies and other intergovernmental organisations.
-To share information about international issues.
-To consider a Constitution for a permanent Forum, meeting on a regular basis,
to allow NGOs to meet, to share experiences, and to discuss issues with the
option of adopting common positions.
The preparatory forum's primary task is to adopt the programme and procedures for
the 2002 World Civil Society Forum and to elect an as fully representative|, steering
committee as possible.
All interested NGOs and other civil society groups are encouraged to take part in
this World Civil Society Forum process. For more detailed information contact: website
http://www.mandint.org/forum
X. FOR THE EARTH
For some 20 years volunteers from the Australian Rainforest Information Centre (RIC)
have been working to defend rainforests in many parts of the world and have since
1987, together with their indigenous allies, protected more than 1,5 million hectares
of Ecuador's rainforest.
RIC's latest fundraiser for this rainforest is a jukebox on the internet, containing
CDs and tapes, donated Australian artists. The feature album is a 3-CD compilation
called "Where2Now?", with 51 tracks from some of Australia's best artists. It is
available from the site (www.rainforestjukebox.org) for US$16 plus shipping.
Many RIC volunteers are "cyber-volunteers" and anyone who would like to contribute
via internet (research, networking, translation etc) is invited to write to RIC at
rainforestinfo@ozemail.com.au
RIC's British partners "Rainforest Concern" have a sponsor-an-acre wildlife which
is raising money to buy back critical rainforest habitat to create
corridors between existing reserves. Corridors are particularly important as they
allow migration of animal and plant species from one area to another and help to
maintain viable populations. Lots of schools in England and elsewhere have organised
fundraisers to buy land to add to this corridor- See |www.rainforestjukebox.org/rfconcern.html
Without the rainforest, our future would be impoverished beyond our ability to imagine,
says RIC. "They are the pri|mal source of many of the foods, medicines and industrial
products that we use now and into the future. To honor our ancestors and make way for future generations, we must protect them in any way we can."
John Seed, Ruth Rosenhek, Binnie O'Dwyer, Tessalie Parker, Anja Light
Rainforest Information Centre, Box 368, Lismore, Australia.
A PLEA FOR PEACE
"During these difficult times, it is |t to us that you know: that Israeli soldiers
and settlers are neither the spokespersons for, nor the representatives of, the entire
Israeli population. We call for an end to the occupation of the Palestinian territories, the dismantlement of Jewish settlements, recognition of Jerusalem as the shared
capital of two states, and establishment of the state of Palestine side by side with
the state of Israel based on the 1967 borders.
We Israeli women, Jewish and Palestinian, in the name of all progressive Israelis,
join hands in solidarity with those Palestinians and Palestinian organisations in
the occupied Territories who continue to struggle for our common vision of peace,
coexistence and cooperation in the Middle East."
Quotes from a statement (25 March) by Bat shalom, an Israeli feminist peace
organisation to Palestinian women. For more info: www.batshalom.org
XI. Educating for a Culture of Peace
The following quotes are from an article by Canadian Senator Roche, which appeared
in Global Education Association's newsletter "Breakthrough News", January-April 2000:
"The great issues of our time - war, poverty, intolerance, environmental degradation
- remain, in spite of surging wealth and technological advancement. To effectively
engage these issues, there needs to be an infusion of values-based principles into
public policy that would establish and reinforce a common ground for all humanity based
on respect for life, freedom, justice, and equity."
Under the sub-heading "The Political Will that Won't" Senator Roche points out that
since 1990 the Official Development Assistance (ODA) from industrialised countries
to the developing countries has been slashed by about 30 per cent - US$15 million
-and is now at its lowest level since its inception in 1970.
"The wealthy have cut aid to the poor at a time when the lack of development is now
recognised as the most acute security threat facing the least developed States."
"Nevertheless, world military expenditures total approximately US$781 billion. UNICEF
estimates that an increased investment of US$7 billion more per year for education
over the next decade would deliver-universally accessible education."
"Delivering on the promise - the human right - of educating all children would cost
the world less than one one-hundredth of what it spends on arms per year."
It is the political will, not the resources, that are lacking, insists the Senator.
And such contrasts should be remembered when we think of educating for a culture
of peace.
"It is increasingly obvious that the current generation and those to come will need
more knowledge and understanding of the world than their elders possess. Because
of massive transformations in technology, communications, and transportation, humanity
can now see itself, its unity and disunity, as no generation before could do. Humanity
must also see not only its coexistence but also its commonality and the need for
cooperation with one another."
But beyond all else, we must come to realise the one great and outstanding fact, that
the whole of the Earth is greater than its parts.
"Global security", continues the Senator, "is of a higher order than national security
- security at the expense of others. Violence, injustice, war, oppression, and poverty
are seen |ncft as the inevitable consequences of greed and but as symptoms of a world disorder caused by putting the parts before the whole."
"A global order of peace and justice can only be achieved by educating for a global
citizenship, one that is not disloyal to community or country. Rather, it lifts up
the consciousness of one's surroundings to a new recognition, never possible in the
pre-technological age, of the interdependence of nations and systems making up the whole."
Canadian -Senator Douglas Roche is Chairman of the Middle Powers Initiative, which
is a network of non-governmental organisations working to abolish nuclear weapons.
Senator Roche was recently awarded the 2000 Josephine Pomerance Award of the UN
NGO committee on Disarmament. He is also a member of the Board of International Advisors
of the Global Education Association (GEA). For more information, contact:
Global Education Associates, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 1848, New York,
NY 10115, U.S.A. E-mail globaleduc@earthlink.net Website: www.globaleduc.org.
"FOR THE EVILS OF RACISM, POVERTY AND MILITARISM TO DIE
A NEW SET OF VALUES MUST BE BORN"
Martin Luther King
XII. UNITED NATIONS YEAR OF DIALOGUE AMONG NATIONS - 2001
Mr Giandanenico Picco has been appointed the Personal Representative to the UN Secretary-General
for this year of dialogue among civilisations. Mr Picco who has served the UN for
20 years and participated in peace negotiations to bring an end to the Afghanistan|-Russian conflict and the Iran-Iraq war, says that it is people who kill and
rape and destroy, not history, religion or culture. He believes peoples must take
responsibility for "who they are; what they do".
Dialogue knows no geographical, cultural or social boundaries and through communication
on we can come to better understand and value diversity, perceive and appreciate
common ground.
Mr Picco, together with a group of distinguished people from many different countries
and cultures, are preparing a book on the issue of dialogue focusing on the overall
perception of diversity.
Diversity online
In the pamphlet published by the UN Department of Public Information is also mentioned
the Dialogue among Civilisations website (http://www.un.org/Dialogue) which encourages
worldwide dialogue through interactive web pages. The site is prepared in all six official UN languages and features information and news regarding the Year of Dialogue
as well as examples of human courage - unsung heroes of dialogue who have reached
across a divide.
Visitors to the site can also engage in person to-person dialogue online using both
words and images. They can play three different games with images designed by children
and adults from around the world. It is a direct, constant and free communications
tool where people can make connections to one another and begin the "Dialogue".
For more information: Hasan Ferdous, UN Department of Public Information,
Tel:1 212 963 6555; Fax: 1 212 963 2218; E-mail: ferdous@un.org
