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BOOK REVIEW: Jean Ziegler, “Destruction Massive: Géopolitique de la faim”

In Being a World Citizen, Book Review, Human Development, Human Rights, Latin America, Social Rights, Solidarity, Sustainable Development, The Search for Peace, United Nations on January 8, 2026 at 7:30 AM

By René Wadlow

Jean Ziegler, Destruction Massive: Géopolitique de la faim.

Paris: Editions du Seuil, 2011, 343pp.

Translated into English and published as

Jean Ziegler, Betting on Famine: Why the World Still Goes Hungry

New York: The New Press, 2013

The First Millennium Goals set in 2000 were to half poverty and hunger by 2015.

Hunger and malnutrition are major causes of deprivation and suffering. As there has been no rapid progress in reducing hunger, other goals, such as reduced child mortality and improved maternal health, have not been met either. Many years of empirical evidence point to the negative impact of hunger and malnutrition on health, education, and labor productivity.

The impact of hunger has been known for some time. Jean Ziegler pays tribute to the research and action of a mutual friend, Josue de Castro, Brazilian nutritionist and World Citizen.

De Castro had pointed out in the late 1930s that hunger in Brazil was not a fatality of nature but the result of unjust human structures. Thus, things could change with enlightened action by farmers with the help of enlightened governments. He helped to organize peasant leagues and was elected to the parliament of Brazil. He undertook visits and studies in other Latin American countries. These studies convinced him of the socio-economic causes of hunger and of their wide geopolitical impact. The Geopolitics of Hunger is de Castro’s most widely read book and serves as the subtitle of Jean Ziegler’s book as hunger remains a geopolitical issue, not simply a question of locally improved agricultural techniques.

De Castro had been the independent president of the Executive Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) from 1952 to 1955, at which time the governments decided to abolish the post of independent president. The Executive Council has been chaired by national diplomats since. While at the FAO, de Castro was invited to look at agriculture in a good number of countries. He had created in 1957 a Nongovernmental Organization, World Campaign against Hunger (Association mondiale de lutte contre la faim), ASCOFAM from its title in French. He drew on persons active in the world citizen movement such as l’Abbé Pierre, René Dumont and Max Habicht.

When I arrived in Geneva to teach at the Graduate Institute of Development Studies in September 1963, de Castro was the Ambassador of Brazil to the UN in Geneva, and I went to see him shortly afterwards to discuss development issues. Then in April 1964, the military led by General Castelo Bianco took power in Brazil. Their right-wing and brutal dictatorship lasted from 1964 to 1985. De Castro was quickly replaced as Ambassador and moved to Paris to teach and work with NGOs on hunger and agricultural issues. I saw him a number of times in Paris. He died in Paris in September 1973, aged only 65, but he left a heritage of study and action on the power dynamics of hunger and agricultural policies. Jean Ziegler, a sociologist of African societies and for a good number of years a Socialist member of the Swiss parliament, was from 2000 to 2008 the UN Commission on Human Rights’ Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. Much of the research for the book was carried out with his UN team but is presented in a fiery style not found in UN reports.

Increased action to improve rural life needs to be taken quickly. As the recent UN-sponsored Millennium Ecosystem Assessment states, “Human activity is putting such strain on the natural functions of Earth that the ability of the planet’s ecosystem to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted. It is becoming ever more apparent that human society has a rapidly shrinking window of opportunity to alter its path.”

However, as Ziegler points out, it is not general human activity that is causing a strain, but the human activities of the powerful, the pred$atory sharks and financial speculators. He stresses the dangers of the increasing use of ethanol and other biofuels, often without consideration of the impact of the production of biofuels on land use and food production.

Their use should be limited at present so that the consequences of their use can be studied and biofuels developed from non-food sources. Ziegler also stresses that there needs to be a detailed analysis and then action on the role of speculation in the rise of commodity prices.

Banks and hedge funds, having lost money in real estate mortgage packages, are now investing massively in commodities. For the moment, there is little governmental regulation of this speculation. There needs to be an analysis of these financial flows and their techniques of operation − the wide use of offshore banks and holdings − and their impact on the price of grains and other foods.

