UNITED NATIONS – UNESCO 75th Anniversary

I

Urgent Call for a multilateral democratic System

In November 2020 we will celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the creation of the United Nations System. The humanity as a whole is facing many threats –some of which have an irreversible nature for the first time in history– and radical changes at a planetary scale in the old governance and in human behaviour have become both necessary and urgent.

Already in 1992, the Rio Earth Summit clearly showed the necessity of sharply reducing the CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions in order to reduce ecological damage and climate changes. These recommendations were not taken into account, although points of no return had already been reached –with a complete lack of intergenerational responsibility– and the negative prospects were rising. In the fall of 2015, two important events took place: the signature of the Paris Agreements against Global Warming and the Resolution on the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations General Assembly, with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) “Transforming the world”.

Now, regretfully, five years later, the neoliberal governance placed in the hands of plutocratic groups (G6, G7, G8… G20) and the personal antagonism of President Donald Trump, have resulted in exactly the opposite and the world habitability is approaching points of no return in a world context of increased social asymmetries, wars, supremacism, racial and fanatic outbreaks… and there is a new pandemic (Coronavirus-COVID 19) that will have a huge impact at a global level on health and social economy.

Countries are prepared for the defence of their territories but not for the defence of human beings living in them. Immense amounts of money are devoted to armament and military expenditures (more than 4 billion dollars per day) but no funds or mechanisms are available for the “six UN priorities”: food, water, health services, environment care, education throughout live, and peace.

There is only one solution: a greatly efficient and strong multilateral democratic system. It has now become a matter of crucial human responsibility to implement the far-sighted sentence at the beginning of the UN Charter: “We, the peoples”. In 1945 it was too premature because 90% of human beings were born, lived and died in a few square kilometres. They were logically fearful, obedient and silent. But today –and this is an excellent and important fact– they can know what happens everywhere, express themselves freely and, above all, they have become real “human beings”, without any kind of discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, belief, ideology…

Now, “We, the peoples” can at last participate in local, regional and world democratic institutions and organizations, and can take in their hands the reins of their common destiny.

There have been many international and national initiatives (personal and institutional) in favour of multilateralism in the past decades. Today, there are many more (see ANNEX I). Their proposals can right now, on the occasion of the UN 75th Anniversary, be taken into account.

They have all decided to address the present CALL to the UN Secretary General and, thorough him, if he agrees, to the leaders of the organizations of the United Nations System:

“In order to address the huge threats we are facing at a global level, some of which may be irreversible for the first time in history, a multilateral democratic System, with all nations united is needed to straighten the present situation. A special emergency session of the UNGA must be urgently convened so that measures are taken to redirect the global trends and to establish a new world order.

The most important issues to be dealt with are:

1.-Multilateral governance: elimination of the plutocratic groups; worldwide programs to tackle global threats: nuclear weapons; global warming and ecological transition; UN priorities available for all citizens (food; water; quality health services; ecological care; education; peace).

2.-Economy: transition from an economy based on speculation, production offshoring and war to a knowledge based economy with the full implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (UN – GA Resolution “ Transforming the world”, November 2015).

3.- A new concept of security: an important percentage of funds invested today in armament and military expenditures must be urgently transferred to health security and ecological purposes. Transition from a culture of war to a culture of peace and non-violence.

4.- A new concept of work and a new lifestyle: with the new communication technology, distance education, work, participation… our ways of living and working must change accordingly. For the first time in history, human beings can express themselves freely. Therefore, citizens of the world must from now on have a say in global governance, as so wisely –even prematurely– stated in 1945 in the first paragraph of the UN Charter: “We, the peoples”.

5.- Initiate the process to review the final draft of the Universal Declaration on Democracy –which includes the reform of the UN System itself– and have the document adopted by the UNGA.

Signatories and supporters: See ANNEX I.

