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“Let us explore what problems unite us instead of belabouring the problems which divide us.”
John
F. Kennedy, January 1961.
“The
word “impossible” no longer exists in our vocabulary”
Adolfo
Suárez, October 1976.
1. Introduction.
I feel impelled to insist once again on the urgent transition we must make from a culture of imposition, domination, violence and war to a culture of encounter, reconciliation, alliance and peace. This is the main objective of the United Nations since its foundation in October 1945. If we rescue from oblivion the great project that President Roosevelt had on his mind when he established the United Nations System, 75 years ago, the premature and brilliant idea of “We, the peoples” —set forward at the beginning of the Charter of the UN— could finally come true. The United Nations have been gradually set aside by neoliberalism and, therefore, it is now urgent to call for an Extraordinary Meeting of the UN General Assembly in order to implement, with the participation of all countries, a new concept of security and a set of measures allowing us to tackle, before it is too late, the main global challenges, that is: environmental damage, nuclear threat, pandemics, supremacism of any sort, the growing social gap, the plutocratic governance... So that all human beings are equal in dignity and have the right to fully exercise their unique capacities.
UNESCO will also play, as it already did when it was founded in 1945, a leading role in the new “take-off” of the United Nations System. The “voice of the peoples” —that can now be heard and can no longer be ignored— will give rise to radical changes preventing us from reaching points of no return. A democratic multilateralism is urgently needed and it was a big mistake to replace United Nations by plutocratic groups (G6, G7, G8, G20), and ethical values by market values. Every day thousands of people (most of them boys and girls from one to five years old) are dying from hunger while 4,000 thousand dollars are being invested in weapons and military expenses. The human tragedy of migration flows forced by extreme poverty is the result of the dramatic decline in development funding. The decrease of international solidarity is another big challenge that must be addressed without delay.
2. From force to word.
The voice of the peoples must be heard, the great popular clamours asking for a transition from force to word, from the sinister adage “si vis pacem, para bellum” to “si vis pacem para verbum”. Citizens will cease to be impassive spectators and shall become actors mobilized by the academic, scientific, artistic communities —in short, by intellectuals— who are aware of the seriousness of the current situation and trends, and who should take the lead in the face of a global situation of humanitarian emergency. But the multidimensional tangle created by the neoliberal drift and the autocratic governance has so far prevented –although some very recent upturns may have a significant impact in this regard— the implementation of measures that filled with great hope —in the fall of 2015— those who were aware of the nature of global threats posed by a world placed in the hands of irresponsible leaders. In fact, the Resolution of 21 October 2015 of the United Nations General Assembly, setting out the 2030 Agenda with 17 Sustainable Development Goals, was entitled "Transforming our world"”[1].. And immediately afterwards the Paris Agreements on Climate Change were signed in the firm belief that, if we bear in mind our descendants, we should understand how urgent it is to take action without delay.
The text of the Charter of the United Nations clearly demonstrates the intellectual and human quality of those who wrote it. As I’ve already mentioned, the first sentence of the Charter is an intergenerational commitment that has become particularly meaningful today: “We the peoples... are determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war". At that time —and since the dawn of time— absolute power was in the hands of a few men. The rest of men and women were submissive, frightened, silent, and obedient. Until a few decades ago the vast majority of human beings were born, lived and died in a few square kilometres. They were intellectually and territorially confined. And women —”the cornerstone of the new era”, as stated by President Nelson Mandela in Pretoria in 1996— did not take part in decision making... Now, at last, they have a voice. Word at last.
3. Culture of Peace and equal dignity. “I participate, therefore I exist”.
The Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace, approved by the UN General Assembly on 13 September 1999[2] includes several education measures, actions aimed at promoting the awareness and exercise of human rights, gender equality, freedom of speech, a sustainable development... This was the best way to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the United Nations and UNESCO whose main role is “building the defences of peace”.