Ziegler also stresses relatively new dangers to a just world food system. In many developing countries, the urban elite have been buying farmland as an investment, not necessarily to increase agricultural production with improved techniques, but to resell later when prices go up. Ziegler also stresses the sale or long-term rent of agricultural lands, especially in Africa, to governments or State-related companies of the Arab Gulf States and China. Again, the land is often not used for current agricultural improvement but is held for future use or sale. Thus, rather than seeing land reform, we are seeing dangerous trends of an increasing number of landless agricultural workers.

Jean Ziegler highlights the need for cooperation among the UN system of agencies, national governments, non-governmental organizations, and the millions of food producers.

There is a need for swift, short-term measures to help people now suffering from lack of food and malnutrition due to high food prices, the systems of food distribution, and situations of violence. However, it is the longer-range and structural issues on which we must focus our attention. The world requires a holistic World Food Policy and a clear Plan of Action. A knowledge of the geopolitics of hunger is a necessary first step.

Prof. René Wadlow is President of the Association of World Citizens.

BOOK REVIEW: Bill Devall and George Sessions, “Deep Ecology: Living as if Nature Mattered”

In Being a World Citizen, Book Review, Environmental protection, Human Development, Nonviolence, Peacebuilding, Solidarity, Sustainable Development, The Search for Peace on January 6, 2026 at 8:00 AM

By René Wadlow

Bill Devall and George Sessions, Deep Ecology: Living as if Nature Mattered.

Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith, 1985, 267pp.

In his Small is Beautiful, Fritz Schumacher wrote, “In the affairs of men, there always appears to be a need for at least two things simultaneously, which on the face of it, seems to be incompatible and to exclude one another. We always need both freedom and order. We need the freedom of lots and lots of small, autonomous units, and, at the same time, the orderliness of large-scale, possibly global, unity and co-ordination.”

Likewise, there must be transformation both at the individual level as well as collective change. The two are closely linked. Only a whole and autonomous person can act, resist, walk away, and build something new. However, collective change is something more than the sum of individual changes. Collective change is a vision for a society. Thus, individual change and political action must go together.

One of the predicaments facing the emerging Green-ecology political movements is the need to gather enough people together to be a credible political force – which means general agreement upon a small number of basic options – while having a deep enough political philosophy so that people are not seduced by the current political parties using a few Green slogans. There is wide-spread support for reform environmentalism which aims to stop gross pollution, extensive despoliation of land, lakes, and seas, mistreatment of animals. But those who support such localized reforms may not see the need for a basic transformation of society and the system of values.

Yet we need planet-wide changes, for ecological awareness has shown us that the planet we live on is one inter-related system upon which we are all dependent. In order to survive, we must learn to work together to build a world beyond war, a society with sustainable development – which means sustainable agriculture and appropriate technology, wholistic approaches to education and health, a spiritual outlook based on reverence for life. Albert Schweitzer from his work in Africa re-launched the human-scale revolution by insisting that production ought to serve peoples’ real needs; that there must be a new relationship with nature; that solidarity must replace antagonism; and that there must be sane consumption and active individual participation in society.

The world as an interrelated system has come to be called the “Gaia hypothesis” after the work of James Lovelock and Lynn Margulies who wrote “We defined Gaia as a complex entity involving the earth’s biosphere, atmosphere, oceans and soil, the totality constituting a feedback or cybernetic system which seeks an optimal physical and chemical environment for life on this planet. Gaia remains a hypothesis, but much evidence suggests that many elements of this system act as the hypothesis predicts.” (Gaia is the first goddess of early Greek thought. From the void, neither born nor destroyed – what the Chinese call the Tao – Gaia danced forth and rolled herself into a spinning ball.)

Systems are integrated wholes whose properties cannot be reduced to those of smaller units. The systems approach emphasizes basic principles of organization. Thus, nature has an order, a pattern that as humans we need to understand, to respect, and to preserve. This order has intrinsic value and is the base of Life.