II

75TH Anniversary Celebration

Since July 2019, Mr. Alberto Guerrero, President of the FECU (Spanish Federation of UNESCO’s Clubs) has been preparing a number of relevant initiatives that should coincide with the 75th Anniversary of the foundation of the United Nations System. “Radical and urgent reforms for the governance of a new era” is the title given to the document published in this respect which we consider to be highly appropriate.

Main subjects to be taken into account in the forum for the celebration of the 75th anniversary of UN-UNESCO

• Civil society, the basic pillar of peace.

• Citizenship participation: a new concept of security.

• Multilateral Governance. Universal Declaration of Democracy

• A Culture of Peace: from force to word.

• A few relevant concepts:

  • Potential irreversibility of some of the challenges posed by the Anthropocene.

  • Urgent mobilization in favour of a new concept of security allowing access of to all human beings to the six priorities established by the United Nations. Disarmament for a sustainable human development.

  • Equal dignity for all human beings.

  • Ensuring quality health services for everyone.

  • Strict observance of intergenerational responsibilities.

  • Stop being mere spectators of what is happening, abducted by the media, and become participative and innovative actors.

• A new era, a new way of life.

• Knowledge based economy for a sustainable human development.

• Education for everyone throughout life.

• A duty of memory.

• Contributing to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Present trends

• Epidemics have progressively become pandemics because of “human traffic” (particularly tourism).

• Gigantic consortiums that, combined with production offshoring, will radically change the prospects of economic development.

• Progressive reduction of support given to sustainable and human development, with a simultaneous increase in migration and poverty.

• Increase of supremacism, fanaticism, dogmatism, xenophobia…

• Contraction of industrial fabric due to production offshoring promoted by the neoliberal system.

  Can we expect today a popular reaction against these trends?

  The COVID-19 pandemic is highlighting the increased weakness of health systems and the clear inability of current governance to deal with it and to take from now on the adequate steps.

  What actions should be implemented in the first place?

  • Full implementation of the 2030 Agenda (SDGs) “Transforming the World”.

  • Citizenship participation.

  • Keep sight of Digital Development.

  • Scientific advice. Promoting R&D&i.

  • Complete elimination of nuclear armament and 40% reduction of military expenditures.

  • Complete elimination of tax havens and effective follow-up of tax duties.

  • Very severe world guidelines on drugs and people trafficking.

    III

    Some especially relevant calls made in the last decades… and which have been ignored

    • 1989. UNESCO. Yamoussoukro “culture of peace”.

    • 1992. Río de Janeiro – First Earth Summit. 2000 Agenda.

    • 1994. UNESCO. Barcelona. Religions and a culture of peace.

    • 1995. UNESCO. Declaration on Tolerance.

    • 1995. United Nations. Copenhagen. Social Development Summit.

    • 1995. United Nations. Beijing. Women and Development.

    • 1999. United Nations General Assembly. Resolution on a Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace.

    • 2000. The Earth Charter.

    • 2000-2015. Millennium Development Goals.

    • 2000. European Union. «The Fundamental Human Rights of the European Union».

    • 2008. Joint Parliamentary Assembly of the European Parliament and the Pan-African Parliament. Campaign for the United Nations Parliamentary Assembly, Slovenia, 17 November 2008. “Let us make the United Nations the central institution in democratic world governance”.

    • 2008. Total failure of the G20 in the role it had been assigned as coordinator of the way out of the financial crisis (Annex).

    • 29 November 2011. “Europe in the face of failure of global ethics”.

    • 2012. On January 9 Mikhail Gorbachev published in “The Nation” an excellent article: “Is the world really safer without the Soviet Union?”… “A chance for a more secure and just world order was missed… I told the western leaders that all of us would need to change our thinking as well… International Organizations, particularly the United Nations, crippled by the militarism of the United States and NATO are still factoring…”.

    • 9 October 2015. “Proposals for all political parties”. At a global, European and Spanish scale.