In 1995, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary, UNESCO participated very actively in the Beijing World Conference on Women, it also promoted and contributed to the holding of the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen; and its General Conference unanimously adopted the “Declaration on Tolerance”[3], whose first article sets forth with great foresight the everlasting foundations allowing all human beings —who are all different from each other and, therefore, unique and who are tied by the “democratic principles” set forth by the Constitution of UNESCO— to live in peace, both as individuals and collectivities. All human beings equal in dignity: this is the key... Herein lies the challenge!
Now we may express ourselves freely thanks to the modern digital technology, we are no longer passive witnesses but have become full citizens who participate and stand up firmly and efficiently for our opinions, instead of being distracted, misinformed individuals, who are manipulated by the omnipotent and omnipresent influence of the “great powers” (military, financial, energetic, media).
Now individuals can participate, this being the foundation of democracy. They know what is happening at a planetary scale... And they have become citizens of the world. And women, with their inherent qualities, are on the stage. They are at last on the political stage. They have gradually reached equality... One of the main foundations of peace is distributive justice, sharing more fairly. The new technologies imply a greater exposure to “distracting” news, which account to a great extent for the “shame” of the “globalisation of indifference” mentioned by Pope Francis.
Restating the words of Descartes, I like to say the following: “I participate, therefore I exist”. If I don’t participate, I don’t exist as a citizen. People are counted (in elections, in opinion polls) but they are not taken into account. To say what should be said, to participate, to help building sound democracies, we must have access to an education whose aim is to promote daily attitudes and behaviours of conciliation, understanding, listening.
We are lacking of too many things —said Blas de Otero—, but we can still resort on word. Today at last the voice of each and everyone. Today at last a great clamour is possible. Today at last, when we are urged by situations such as the ongoing coronavirus epidemics and the bad omens for the Earth’s habitability, we will be taken into account. The time is about to come to build together the defences of peace —as we were entrusted to do by the Constitution of the UNESCO— based on justice, on the equal dignity of all human beings, on freedom of expression, “on the capacity of each individual to lead his own life” as so precisely and beautifully said by Francisco Giner de los Ríos.
4. “Democratic principles”
The preamble of the UNESCO Constitution states that humanity must be guided by the "democratic principles of justice, liberty, equality and solidarity". And it clarifies that what is needed is an “intellectual and moral solidarity" because an intellectual approach based on knowledge is not enough, it must inevitably be paired with some ethical references. From now on, those who govern us must have firmly established in their conscience and perspective the equal dignity of all human beings. And now that all citizens can express themselves freely, they must never again tolerate the ethical collapse produced by an unequal and anachronistic system that continues to produce great social pain. In both cases, knowledge (instead of unverified information) and education (instead of training) are the key requirements. It is essential to have a sound knowledge of the present situation because nothing can be deeply transformed without an in depth insight into it. In whose hands has power really been placed? And what about energy sources? To whom do large extensions of land belong? What about the big media? And the huge industrial/armament consortium?
Recently the world has taken a sharp “turn” in many areas: demographics; the social gap; pandemics; new “actors” on the world stage: large multinational private corporations and media magnates at a global and continental scale; domestic conflicts that should require some action from United Nations —and only from United Nations— in the event of genocide, massive human rights violation or the absence of government...
Today it has become clear —and therein lies some expectation of change, albeit
tenuous— that it will not be possible to straighten out current gloomy trends
if present continues to prevail over future, force over word, economy over
politics, arbitrariness over the voice of the citizens. The other world we long for will not come
true unless we establish a new social
contract (allowing to immediately tackle the problems of hunger, AIDS,
dengue fever, malaria... those "silent wars” that kill thousands of human
beings every day); a new environmental
contract (with “alliances” enabling us to gather in just a few hours the
technical and specialized human resources from several neighbouring countries
that are needed to deal with natural disasters such as forest fires, pests,
floods, etc. or man-made disasters such as the washing out of waste produced by
“cracks” in offshore oil tankers); and new
cultural and ethical contracts[4].
