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Last week a meeting of the international conference
“Forum-2000” was held in Prague. This is the fifth year that the
President of the Czech Republic Vaclav Havel has brought together
the decision-makers in international politics who influence the
decisions taken by their countries - to discuss the key problems
in world politics.
This year the Forum focussed on the problem
of human rights in view of developments in the world after September
11, 2001. The conference invited the former President of Germany,
Richard von Weizsacker who signed the treaty on the re-union of
Germany, former President of South Africa Frederik Willem de Klerk
who put an end to the apartheid era, former President of the USA
Bill Clinton, the leader of the Iraqi opposition H.E. Sheikh Mohammed
Mohammed Ali, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, philosopher
and political scientist Francis Fukuyama.
The Prague Declaration sums up the results of
the five years of work of the Forum. It addresses the states,
international institutions and all the “people of good will”.
The text of the Declaration includes an amendment made by Grigory
Yavlinsky:
Article 10
Basic Education for All
The United Nations, together with other international
organisations and member states, should implement a worldwide
programme to guarantee free basic education to all children of
the world as one of the main conditions for overcoming ignorance,
want and the terrorism that feeds on them.
Implementation of this article would be a global
achievement. In his speech at the Forum Yavlinsky justified the
need for an education programme (published in brief).
Mr Chairman, ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you for the invitation to speak at the forum at such a
high level. First of all I want to express my personal thanks
to President Havel.
The topic of this part of the forum is entitled “International
Organisations and Institutions, and Human Rights”. If this conference
had taken place before September 11, in my opinion we would be
discussing the institutional problems of the world politics, interaction
between international organisations, structural problems of the
UN and the ability of the UN to implement its policy, which is
based on human rights in the world.
I also think that it would be important to discuss why the institutions
in Europe and politicians try to speak about human rights so much,
while we continue to see so much of the so-called “realpolitik“,
which clashes with the values they so like to state.
It would also be important to discuss why the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe is so inefficient in such complicated
and important cases as the Chechen conflict in Russia and why
PACE’s influence has been diminishing. Speaking of institutions,
we would also have to discuss the main problem of an institutional
approach to human rights, namely the relationship between human
rights policies and national states. The crisis in this area is
so obvious. In particular, it would be important to discuss such
a problem as the creation by the state bureaucracy of a false
democracy, quasi-democracy, manageable democracy or as we say
in Russia – Potemkin´s villages. We would have asked how to fight
this.
In my opinion these things are enormously important, but now
after September 11 we must discuss different things.
In my opinion terrorism in terms of substance is a challenge
to the concept of human rights. It is a challenge to that concept
which is the foundation of almost all European countries and nearly
half the entire world.
During a war both sides use virtually the same methods and tools
against each other. The strongest wins.
Today we face events of a different kind. Terrorists have no
limitations, except for technical limitations, while we are restricted
in our actions by our principles, values, views and everything
that we term human rights. War with terrorism should not ruin
all the achievements of mankind in this field.
There can be no excuse for those people who would like to use
the war with terrorism as an umbrella for suppression of the political
opposition or the attainment of any other political goals. If
we don’t watch out carefully fordevelopments in the anti-terrorist
operation, we will see soon the first signs of such attempts.
We should firmly insist on the following: the fight with terrorism
should be conducted without compromising the basic values of human
rights. This must become the main goal and the main motto of states
and international institutions.
…Today I heard a discussion about the rich and poor states and
about the resulting problems. I don’t want to offend anybody but
I want to say that this thought is correct and banal at the same
time. I think it will always be like this: we will always have
rich and poor. But today’s poverty differs from that of three
hundred years ago. Three hundred years from now, I think, we will
also have this situation. This is the nature of mankind. I think
it is simply natural for us. It is not good or bad, it is a fact
of human life, some people are more capable, some people are less
capable, some people are two metres tall, others are 1.60 m tall.
So what can we do about it? People are different. These differences
have been with us since the very beginning of civilisation.
Nevertheless, in connection with today’s discussions, I want
to say that there is a principle that must be accepted by everybody:
“There is no excuse – either religious, political or any other
– for killing innocent an disarmed people!“ This must be the starting
point for any discussion. It would be absolutely unproductive,
even counter-productive, to start explaining that there are poor
and rich people in the world and that this is the justification
for many developments. Yes many things have a justification, but
not the murder of innocent and disarmed people. That is not possible
at all! That is not possible at all! In this sense the terrorism
is not attributable poverty, but rather some vile act.
But what can we do at the moment at this forum, today, in order
to avert the spread of terrorism and simultaneous preservation
and consolidation of human rights policies? The seriousness of
the situation obliges us to discuss practical solutions of some
important problems.
First. I would like to suggest that the Prague Declaration introduced
a point about the accessibility and gratuitousness of primary
education for children all over the world. Education is the shortest
and most effective way to prevent terrorism. As an economist I
can cite my own figures that prove that the world has enough financial
resources to immediately start education programmes around the
globe. “The accessibility of primary education for all the children
of our planet, without any exception.” We should start thinking
about this today, we have the money, the problem has been indicated
and we must solve it! It is complicated, but then I don’t think
that there are any easy solutions.
Second. The issue on the food programme for the poorest countries
should be included in the Declaration. Here I mean not simply
food aid, but a food programme. It is strange that humanitarian
aid - food aid - is only coming after the start of the war. Why
should we wait until a war starts?!
Even discussion of these two issues could help in the fight
against terrorism.
Another very important issue. A meeting of religious leaders
to discuss the fight with terrorism will take place in New York
very soon. But I think that such a conference should take place
somewhere in Amman or any other Muslim country, and not in New
York. Such is the moment now. I also think that one of the most
important tools could be theological interpretations and explanations.
This must take place at the top level of all confessions and especially
in the Islam. I think that the people who have the highest position
in Islam, one of the greatest religions in the world, should again
and again explain at the highest level that killing people has
nothing to do with Islam and cannot be rewarded in any way or
form neither today nor in a thousand years. All the ambiguous
interpretations of the Holy Writ of Islam should be removed. This
is extremely important and if we really want to do something,
we mustn’t clo! se our eyes. I think that this is directly related
to our discussions today.
In conclusion I would like to draw your attention to the fact
that Afghanistan borders on nuclear powers – Pakistan, India,
China and Russia. Two other nuclear powers – the United States
and Britain – are taking part in the military action against Afghanistan.
All this together - the acts of terror in the USA, the spread
of anthrax and the war in Afghanistan demonstrate the situation
in the world .
I think that it is time not only for discussion or only for
military action. I think that our forum would be most useful if
we put some intellectual solutions and practical steps into the
agenda.
Thank you.
See also:
Acts
of Terror in the US
http://www.forum2000.cz/text_forum2000.html
http://www.eng.yabloko.ru/Publ/2001/Speech/yavl_171001.html
http://www.eng.yabloko.ru/Press/2001/011017.html
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