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As time goes by there are some
proposals that are still up-to-date and can even become more pressing.
I have just read again the “four
contracts” I advocated for in my book “A New World” published in 2000 when my
tenure as Director General of UNESCO came to an end. I had at that time an
excellent team responsible for information and prospect, coordinated by Jerôme
Bindé. I was then and I am still convinced today that the new Century and Millennium
will bring a new era in which humanity as a whole —all human beings and not
only a few privileged individuals— will be able to fully live the mystery of
human existence, by using their capacity of creating, thinking, sharing,
anticipating.
The four contracts I thought were
essential for a new world were the following:
1. A new
social contract. It included population, poverty and marginalisation
trends; changing the city, changing our way of life; the future of urban
transport; the fight against drug consumption and drug trafficking;... The
targets of this contract were peace and justice, as critical ingredients of a
sustainable development allowing the equal dignity of all human beings.
2. A new
natural contract. It dealt with topics such as environment; science;
sustainable development; desertification; food and energy sources;... from a
perspective aimed at replacing an economy based in speculation, offshoring and
war by an economy based in development and ensuring the habitability of the
Earth for generations to come. The Intergenerational commitment should
be one of the cornerstones which guide our daily behaviour.
3. A new
cultural contract: from the society of information to the society
of knowledge. It reviewed the revolution in new technologies; the future of
books and reading; the global heritage value of languages and education on the
horizon of year 2020... It should be clear that the aim is to help raising
citizens whose actions are rooted in their own reflections, who are “free and
responsible” as educated people are referred to in article 1 of UNESCO
Constitution.
4. A new
ethical contract. This chapter dealt not only with the “profits of
peace”, planetary security and the United Nations System, but also focused in a
very special way on the debts contracted over many centuries with the black
race, the special needs of Africa, a continent that always offsets with its
wisdom and creativity the exchanges made for the sake of its socio-economic
development and full emancipation. This very important chapter concludes —and
it is worthwhile stressing it— that the future is still to be built, that the
transition from a century-old culture of imposition, violence and war to a
culture of dialogue, conciliation, alliance and peace is urgently needed.
At the end of each chapter specific
solutions were suggested, based on the mobilization of the people, personal
involvement, freedom of speech and not acting anymore as mere subjects but
rather as “masters of our own life”...
It is clear that expectations have
not been met, and some of them are even more difficult to achieve than they
were at that time.
I must insist once
again that there is no other solution than to observe the “democratic
principles” which are so clearly established in the UNESCO Constitution, at a
personal, national and global scale.
The current crisis calls for the urgent re-founding of
a strong United Nations System with the moral authority that is typical of any
institution capable of bringing together all countries of the world. The
hegemonic ambitions that led to the belief that the world could be ruled by
plutocratic groups of 6, 7, 8 or 20 countries must now give way —as a
response to a global clamour that will no doubt soon arise— to multilateral
cooperation. A new General Assembly and new Security Councils (a Socio-Economic
Security Council and an Environmental Security Council designed to complement
the existing one) should enable —specially when the global governance is at
stake— the full exercise of those functions that require the availability of
adequate international structures. As stated in the Charter of United Nations,
action must be taken as soon as possible to see that “the peoples” —and not
only the States— are represented in the General Assembly, in order for scientific
progress to allow a dignified life for all inhabitants of the Earth, by ways of
an economy that addresses the priorities that were clearly established a long
time ago by the United Nations System: food (agriculture, aquaculture and
biotechnology); general access to drinking water (collection, management,
desalination. ...); quality health services; care for the environment (CO2
emissions, renewable energies, etc.); education and peace. An education aimed at providing everyone with
global awareness. This is a crucial point: our fellowmen can be perceived as equal
or different from us. And taking care of the environment should not be limited
to our surroundings but must rather be extended to the whole planet, because we
all have a common destiny.
It is essential to put values —and I
am not referring to stock market values!— back in the centre of our daily lives
and to properly address challenges that can be met if we work together. The
solution lies in political measures because, in genuine democracies,
politicians must take on the will of the people.