Let’s not fool ourselves: the reform we need isn’t just a “technical” issue. It will have to be based on democratic principles. This is the only way to succeed in transforming fear, pain and indignation into an individual action, the daily decision to strengthen democracy through citizenship participation, understanding, dialogue and an attitude of permanent search, with the confidence based on our capacity to think, to anticipate, to innovate and to create that are unique to mankind.
With their best will, some citizens offer a helping hand to those most in need. This is great and it should happen more often. But what we need is global politics regulated by United Nations, because what the poorest expect from us —and deserve— is justice, to be counted and to be taken into account.
Only a strong and well coordinated System of the United Nations can guarantee the security of peace in every country. The peace of security is equal to silence, fear, suspicion and distrust. To achieve the security of peace, it is essential to place the best armies under the blue flag of United Nations, whenever a military action is unavoidable. And to have available the most advanced intelligence services so that compliance with international laws can be ensured with the most sophisticated punitive mechanisms. To ensure that all agencies of the UN System are fulfilling their original mission; that they lend an ear to the peoples; that they receive the best counselling to be able to foresee, to prevent. This would be an extraordinarily important step in the history of mankind; and of the democratic United States of America. It would mean that the dream of Presidents Wilson and Roosevelt has been fulfilled. And, more importantly, the dream of billions of human beings[5].
5. A duty of memory
It is essential to apply on time the lessons from the past. To remember after the storm what could have been done and was not. The scientific community has in this respect an irreplaceable role to play to ensure that appropriate measures are timely taken to deal with global ecological, health and nutrition threats... We have today the pressing and unavoidable duty to stop the gradual deterioration of ecological conditions, the quality of life on Earth.
We are facing a situation that allows no deferment or shortcuts. UNESCO
has played a very important and somehow visionary role, In 1947 UNESCO created
the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and it later
launched the Geological, Hydrological, Oceanographic Plans...the great
programme “Man and the Biosphere”...; In 1972 Aurelio Peccei, founder of the
Club of Rome, warned about the “limits of growth”; and in 1979 United States
National Academy of Sciences informed that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse
gasses emissions had not only experienced a dangerous increase but —what was
even worst— the oceans recapture capacity was significantly decreasing... The
most serious issue today is the
trivialisation of the irreversibility of processes that can cause an
irretrievable deterioration of conditions which are essential for a normal life.
“Commit yourselves!” was the final message from Stephan Hessel. “You will
have to change direction and embark on a new ship”, added José Luis Sampedro.
Well, the time has finally come for young people to raise their voices and to
participate. In demonstrations, but specially though their proposals. There are
reasons for hope because everything seems to indicate that these radical
changes are beginning to take hold among young people. The time has come for
solutions. There’s no need for further diagnoses...
The time has come to lend an ear to scientists, to trust them and take the urgent measures that any potentially irreversible process requires. Using electric cars and renewable sources of energy, reducing the huge military expenses and reassigning them in caring for the Earth and in the big priorities mentioned above that are typical of a sustainable and humane global development.
A duty of memory. The time has come to look ahead. To look into the eyes of boys and girls, and be ready to take firm action and never give up. I often quote Eduardo Galeano’s account of a school trip: while getting off the bus, a girl, who sees the sea for the first time, pulls up her teacher's skirt and says: “Help me see!" Helping each other to look at the children and teenagers so that they become our source of inspiration, the constant reference of our daily behaviour.
We are currently facing a coronavirus pandemics —COVID-19— and we should not forget the many lessons this global crisis has taught us[6]. When the world still remains "confined"... dispositions are already being taken to see that, in a situation where so many things should change, nothing changes. Health is the most important asset, and both its treatment and prevention aspects should be taken into account, always dealing with them with the highest professional expertise, and leaving aside any other consideration. Because health is a universal right. Big progress has been achieved in medical science, but just a small portion has been shared. The big challenge is being able to share and enlarge knowledge.
Gradually, epidemics —which have always existed and will continue to exist— will become very serious pandemics because “human mobility” will keep on growing. Until some decades ago, their propagation was very scarce because the vast majority of mankind was confined to small spaces and the transmission of disease outside its borders was unlikely...