This book is an effort to outline the rich spiritual-religious-mystical component of the Green movements. The term “deep ecology” was coined in 1973 by Arne Naess, a social scientist and philosopher who has written widely on Mahatma Gandhi, nonviolence, and the Buddha. He wanted to describe the deeper more spiritual approach to nature exemplified by Rachel Carson and Aldo Leopold. This is a most useful analysis of Green values. The book should be widely used for discussion and political planning.

Prof. René Wadlow is President of the Association of World Citizens.

BOOK REVIEW: William Bloom, “The Power of the New Spirituality”

In Asia, Being a World Citizen, Book Review, Cultural Bridges, Human Development, Nonviolence, Solidarity, Spirituality, The Search for Peace on January 6, 2026 at 8:00 AM

By René Wadlow

William Bloom, The Power of the New Spirituality.

Wheaton, Illinois: Quest Books, 2012, 248pp.

William Bloom who combines a long-standing interest in New Age approaches to spirituality with an identity focus in international relations (1), has written “We are in changing times. Our culture and technology are continually transforming, and the intellectual certainties of the last few hundred years are no longer secure…It is our need to find a new authenticity in our spiritual lives — to bring back fully into our consciousness — the sacred dimension of life, but we want to do this in a way that honours personal freedom and personal growth. In essence, then, we are turning to the teachings and experiences of what is called the ageless wisdom, but we are doing so with completely new attitudes”.

A key element of our changing culture is that we are discarding old religious forms and re-creating our spiritual and sacred world. Creative new attitudes, practices, and forms have been an emphasis of William Bloom. (2) As he writes, “As a teacher and author I often feel conflicted: on the one hand, I want to inspire and encourage people about their innate goodness and the wonders of creation; on the other hand, I do not want to support naiveté about the human condition. We are magnificent beings with cosmic consciousness, and yet at the same time we are also insecure and can do harm.

“Yet the current emergence and creation of a new culture is not always an easy process. It feels as if everything is being created anew. At the same time, we know that we are working with dimensions which have always been and which always shall be.”

The basis of many New Age approaches is that we live in a vast field of energy. Vibrations and atmospheres can move like waves through this field to impact others. Our thoughts, feelings and actions can cooperate with this vitality, energy and consciousness for our development and to benefit others. We find this use of energy fields in many schools of spiritual healing such as reiki, in yoga and martial arts. (3)

William Bloom sets out a three-step process for deepening and expanding our awareness, developing our hearts, and building a just, creative and benevolent world. He sets out some core skills.

The first is centering — a calm awareness, an integration of body, mind and spirit. This is best done through silent meditation, but some find music or ritual helpful. “Whatever works for you” is basically his approach. This is an approach called “mindfulness” in some Buddhist traditions and can also be helped by breathing exercises and other techniques.

The second step is to focus the heart on compassion. Visualization is one approach, such as visualizing ever wider circles of persons or places held within the field of compassion. Focusing on the Sacred Heart of Jesus is used in certain Catholic traditions.

The third step is to direct the energy field so that it is of service to others. When we are centered and heart-focused, with an encouraging psychological attitude, we create a vibration that is supportive for those around us and can be a positive influence in the wider world.

William Bloom has written a clear and helpful presentation for personal fulfillment and service to humanity.

Notes:

1) William Bloom, Personal Identity, National Identity and International Relations (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993)
2) William Bloom, First Steps: An Introduction to Spiritual Practice (Forres, Scotland: Findhorn Press, 1993)
3) Barbara Ann Brennan, Hands of Light: Guide to Healing Through the Human Energy Field (New York: Bantam, 1990)

Prof. René Wadlow is President of the Association of World Citizens.

BOOK REVIEW: Eileen Flanagan, “Common Ground”

In Being a World Citizen, Book Review, Conflict Resolution, Environmental protection, Human Development, Nonviolence, Peacebuilding, Solidarity, The Search for Peace on December 7, 2025 at 6:50 PM

By René Wadlow

Eileen Flanagan, Common Ground.

New York: Seven Stories Press, 2025, 326pp.