It is unacceptable that every time that security is at
stake, we still continue to believe that military power is the sole expression
and reference for “security”. This is a very serious mistake, a costly mistake
that usually causes great sorrow due to human losses and material damage. To
think in such a way can only make us have a wrong vision and deal exclusively
with war issues, thus neglecting many other aspects related with “human”
security, which is —in any case— the only thing that really matters.
The difference between means devoted to potential
conflicts and resources available to face recurrent natural disasters (fire,
floods, earthquakes, tsunamis...) clearly demonstrates that the concept of
“security” (http://federicomayor.blogspot.com/2016/08/urgente-un-nuevo-concepto-de-seguridad_29.html) which is still favoured by major
arms manufacturers is not only obsolete but also highly prejudicial for
humanity as a whole and it, therefore, requires a “security contract”.
I must insist over and over again that we cannot constantly
see arsenals crammed with rockets, bombs, war planes and ships, submarines...
and not feel compelled to raise our voice and say that there are thousands of
human beings who are dying from starvation everyday, who live in extreme
poverty conditions without having access to adequate health services... and not
take action when confronted to this harsh reality and to the gradual deterioration
of the Earth’s habitability. We must take action without delay because we
are getting close to points of no return in essential issues related with the
intergenerational legacy.
Let’s raise our voice... Now that “We, the peoples”
have become for the first time in history men and women, and we can freely
express ourselves. We can at last set up a specific time and date when millions
of cell phones will be used to condemn the unacceptable decisions taken by the
same leaders who are saying that they will not observe the Agreements on
Climate Change and Sustainable Development Goals, thus jeopardizing the quality
of life of the inhabitants of the Earth.
The time has come for worldwide
citizenship, for living together across the borders, for sharing goods,
knowledge, experience and for courage… for standing up against those who are caught
by inertia, who keep using old remedies
for new pathologies. Today’s leaders show signs of an irresponsible
short-sightedness. Every good ruler should pay attention, in the first place,
to processes that can lead to irretrievable damage. Millions of women and men
all over the Planet must say loud and clear that they will not tolerate any
irreversible damage to our ecological environment.
The word “sharing” —which was the key concept of the
United Nations System in the 1950s and 1960s— has been gradually ousted and,
instead of strengthening countries in greatest need by means of an integral,
endogenous, sustainable and humane development, development aids have been
reduced up to unsustainable limits and the World Bank for Reconstruction and
Development has “lost” its surname and is now a tool at the service of large
financial institutions; and the nation-states have been weakened by gradually
transferring their resources and power to huge multinational structures.
We cannot remain silent any longer. We cannot continue
to be impassive spectators of what is happening, because we would become
accomplices. The scientific, academic, educational, artistic, intellectual and,
in short, creative communities must be at the forefront of a popular
mobilization (https://aeac.science/pacto2019/). They must take immediate action, without
delay, to guarantee the quality of life of citizens once they stop being
manipulated by the omnipotent and pervasive influence of the “great powers
(military, financial, energetic, media).
We must realise that we have entered a new era in
which human beings will no longer be territorially and intellectually confined;
in which longevity will provide us with a vast experience —an experience we should
make the most of, while placing executive functions in the hands of less
elderly people—; in which young people, who have a deep knowledge of the Earth
and a global awareness and citizenship, will contribute with their imagination
and nerve to finally make come true the other possible world we have longed for.
Inertia is our greatest enemy. It's time for action. We don’t need any more
diagnoses: the time has come to put into practice the solutions...
The current situation impels us more than ever to
approve a Universal Declaration on Democracy (ethical, social,
political, economic, cultural and international - https://declaraciondemocracia.wordpress.com/), as the only framework
allowing the full exercise of human rights and duties. Democracy at a local,
national, regional and planetary scale; this is the solution for everyone and
everything. The force of reason instead of the reason of force, and the
evidence of the immense and distinctive creative capacity of the human species,
which cannot be reduced to small spaces or short-sighted objectives.
