Urgent change in global governance

(This article was originally published in Spanish by Other News)

 

‘No challenge is beyond

of the creative capacity 

of the human species’.

J. F. Kennedy, June 1963.

 

The turning point is when situations of an irreversible nature are reached. It is important to ensure that circumstances do not arise that inevitably require new solutions. And let there be no despair. It is a citizenry conscious of equal dignity and capable of expressing itself that must finally put into practice the lucid Charter of the United Nations: ‘We the peoples... have resolved to save succeeding generations from the horror of war’ —war and any other ‘horror’, such as the deterioration of the environment and thus of the habitability of planet Earth—.

 

The time has come to act, to move from being impassive spectators of what is happening to being very diligent actors. Not a day more of being ‘silent listeners’. It is time for action, for us not to be mere recipients of often biased information, but actors who participate, each in his or her own sphere, bearing in mind Burke's maxim: ‘No one makes a greater mistake than he who does nothing because he thinks he can do very little’. All the seeds, without exception, are necessary. Every grain of sand. Every drop.

 

There are moments, very few, when change is suddenly possible. The radical change that is required can only be imagined as the result of a great global outcry of ‘We, the peoples’, at last able, with a resolute attitude, to make the transition from force to word, from imposition to joint reflection.

 

There is an urgent need for many voices to mobilize in the knowledge that now —equal in dignity and able to participate— they must act without further delay. Yes: now, for the first time in history, ‘We, the peoples ....’ can get the veto abolished in the United Nations ... and in the European Union, also disqualified from decision-making by the requirement of ‘unanimity’, the antithesis of democracy.

 

It is imperative to address the major challenges on a global scale, before their possible solution is no longer effective.  The major priorities of food, access to drinking water, quality health services, care for the environment, education, emigration... are challenges to which we must respond together. 

 

Inventing the future. Through modern technology, the best expression of the voice of the people, of global solidarity, can take place. Civil society now has, in addition to its undeniable leading role in solidarity aid, the possibility not only to make itself heard, but also to make itself listened to.

 

The human species longs for, dreams of, a ‘new beginning’, where instead of preparing for war, it can achieve peace by listening, understanding, joining voices and efforts.

 

In 79 years (since 1945) it has NOT been possible to implement the Charter, to fulfill the will of ‘We, the peoples...’, always silenced by the veto, by plutocratic and supremacist governance. It was Eisenhower, the President of the United States, who had the courage, on 20 January 1961, to convey to his successor, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and to the American people, that it was not the President but the ‘war industrial complex’ who was really in charge in America. From President Wilson's creation of the League of Nations at the end of World War I to Roosevelt's founding of the United Nations, the opportunities for the transition from the force to the word have progressively faded. Now, as I have already stressed, the time has come for ‘We the peoples...’

 

And what should we do immediately for the generations to come? It is not a question of economic, political, social provisions... It is above all a question of inventing a different future. In this respect, I will never forget what Professor Hans Krebs, Nobel Prize winner in Biochemistry, said to me in his laboratory in Oxford: ‘The solution does not lie in these sophisticated instruments, nor in the collection of data... The solution is to think what no one has thought of’... Yes: each human being, unique and capable of creating, our hope.

 

Let us give wings to the human species so that, without vetoes, it can act democratically for the great transition from the force to the word.

 

The world is entering a new era. We have many things to preserve for the future and many things to change decisively. At last, the people. At last, the voice of the people. At last, citizens' power. At last, the word and not force. A culture of peace and never again a culture of war.

 

Inventing hope everyday...

 ..... said to me María Novo, professor of art and philosophy, a few hours ago on the phone. Every unique human beings capable of creating, their supreme and distinctive faculty, can face the challenges of all kinds that beset them and can come to overwhelm them.

 The first condition is to get involved, to stop being impassive spectators of what is happening and become determined and tenacious actors. A citizenry that is aware of the extreme seriousness and potential irreversibility of some of the threats to humanity is the first and unavoidable link to move from inaction and dismay to wise and inspired action.

 Appropriate and timely action can come from knowledge or invention. The power to invent! This is the great capacity, the hope. Action and participation for the urgent transition from global governance based on force and imposition to democratic multilateralism, to the enlightened action of ‘We the peoples....’, as the UN Charter so aptly begins.