Common Ground tackles the consequences of climate change and the need for cooperative action by looking at issues of power, particularly the way power holders maintain control by deliberately and effectively dividing people. The events featured illustrate how the fossil fuel industry benefits from racial and class divisions. However, the emphasis is on examples of people joining forces across differences to protect water, air, and the environment.

Eileen Flanagan has been the Campaign Director of the Philadelphia-based Quaker Earth Action Team. She stresses that, today, we need to draw upon the wisdom of those who have navigated the “divide and conquer” tactics of those opposed to ecologically-sound policies. The Quaker Earth Action Team was founded in 2010 in part by George Lakey, the non-violent activist who gave examples of Quakers throughout history who put their bodies in the way of injustice, such as those who sailed across the Pacific in the 1950s to interrupt nuclear testing.

Today, we need to bring more people into action coalitions in order to make truly transformative change. This requires developing a sense of common purpose and overcoming a sentiment of separation. There is a need to stress a life-sustaining civilization based on an understanding of the interconnection of all life. As Eileen Flanagan writes, “Just as the crisis of the Earth has the potential to help us overcome our illusion of the separation from other species and other communities, it also has the potential to help us transcend the boundaries of nation-states. No one country can solve the climate crisis on its own.”

She shares her personal journey and her relations with community activists to form coalitions that make a difference – a useful book!

Prof. René Wadlow is President of the Association of World Citizens.

BOOK REVIEW: Thomas Nordström, “A World Government in Action”

In Being a World Citizen, Book Review, Conflict Resolution, Cultural Bridges, Democracy, Human Development, Human Rights, International Justice, NGOs, Nonviolence, Peacebuilding, Solidarity, The Search for Peace, Track II, United Nations, Women's Rights, World Law on September 8, 2025 at 7:00 PM

By René Wadlow

Thomas Nordström, A World Government in Action.

Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2020, 147pp.

Thomas Nordström has written a useful book which more accurately should have been called “The Need for a World Government in Action”. He outlines many of the challenges facing the world society and stresses that the United Nations (UN) does not have the authority or the power to deal with these challenges adequately. The challenges are interrelated and thus must be faced in an interrelated way. Thus, climate change has an impact on land use which has an impact on food production. To improve food production, there must be better education on food issues as well as greater equality among women and men, as, in many countries, women play a major role in food production, food preparation, and food conservation.

As governments and UN Secretariat members become aware of an issue, the issue is taken up in one or another of the UN Specialized Agencies – FAO, WHO, ILO, UNESCO, or a new program is created: the Environment Program, or different programs on the issue of women. Today, within the halls of the UN there are negotiations for a Global Pact on the Environment and for the creation of a World Environment Organization which would be stronger than the existing UN Environment Program. Such a Global Pact for the Environment would clarify important environmental principles and relations between the existing treaties on the environment which have been negotiated separately.

In the UN, the international agenda reflects the growing influence of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the scientific community in shaping policy. We see this vividly in the discussions on the impact of climate change. The distinction that used to be made between national and international questions has almost entirely vanished. NGOs must be able to provide possible avenues of action based on an effective theoretical analysis that acknowledges the complexity of the international environment.

Governments cannot at the same time boost expenditure on armaments and deal effectively with ecological deterioration and the consequences of climate change. Militarization has contributed to the neglect of other pressing issues, such as shrinking forests, erosion of soils and falling water tables. Militarization draws energy and efforts away from constructive action to deal with common problems. Militarization creates rigidity at the center of world politics as well as brittleness which leads to regional conflicts and civil wars. This political paralysis is both a cause and a result of the rigidity and the brittleness of current international politics. Opportunities are missed for building upon the more positive elements of a particular situation.

What is often called “complex emergencies” – a combination of political and social disintegration that includes armed conflicts, ethnic violence, state collapse, warlordism, refugee flows and famine – have become one of the most pressing humanitarian issues of our time. Today’s violent conflicts are often rooted in a mix of exclusion, inequality, mismanagement of natural resources, corruption, and the frustrations that accompany a lack of jobs and opportunities. Lack of opportunities sows the seeds of instability and violence.