In the “Letter to the G20” that has just been signed by “world leaders as a response to the global coronavirus crisis”, the measures agreed upon are exactly the same as those implemented to tackle the 2008 financial crisis, that is, the same measures which led to the present situation and proved that markets cannot solve global challenges. To be able to cope with global threats, a proportionate response from “We, the peoples” is needed. Only a democratic multilateralism —and not the plutocracy that represents the power of one sole country— will allow us to rise to the occasion. The letter should have been addressed to United Nations to reinvigorate the multilateralism and not to its main opponent. It’s clear that if progress continues to be confused with the GDP, there will be no heaven left for human beings, except tax heavens.
Healthcare must be comprehensive and available for everyone. The time for passivity and fear is over, and we must proclaim loud and firmly that society will not make any concession when it comes to issues on which many times life itself depends[7].
We are at a turning point. We must all speak out in order to build the real democracies that are required at a local and global scale. The growing social inequalities, the environmental deterioration, the cultural, conceptual and moral debacle... all call for a radical change in current trends. There are times when we have to use our imagination and courage to make come true what seems wrongful to those who are stuck in inertia and still intend to use old remedies for new pathologies. Every good ruler should pay attention, in the first place, to processes that can lead to irretrievable damage.
It is an essential issue. The awareness about intergenerational solidarity. Millions of women and men all over the Planet must make it clear that they will not tolerate any irreversible damage to our ecological environment. The future is still to be done. Every unique human being capable of creating, there lies our hope.
6. Efficient multilateralism: this is the solution.
Because I have a deep knowledge of potentially irreversible processes —in 1968, I decided to put in place the detection and treatment of metabolic disorders responsible for severe neural deterioration— I already warned some time ago which were going to be the big challenges humanity would have to face and I mentioned that they would only be solved with a democratic multilateralism allowing us to start a new era where the power of reason will prevail against the power of force, and weapons shall be replaced by words, thus allowing us to assume our unavoidable intergenerational responsibilities at a global scale.
The present time calls for our intergenerational solidarity. It is essential to reach every agreement required to prevent us from reaching points of no return and, thus, from making an inconceivable historical mistake. President Obama urged prompt action when he said: “We are the first generation confronted with this challenge —the climate change— and the last one that can cope with it”. And Pope Francis stated, in his Enciclical “Laudatio Si” about the ecological situation: “we must take action because tomorrow might be too late”.
In the Anthropocene, ensuring the habitability of the Earth and a dignified life for all human beings is an essential responsibility because the foundation of all human rights is the equal dignity regardless of sex, skin colour, religion, ideology, age... It would be a historical and irreparable mistake not to do everything possible to prevent the legacy of the Anthropocene from being a seriously deteriorated standard of life, with totally inefficient governance systems entrusted to plutocratic groups consisting of 6, 7, 8 or 20 countries, under whose cover lies the worldwide hegemony that has always been pursued by United States Republican Party.
Faced with the threefold challenge of climate change and the deterioration of the biosphere, the extreme poverty and the nuclear threat —which all require the immediate implementation of a new concept of security and labour, a new lifestyle— we are living purposeless and without a path to follow. Instead of promoting the search for balanced alternatives, instead of having each day a larger number of responsible citizens who are the actors of their own destiny rather than mere impassive spectators of events... Instead of raising our voice through a big popular clamour, now that we can freely express ourselves... we are easily intimidated, dazzled, and we walk aimlessly. It is clear to the wise that the biggest problem humanity must face is not the difference but rather the indifference, not the recognition of the equal dignity of all human beings but rather supremacism and racism.
The other possible world we all long for and deserve is today, more than ever, possible. The mobilization of citizens should fill us with hope.
As a scientist, I insist that a deep knowledge of reality is essential. Otherwise superficial and biased information and appraisals will continue to convey to the public a distorted image of facts and, therefore, a distorted image of the measures that must be taken. We need solutions. Firm steps towards the design of the new world.