We must invent our future. “Invent” the future with
the growing participation of citizens from all over the world, who are now able
to know each other and to connect through online social networks which have
become increasingly important, have a greater mobilisation capacity and may
bring new solutions for different problems, thus becoming a relevant part of
democratic performance at a local and planetary scale. Political, economic and
social innovation. Eradicate without contemplation tax evasion, tax havens and
corruption, also using alternative sources of financing, such as the tax on
electronic financial transactions; taxes that are strictly proportional to
income; a conceptual and practical review of labour and employment, typical of
the digital age...
This “new beginning” will require a quick and wise
action in order for benefits obtained from the exploitation of natural
resources to be appropriately shared among the owners of the technology and the
inhabitants of the areas where the resources are located.
Another equally important challenge
that requires a “contract” is the issue related with drug trafficking which
represents a real and very serious threat to worldwide stability and which
after so many years has moved towards the worst scenario: it is accepted as a
"side effect" of the economic system, of the uneven and confusing
global governance that has placed the market, instead of democratic principles,
in the forefront of planetary politics.
The price of drugs
does not have the slightest dissuasive effect. The individual who falls into
the huge trap of drug-addiction will do everything to obtain the funds he
needs; tearing families and friends apart, stealing... His uncontrolled desire
cannot be solved with weapons but rather with an adequate health approach. It is a public health problem rather than a
security problem.
A large campaign should be made with
the cooperation of mass media and the society involved so that awareness is
raised against drugs.
Eventually,
taking into account the dimensions of drug trafficking and its impact on
economy and crime, the consumption of drugs affects society as a whole. Addicts
are in need of help to rebuild their lives, to regain their self-control, to
start "being” again, living once more the mystery of human life. And drug
dealers must be taken to court and, even better, we must do our best to make
them disappear by taking all steps required to see that their “stuff” has no
value.
As in the case of alcohol and
tobacco, this is an issue with deep pathological implications, and extensive
campaigns should be carried out to educate potential consumers and duly alert
society, so that they know beforehand what they are risking, and they are later
taken care of —as is done with those affected by tobacco or alcohol— in the
corresponding hospital facilities. We must appeal to the responsibility of
society as a whole because it is a tragedy that gradually affects everyone...
To sum up, 20 years later, with the
experience and awareness acquired, and the reflections made during the
coronavirus confinement, it has become clear that governance must be
multilateral and it is up to “We the peoples” to actively participate in
the “new beginning” as established in “The Earth Charter”, an excellent
worksheet for the times ahead… There are reasons for hope: the voices of women
and young people, in the streets and the cyberspace, will foster the essential
and urgent changes that are needed.
In the autumn of 2015, after a few
years of desirable changes and an adequate approach to many international issues
(Islam, ecology, mediation...), President Obama, an Afro-descendant, achieved a
period of hope when he signed the Paris Agreements on Climate Change and
the Resolution approved by the United Nations General Assembly on the 2030
Agenda with 17 Sustainable Development Goals, entitled “Transforming
our World”, with future generations in mind... After 4 and a half years of
inaction due do the irresponsible behaviour of his successor, President Donald
Trump, the horizons currently overshadowed by the COVID-19 require an urgent
clarification. The opening words of “The Earth Charter” make full sense: “We stand at a critical
moment in the Earth's history, a time when humanity must choose its future...”
Let’s make it clear to all those who are now responsible
for the implementation of decisions that go beyond borders: a new worldview
with new lifestyles is urgently needed. The greatest challenge —both at an
individual and collective scale— is transforming our way of life. The world is
entering a new era. There are many things that must be preserved for the
future and many others that must definitively be changed. At last the peoples.
At last the voice of the people. At last citizen power. At last word and
not force. At last a culture of peace and non-violence, and never more a
culture of war.
The great transition
from force to word. From the armed hand to the outstretched
hand.
The time has come for world citizenship, for living together without borders, for sharing goods, knowledge and experience...
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