As Nordström points out, behind all the current armed conflicts, there is the presence in a small number of countries of nuclear weapons. If they were used, the level of destruction would be great. Although nuclear disarmament was on the agenda of the UN General Assembly from its start, there has been little progress on nuclear disarmament issues.

As World Citizen and former President of India S. Radhakrishnan has written, “To survive we need a revolution in our thoughts and outlook. From the alter of the past we should take the living fire and not the dead ashes. Let us remember the past, be alive to the present and create the future with courage in our hearts and faith in ourselves.” The great challenge which humanity faces today is to leave behind the culture of violence in which we find ourselves and move rapidly to a culture of peace and solidarity. We can achieve this historic task by casting aside our ancient nationalistic and social prejudices and begin to think and act as responsible Citizens of the World. Nordström sets out some of the guideposts.

Prof. René Wadlow is President of the Association of World Citizens.

NGOs in an Evolving World Society

In Africa, Being a World Citizen, Cultural Bridges, Human Development, Human Rights, NGOs, Social Rights, Solidarity, Sustainable Development, The Search for Peace, Track II, United Nations, World Law on March 25, 2025 at 8:00 AM

By René Wadlow

The United Nations (UN) Charter begins with the promising words “We the Peoples…”. However, thereafter the peoples’ voice fades and that of governments takes over. Yet today, Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) with consultative status with the UN play an effective role in shaping global policy. Many NGOs are transnational with members in different countries and cultures. This is one of their strengths and helps the UN to serve better all peoples.

For NGOs, there is a need to look outside the framework of the existing UN system to grasp the importance of new issues. This was the case in the late 1960s when some NGOs began to raise the issue of the environment and ecological protection before these issues were on the governmental agenda for action. Today, such an issue is the increasing amount of rural productive land that is falling under the control of urban elites, sometimes urban elites in other countries. Landownership inevitably deals with the distribution of power within a society. No development project, no matter how small or how technical, is without an impact on the distribution of power. A new well dug in a village is not simply an added social service. The new well calls into question the power of those who controlled access to water prior to digging the new well.

Although in many countries there are unions of agricultural workers, peasant leagues, agricultural cooperatives, and rural credit unions, it is nevertheless generally true that rural organizations have rarely achieved the degree of national power that has been reached by industrial workers’ unions.

A Sudanese farmer harvesting sorghum plants from seeds donated by the Food and Agriculture Organization. (C) Fred Noy/UN Photo

One answer to why the rural poor stay poor is that they are rarely well organized. Especially the least powerful among the rural poor – the tenant farmers, the landless laborers, the untouchables, the members of tribal societies – are the least well organized, the most easily divided and blocked. The economic and political power structure in many countries does not encourage the active participation of small, marginal farmers and rural workers. If measures are not taken to facilitate the peaceful participation of the rural poor, it is likely that the rural poor will turn to armed violence.

It is true that nonviolent techniques have been used to organize the powerless in rural areas. One of the first actions of Mahatma Gandhi on his return to India from South Africa was to investigate and then mediate the struggle of the rural indigo pickers. Cesar Chavez was a leading advocate of nonviolence in his efforts to organize agricultural workers in the western United States. In Sri Lanka, the Sarvodaya movement has applied Buddhist values of compassion to construct a social and economic infrastructure based on a strong community spirit.

The role of the marginalized in rural areas is not a new problem but it is one that has not received the attention it deserves. NGOs can help to focus on the issue within the UN system and so advance reform measures.

Prof. René Wadlow is President of the Association of World Citizens.

President Trump: Act Two

In Being a World Citizen, Conflict Resolution, Current Events, Democracy, Human Development, Human Rights, Humanitarian Law, International Justice, Middle East & North Africa, Migration, NGOs, Nonviolence, Peacebuilding, Social Rights, Solidarity, Sustainable Development, The Search for Peace, Track II, UKRAINE, United Nations, Women's Rights, World Law on January 21, 2025 at 7:30 PM

By René Wadlow

The January 20, 2025 inauguration of President Donald Trump has brought into sharp focus the turbulent and complex world society in which we live. As peacebuilders and citizens of the world, we face the same challenges as President Trump but with a different style and with far fewer resources at our command. We make plans but then are called to work for conflict resolution in unanticipated ways.