It would be a very serious irresponsibility to preserve the current patterns. The solution is a genuine democracy at every scale: global (efficient multilateralism), regional, local and individual. We must make without delay the transition from force to word, and drastically reduce expenses on the security of a few in order to be able to ensure a dignified life for everyone (food, health...).
We must pay attention to people who have moved from the squares and avenues to the cyberspace and who may, if they make an appropriate use of the new information and communication technology, mobilize thousands of citizens and help them become actors instead of mere witnesses.
We must listen to them. We must pay attention to what they say because they are and will fortunately be the leading actors of the “new dawn”.
We are living in a time of global crisis that has highlighted, more than ever before, the errors of political, economic and social systems. States have not been able to keep the markets under control and politicians have failed, in general, in their role as mediators and guarantors of the common good, thus casting doubts about their real mission; the disproportionate ambition and selfishness of some “big merchants” have prevented them from contributing to the well-being of citizens; and society has not reacted appropriately when faced to their trickery and fallacies, while most citizens have remained distracted and easy to manipulate, without clearly rejecting the neoliberal consumerist system.
What can we, the "peoples", the billions of citizens relegated to the role of mere puppets, do? We can speak. We can use our voice first of all to be heard and then to listen.
If some irresponsible rulers decide, as President Donald Trump has done, not to cooperate in reducing the risks that could lead to irremediably deteriorating the habitability of the Earth, there will be no other choice, as mentioned before, but to call for large popular clamours, both in the streets and in the cyberspace, so that it is "the peoples" who take the reins of our common destiny into their own hands and, by restoring democratic multilateralism[8], finally exclude the oligarchic groups of neoliberalism from world governance, whose drift is leading to ecological and social upheavals (with a focus on supremacism) that must now be dealt with urgently. We urgently need to build a new concept of security. We urgently need a radical change in our lifestyle.
We know how urgent it is and we must dare do it. Otherwise —and these are words written by Albert Camus that have had a great impact on my life— we would run the risk of future generations despising us because "we could have done so much, and we dared to do so little".
In the “Earth Charter: Values and Principles for a Sustainable Future”[9] —which should be available in all classrooms of every educational institution and be thoroughly understood by members of parliament, rulers, members of municipal councils and the media, because it is one of the key documents that can inspire and guide the change of direction that has now become so urgent— we can read the following in the Introduction: “... We must join together to build a global sustainable society based on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice and a culture of peace”... And we can also read in “Principle 16: promoting a culture of tolerance, non-violence and peace... encouraging and supporting mutual understanding, solidarity, cooperation among all peoples both within and among nations... recognising that peace represents the integrity resulting from the right relationship with oneself, with other individuals, with other cultures, with other forms of life, with the Earth and everything we are a part of”...
Sometimes we are afraid to recognize that everything is in the end an ethical problem. The financial crisis is only one visible part of a deep crisis of democratic principles, which requires daring, imaginative and inclusive solutions. A radical and urgent change based on human and environmental sustainability has to be made so that all individuals who breathe the common air of the Earth can exercise their right to have a dignified life.
Arsenio Rodríguez quoted Ernesto Sábato in an excellent article of last 31 October 2019 in the “Wall Street International” that I read in “Othernews”: “When we finally take the responsibility for the pain infringed to others, our commitment will give some sense to us as individuals and will place us beyond the inevitability of history...”. Only if we can assume this commitment and be aware that we must join millions of voices and millions of hands, will we be finally able to make the peoples, the individuals, each one of us take the reins of our destiny into our own hands, because we might be irrelevant as far as quantity is concerned but extremely significant qualitatively.
It’s time for action, for an active resistance. Let’s follow the advice given by the great Mario Benedetti to his son: “Son, / never surrender / please / don’t give up. / ... Because every day / is a new beginning”.
Federico Mayor Zaragoza
28 April 2020
[2] http://www.fund-culturadepaz.org/spa/DOCUMENTOS/DECLARACIONES,%20RESOLUCIONES/Declaracion_CulturadPaz.pdf
[4] Mayor F., “Un mundo nuevo” (2000).
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