    • 1 September 2015. “In the 70th Anniversary of United Nations and UNESCO, should this be a commemoration or a celebration?”. “Now, after seventy years, when we are facing the possibility of reaching irreversible situations that could have a serious impact on the Earth’s habitability, a refoundation of the System is needed. Otherwise it would simply be a commemoration and not a celebration. This is the only way we can celebrate the 70th anniversary because it will mean the resurgence of the United Nations President Roosevelt had dreamed about in 1944.”

    • 2015. United Nations. Paris Agreements on Climate Change. These agreements, and the commitments they entail, represent a moment of particular relevance and hope. Five years later, all countries must be imperatively urged to put them into practice and prevent a real climate catastrophe.

    • October 23, 2015. Social and Ecological Emergency. Joint Declaration.

    • 2015 – November. United Nations. UNGA Resolution on the 2030 Agenda and de Sustainable Development Goals for “Transforming the world”. The 17 SDGs represent indeed the formula unanimously agreed upon by all countries of the Earth to start a new era and overcome the challenges posed by the Anthropocene. A new lifestyle, a new way of living together and sharing at a planetary scale. It is now clear that the plutocratic neoliberal governance and the European Union itself are incapable of implementing the measures that could trigger the transition that would at last make it possible for “We, the peoples” to hold the reins of our common destiny in our hands, now that we are urged to do so to fulfill our intergenerational duties and a popular clamor at a global scale can make it come true.

    • 13 November 2017. “Young Citizens of the World, the time has come for action”.

    • 5 September 2019. Pope Francis, in his address to Mozambique civil authorities, said that the solution lies in the capacity “to acknowledge that you are all brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of a single land, stewards with a shared destiny. … A culture of peace requires an ongoing process in which every new generation must take part… It is a culture of encounter: acknowledging others, creating bonds and building bridges.”

    • 13 September 2019. VIII UN High Level Forum for a Culture of Peace. 20th anniversary convened by the President of the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly. The forum emphasized the significance of the 20th anniversary and the focus of the forum: “The Culture of Peace: Empowering and Transforming Humanity«.

    • 1 October 2019. Published in “Othernews”: “Democratic Multilateralism to urgently establish a new concept of security”.

    • Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-president of the European Commission: “Four Priorities for a Global Strategy” (“El País”, 7/4/2020).

      • “Why should we keep insisting on the G20, ten years after it miserably failed in the financial crisis? (see “El País”, 27/06/ and 10/11/2010…) and the economist Hazel Henderson wrote in “Othernews” on 16 July 2009 that the G-8 should give way to the G-192! The members of the G-8 represent 65% of the world gross product… but only 14% of the world’s population! On 14 April, Komi Maidro, Co-Chair of “Global Call and Action against Poverty” alerted that in order “to deal with the world crisis a G-192 was required instead of a G-20”. In all these articles, it is emphasized that –now that the peoples can finally express themselves– it is essential not to forget and take action and participate and change at last our lifestyle…

      • It is worth wide stressing the extremely important CALL that the Club of Madrid has just made for «The UN 75th Global Governance Forum» to be held as a virtual event on 16-17 September 2020. «The Future we want, the UN we need».

    IV

    In short, peace, peace in everyday behaviour. Citizens of the world join your voices and hands to promote the force of reason instead of the reason of force!

    It is necessary to promote quick and effective popular reactions against those who, due to ignorance, short-sightedness and irresponsibility, jeopardize the habitability of the Earth and the future of generations that are just a step behind us.

    The culture of peace represents an alternative of great potential to the current way of understanding security. It is simply a question of moving from oligarchic hegemonic power to efficient multilateralism; moving from a culture of imposition, armed confrontation and violence to a culture of encounter, dialogue, mediation, conciliation and alliance; from the reason of force to the force to reason; from weapons to words.

    As mentioned by Abey Ahmed Ali, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Oslo, 10/12/19: «Before we can reap the dividends of peace, we have to plant the seeds of love, forgetfulness and reconciliation in the hearts and minds of our citizens».

    Download call

    Annex I: signatories

    Annex II: Appel Mondial aux consciences