There are four policy challenges which face both President Trump and World Citizens: armed conflicts, currently ongoing and potential, persistent poverty in many areas, the erosion of international law and faith in multinational institutions, particularly the United Nations (UN), and the consequences of climate change.

The ongoing and potential armed conflicts are neither new nor unexpected. The Israeli-Palestinian tensions exist at least since 1936 and increased after the creation of the State of Israel. There may be some possibilities for negotiations in good faith. We must keep an eye open for possible actions.

Tensions with Iran are not new. The Soviet forces in part of Iran was the first conflict with which the UN had to deal in its early days. However, the rule by the Ayatollahs has made matters more complex.

The Russian-Ukrainian war grinds on with a large number of persons killed, wounded, and uprooted. Again, we must look to see if a ceasefire and negotiations are possible.

In Asia, the armed conflict in Myanmar between the military in power and the ethnic militias dates from the creation of the Burmese State at the end of the Second World War. A potential armed conflict between Mainland China and Taiwan dates from 1949 and the Nationalist government’s retreat to Taiwan. The potential armed conflict between the two Korean States dates from 1950 and the start of the Korean War.

The armed conflicts in Africa are no longer in the headlines, but they date from the early 1960s and the breakup of the European Empires: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, the States of the Sahel.

Thus, we all have a poor record of armed conflict prevention and mediation. Armed conflicts should remain at the top of both the governmental and nongovernmental agenda for action.

(C) U.S. Embassy France on Instagram

Persistent Poverty: Despite the UN Decades for Development, the Sustainable Development Goals, and Article 22 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that everyone is entitled to the economic, social, and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and free development of his personality, persistent poverty exists in many parts of the world. One consequence of persistent poverty is migration from poorer to richer areas, both within countries and from poorer to richer States. Migration is a hotly debated issue in many countries, as right-wing nationalist groups make anti-migration their battle cry. Migration is likely to become an even more heated topic of debate as President Trump tries to carry out his proposal for a mass deportation of immigrants from the USA.

Linked to persistent poverty are trade issues and the protectionist trends in many countries. President Trump has proposed higher tariffs for good coming into the USA. This policy may set off tariff wars. Obviously to counter persistent poverty, world development policies must be improved – easier said than done!

The Erosion of International Law and Faith in Multinational Institutions: Armed conflicts and persistent poverty are closely related to the third issue: the receding United States (U.S.) involvement with the UN, the World Bank, the IMF, the World Court and other multinational organizations. Some of the foreign policy authorities appointed by President Trump are overtly critical of the UN and the International Criminal Court. There has already been an Executive Order to halt U.S. funding of the World Health Organization. However, there is no unifying vision of what a new world society would involve. The battle cry of “Make America Great Again”, if repeated by each State for itself, “Make Panama Great Again”, could be a loud concert but not conducive to positive decision making.

The Consequences of Climate Change: The fourth major group of issues concerns the consequences of climate change and the ways to lessen its impact. During the campaign for the presidency, Trump threatened to pull the USA out of the Paris Climate Agreement, and he has now signed an Executive Order doing so. The issue of climate change has been brought to the world agenda by scientists on the one hand, and by Nongovernmental Organizations and popular, often youth-led efforts, on the other hand. It is likely that these vital efforts related to climate change will continue despite climate policy resistance by some in the Trump administration.

President Trump said during his inaugural ceremony that “The Golden Age of America begins now… We stand on the verge of the four greatest years in American history.” We will have to watch closely and judge in four years. What is sure for peacebuilders and citizens of the world is that we stand on the verge of four more years of serious challenges. Thus, there is a need for cooperative and courageous action.

Prof. René Wadlow is President of the Association of World Citizens.