 The willingness and confidence of those who know that they know what they need to know or are capable of creating it is a source of trust and solidarity. Only in this way, can the eagerness to collaborate, to contribute to illuminating today's dark horizons, be transmitted to many fading and distracted potential collaborators, especially to the youth.

“Sapere aude”, “dare to know!”, exclaimed Horace. Yes: dare to know... and then dare to know how to dare so that knowledge can unfold its immense potential. To know and to unite so that, forming a global network of great proportions, we can, as a first historic step towards a new era, eliminate the veto that disables the proper functioning of the excellent democratic design of the United Nations.

 And then to do the same with organizations, such as the European Union, which today are totally incapable of proceeding democratically because of the ‘unanimity’ requirement. Until very recently, absolute male power and discrimination on the basis of gender, ethnicity, belief and ideology did not allow for a democratic multilateral system. In recent decades, the equal dignity of all human beings has been progressively recognized and digital technology has made it possible for them to express themselves freely, to participate.

 Now we can, now we must. It is urgent to bring together institutions from all over the world, academic, scientific, artistic, etc., in order to be able, in the short term, to carry out a world governance based on words —at last— and not on force, on the force of reason, on mediation and diplomatic negotiation.

 We must make it possible on a planetary scale for education, as stated in the first article of UNESCO's Constitution, to be ‘inspired by democratic principles’ and to form ‘free and responsible’ human beings. In this way, the current territorial security could be rapidly transformed into ‘human’ security... The action plans drawn up by Garry Jacobs, President of the World Academy of Art and Science, would rapidly enable peace to be achieved, above all, on a personal level and in terms of food, health, education... Only in this way would it be possible to achieve, in a few years, governance on a global scale based on solidarity, justice, social justice, equal dignity... Only in this way would it be possible for natural intelligence to always prevail over so-called ‘artificial’ intelligence so that a large majority of human beings can reinvent hope every dawn.

 

Prevention of irreversible brain damage in newborns, a human right.

 Since the 1960s, my scientific activity has focused on the diagnosis and treatment of metabolic diseases, rare pathologies which, in some cases, cause irreversible brain damage. "Irreversible" is the word that should trigger all preventive efforts and ensure widespread screening. Its prevention implies early diagnosis and treatment. The fundamental objective was to detect avoidable hereditary diseases in newborns, which generally lead to irreversible mental retardation. In a short time, accompanied by the "luck of the bold", we detected a first case of phenylketonuria and the pilot plan was set up, which led to its successive implementation throughout Spain and participation in specialised international meetings was initiated, as well as biochemical and genetic research, to contribute to scientific knowledge of such an important aspect of preventive medicine.

As with any social, environmental or clinical phenomenon, it is necessary to apply treatment in time before the alteration that is to be avoided occurs, particularly when irreversible situations are involved. On several occasions I have referred to the need to act in a timely manner in order to stop the process at stages prior to the point of no return (ethics of time).

Every day I feel more and more strongly, and I try to express it in this way, that the search for, dissemination and application of knowledge is the most beautiful task offered to man's terrible perplexity, astonishment, doubt and fear. I remember that a few months after finishing my degree in Pharmacy, when I was starting to work in Prof. Santos Ruiz's laboratory, I visited an institution for the mentally handicapped.  There, on that day, many things in my life took root. Other things were erased by the force of that memory. And the feeling that it is necessary to contribute to alleviating and making the life of man, the only being aware of the great gift of life, more bearable, became more intense and urgent.

In 2023, on the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, I proposed to the United Nations, through its High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Volker Turk, the recognition as a human right of the prevention of diseases that cause irreversible neurological damage and requested their help in the processing of this new human right. We then asked all governments, institutions and scientific societies to support the proposal to declare as a human right the prevention through neonatal screening of pathologies in which irreversible damage can be avoided through early treatment.

It is now necessary to promote a conscious citizenship that is not a spectator of what is happening, but an actor for the progressive and urgent elimination of risks that affect humanity without further remedy. At last, human beings are gradually recognising that they are equal in dignity and can express themselves freely. Now we can. Now we must. The creative capacity that distinguishes the human species encourages us and gives us hope.