Pact for the Future: A Partly Open Door for NGO-UN Cooperation

In Being a World Citizen, Conflict Resolution, Cultural Bridges, Current Events, Human Development, Human Rights, NGOs, Refugees, Religious Freedom, Social Rights, Solidarity, Sustainable Development, The Search for Peace, Track II, United Nations, World Law on October 4, 2024 at 6:00 AM

By René Wadlow

The Pact for the Future was accepted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in a three-stage process. The first stage was a nearly year-long drafting of the document with many small revisions in the 56 paragraphs setting out the goal of a renewed UN better able to guarantee peace and development. The second stage was a last moment motion by the Russian Federation which asked for a vote, finding some of the wording, especially on human rights, too strong. The Russian motion was put to a vote with 143 States voting for the text of the Pact, 15 abstentions, and 7 opposed (Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Iran, Syria, Sudan, and Nicaragua.)

After this vote, the President of the General Assembly called for a vote by acclamation. Everyone applauded, some more vigorously than others. Thus, the Pact was adopted by consensus.

The Pact should be seen as a springboard for action rather than as an end point. With the 193 UN members potentially involved in drafting the document, there was a need for compromises and general ideas rather than any new specific proposals. The Pact is a reaffirmation of the goals and processes of the UN system, but it also notes the need for constant renewal. In paragraph 6, the Pact states, “We recognize that the multilateral system and its institutions, with the United Nations and its Charter at the center, must be strengthened to keep pace with a changing world. They must be fit for the present and the future – effective and capable, prepared for the future, just, democratic, equitable and representative of today’s world, inclusive, interconnected and financially stable.”

Paragraph 9 states, “We also reaffirm that the three pillars of the United Nations – sustainable development – peace and security, and human rights – are equally important, interlinked and mutually reinforcing. We cannot have one without the others.”

In practice, it was easier to stress sustainable development since the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals had already been set out, through progress is very uneven. For peace and security, there are Articles 25 and 26 stating that, “We will advance the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons. We will uphold our disarmament obligations and commitments.” A culture of peace is mentioned in a number of places, but no specific steps are set out.

For two days prior to the governments’ discussion and voting on the Pact, there was what were called “Action Days” to which were invited Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs), academics working on UN issues, and the representatives of business corporations involved in international trade. The two days were certainly a time for networking if not for “action”.

The Pact is a partially open door for UN cooperation with NGOs stating in a general way the “participation of relevant stakeholders in appropriate formats.” More specifically, the Pact calls to “Facilitate more structured, meaningful and inclusive engagement of nongovernmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council in the activities of the Council in line with ECOSOC resolution 1996/21”. The door of the Pact was most open to youth calling for an increase in the representation of youth, which can only be via NGOs. We will have to see what, as NGO representatives, we can make of the partly open door.

Prof. René Wadlow is President of the Association of World Citizens.

Politics Beyond National Frontiers

In Being a World Citizen, Conflict Resolution, Cultural Bridges, Democracy, Environmental protection, Human Development, Human Rights, Humanitarian Law, International Justice, Migration, Modern slavery, NGOs, Nonviolence, Refugees, Religious Freedom, Social Rights, Solidarity, Sustainable Development, The Search for Peace, Track II, United Nations, Women's Rights, World Law on May 24, 2023 at 6:38 AM

By René Wadlow

In our current globalized world society, there is an increased role for politics without borders. Politics no longer stops at the water’s edge but must play an active role on the world stage. However, unlike politics at the national level which usually has a parliament at which the actors can recite their lines, the world has no world parliament as such. Thus, new and inventive ways must be found so that world public opinion can be heard and acted upon.

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly is the closest thing to a world parliament that we have today. However, all the official participants are diplomats appointed by their respective States – 195 member states. UN Secretariat members, the secretariat members of UN Specialized Agencies such as UNESCO and the ILO, are in the hallways or coffee shops to give advice. Secretariat members of the financial institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF are also there to give advice on costs and the limits of available funds. The representatives of Nongovernmental Organizations (NGO) in Consultative Status with the UN who can speak at sessions of the Economic and Social Council and the Human Rights Council cannot address the General Assembly directly. However, they are also in the coffee shops and may send documents to the UN missions of national governments.

(C) Jérôme Blum

Politics without borders requires finding ways to express views for action beyond the borders of individual countries. Today, most vital issues that touch the lives of many people go beyond the individual State: the consequences of climate change, the protection of biodiversity, the resolution of armed conflicts, the violations of human rights, and a more just world trade pattern. Thus we need to find ways of looking at the world with a global mind and an open heart. This perspective is an aim of world citizenship.

However, World Citizens are not yet so organized as to be able to impact political decisions at the UN and in enough individual States so as to have real influence. The policy papers and Appeals of the Association of World Citizens (AWC) are often read with interest by the government representatives to whom they are sent. However, the AWC is an NGO among many and does not have the number of staff as such international NGOs as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Greenpeace.

The First Officer and External Relations Officer, Bernard J. Henry, and the Legal and Mediation Officer, Attorney Noura Addad, representing the AWC at an OECD roundtable in March 2019 (C) Bernard J. Henry/AWC

We still need to find effective ways so that humanity can come together to solve global problems, that is, politics without borders. Prof. René Wadlow is President of the Association of World Citizens.

Biodiversity: A Pledge, Now Action

In Current Events, Environmental protection, Human Development, NGOs, Solidarity, The Search for Peace, Track II, United Nations, World Law on December 22, 2022 at 8:22 PM

By René Wadlow

In the early hours of December 19, 2022, the delegates to the United Nations (UN) Convention on Biodiversity (COP 15) reached an agreement on a Biodiversity Framework after 12 days of intense negotiations. The theme of COP 15 was “Ecological Civilization: Building a shared future for all life on earth”. There were some 15,000 persons present during the meetings: government delegates, some 70 Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs), academic research institutes and business companies. The global biodiversity framework, to be called the “Kunming-Montreal Framework”, sets out to protect at least 30 percent of the world’s land and water by 2030. Montreal, Canada, is the headquarters of the UN Secretariat of the Convention on Biodiversity, and Kunming is the city in the People’s Republic of China where the conference was to be held but was changed because of COVID 19 restrictions.

There is general agreement among specialists that world-wide there is a loss of biodiversity due to a number of factors such as increase in mono-culture agriculture, livestock grazing, the loss of forest lands through lumbering and firewood gathering, overuse of pesticides and the growth of urbanization. Many ecosystems are under stress and facing degradation. The tree and plant cover of the world have been taking increasing losses in almost all parts of the world. There is also the impact of climate change and a lack of rainfall in some parts of the world.

As with many UN conferences, a key issue of discussion is finance. The protection of biodiversity and the restoration of degraded areas costs money without necessarily bringing in new financial wealth. There is a Global Environment Facility which is called upon to manage increase funds.

It is hoped that NGOs can play a vital role at the international level on biodiversity protection. At the national level in many countries, NGOs have played an important role in the creation of national parks and protected areas. Can they play a vital role at the international level? While there are some long-standing international ecological organizations, none yet have been able to mobilize a wide international public opinion. However, what was new at Montreal was the concerted effort of women’s organizations to have a gender focus put into the Framework for the first time. They were successful, and the Framework states that the Framework should “ensure gender equality in the implementation of the Framework through a gender-responsive approach where all women and girls have equal opportunity and capacity to contribute to the objectives of the Convention, including by recognizing their equal rights and access to land and natural resources and their full, equitable, meaningful and informed participation and leadership at all levels of action, engagement, policy, and decision-making related to biodiversity.”

There is also a growing movement among young people for the safeguard of biodiversity who may watch closely at the ways the Framework leads to action. As Marco Lambertini, Director General of World Wildlife Fund International, said, “The agreement represents a major milestone for the conservation of our natural world, and biodiversity has never been so high on the political and business agenda, but it can be undermined by slow implementation and failure to mobilize the promised resources. Governments have chosen the rights side of history in Montreal, but history will judge us all if we don’t deliver on the promise made today.”

Prof. René Wadlow is President of the Association of World Citizens.