The most notable instances of rapid global progress have sprung from the convergence of enlightened policy and empowered populations.
The Bahá’í International Community’s (BIC) Brussels Office co-hosted a dialogue meeting between Churches, faith-based organisations, policy-makers, economic actors and youth representatives on the topic “Towards a new EU-ACP partnership: Leaving no one behind through sustainable investments & decent jobs?”. The dialogue aimed to examine what it means to have fair, comprehensive and people-centred partnerships, as well as practical ways to implement them.
A statement of the Baha’i International Community to the 57th session of the Commission for Social Development
Thoughtful actors the world over are striving to construct social and economic arrangements that reflect the reality that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” In this light, the fiscal, wage, and social protection measures being considered by the Commission for Social Development can be understood as incremental means of fostering vibrant communities in which members from all backgrounds are both contributing to and benefitting from the common good. The current global order often encourages self-interest at the expense of the general welfare, venerates extreme accumulations of wealth, and pursues economic gain without regard for the natural environment. At the heart of the work of the Commission, therefore, is the search for means by which governments can bend economic forces toward the straight path of justice and opportunity, regardless of any person’s place of birth or social circumstances.
To recognize the dignity of some seven billion individuals is to acknowledge a human reality that is truly universal. At the level of principle, there is widespread agreement that humanity constitutes a single people, albeit infinitely diverse in language, history, and cultural expression. Consciousness of this oneness of humankind is, in many ways, the beating heart of the United Nations system itself. Yet social upheaval based in assumptions of difference is apparent on all sides. Arrangements that were designed to support an increasingly interdependent world are being questioned and in some cases abandoned altogether. Unforgiving conceptions of otherness are sweeping populations across the globe and fracturing societies. Social consensus around basic norms is breaking down by the day, as much between coworkers and neighbors as nations and economic blocs.
A vision of the future that unites growing numbers into common cause will be key to addressing structural challenges such as these. Equally important will be the ability to translate that vision into practical realities. Economic arrangements that reduce extremes of wealth and poverty and foster social cohesion will be critical in this regard. At one level, the economic policies under consideration at the Commission have the potential to define a minimum standard below which no individual should be allowed to fall. Such standards seek to ensure that misfortune does not translate into humiliation and setbacks do not compound into calamity. But such policies can also help establish an environment in which capacity is built, in ever-increasing numbers, to contribute to the construction of a better world.
The role of institutions of governance
How might Member States use policy tools to bring about conditions worthy of the highest aspirations of their people? In practice, measures designed to foster social development often assume elements of the donor/recipient relationship, with their attendant pitfalls of paternalism and superiority, from one perspective, and dependency and disempowerment, from another. If these are to be avoided, new patterns of relationship will be needed between local communities, individual citizens, and social institutions. Such systems of relationships would both foster and draw from the widespread involvement of a population in thoughtful consultation on their shared future and meaningful decision-making on ways that it might be brought about. In villages and cities, neighborhoods and in the home, the process thus set in motion would seek to draw on the talents and perspectives of the fullest range of the human family. The role of government would come to focus on enabling and empowering, rather than simply providing and funding. And helping to unlock the transformative power of local communities and individuals would become a defining objective for agencies at all levels.
At stake in this perspective is not just a set of policies, but rather an ongoing process concerned with expanding the bounds of agency and prosperity, both collective and individual.
The building of capacity in local communities, on the one hand, and the government’s discharge of its rightful duties, on the other, can sometimes be placed in opposition to one another. But this duality ultimately proves false, for some of the most notable instances of rapid progress have sprung from the convergence of enlightened policy and empowered populations. Communities flourish as they develop the capacities - intellectual, social, technical, and moral - to make informed decisions about how their agency will be exercised in ways that both contribute to and are enhanced by state services. For its part, the government’s objective of broad-based social advancement is best served when local populations have the capability and volition to resolve problems on their own. In this light, social and economic policies become vital means for the state to enhance the partnership between itself and the communities it supports and serves.
What this looks like in practice will vary considerably by context. But many insights will be universal, and the UN is uniquely positioned to facilitate processes of learning at the global level. Means at its disposal include convening spaces devoted to genuine exploration, aggregating experience, and identifying emerging trends and patterns - all free from self-congratulation and promotion. It is well-suited, for example, to help deepen understanding of the process of effective policy-making, rather than the mere search for existing policies to be imitated. Over time, efforts in this direction could provide invaluable insight into the means by which effective policies are generated and implemented - the types of decision-making used to build ownership and commitment, for example, or the types of interaction used to foster close collaboration between actors at different levels.
The UN also has a vital role to play in advancing key areas of learning. How, for example, can the stigma sometimes faced by individuals who rely on social protection programs be reduced? Similarly, under what conditions do various fiscal, wage, and social protection policies contribute to truly cohesive and inclusive societies, versus simply feeding into a collection of well-served but disconnected subpopulations?
Billions of protagonists
Few would disagree that the present moment is one of significant disruption. But the discerning eye can see signs of integration as well as disintegration in the changes accelerating on every side. This suggests a worldwide process of transition and transformation rather than one simply of decay. Patterns of association that have outlived their usefulness are falling away, making room for new forms of collaboration and cooperation. And the space thus created provides a valuable opportunity to explore social and economic arrangements that are suited to humanity’s aspirations for the future, and characterized only by that which is most beneficial from its past.
Global challenges will ultimately require global solutions. Addressing inequality, social fragmentation, and similar ills calls for a notable expansion of consciousness and identity. Also needed will be universal systems that cannot be undermined by picking and choosing between the current patchwork of independent national policies. In taking up this work, one area of ongoing learning must be how fiscal, wage, and social policies can be implemented in ways that recognize the capacity of all populations to contribute to the advancement of humanity. How can global actors go about their work in ways that recognize around them a world filled with billions of protagonists of constructive change? How, in practical terms, will efforts under such a paradigm differ from those undertaken when the generality of humanity was seen primarily through the lens of deprivation and need?
Experience has shown that building societies of equality and inclusion will require stubborn obstacles to be confronted head-on. Formidable indeed are challenges such as the extreme concentration of wealth in the hands of a few; the culture of corruption that often afflicts the wealthy and the powerful, but influences the daily choices of the masses as well; the long-standing forms of prejudice that are boldly reasserting themselves not only in the realm of discourse but also in the formulation of policy and law. Yet experience has also shown the ability of virtually any population to refashion society when inspired by a shared vision of the future and committed to a common course of action. These are dynamics that Member States, as well as UN agencies and civil society organizations can foster in very practical and specific ways - among them the policies being considered by the Commission this year. Let all of us, then, find our role in unlocking the vast potential of an increasingly united and purposeful humanity.
Representatives of the Baha’i International Community attended the Intergovernmental Conference on the Global Compact for Migration in Marrakech, Morocco on 10-11 December, 2018.
The high-level conference led to the adoption of a landmark declaration by 164 Member States which aims to ensure a life of safety and dignity for people on the move and to better manage migration.
There are 258 million migrants globally, representing 3.4 percent of the global population, the UN says.
Amid growing concerns in the region about serious challenges—hunger, armed conflict, environmental degradation, human rights, and more—Arab leaders gathered in Cairo, Egypt last month to advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Intergovernmental Conference on the Global Compact for Migration
The movement of populations has, over the centuries, allowed civilisations to come into contact with insights and advances made elsewhere, and enabled entire societies to emerge. Today, it is one of the means by which the bonds between peoples of diverse backgrounds are continuously strengthened and is a key catalyst in the emergence of a world community. In its current form, however, the movement of populations, often prompted solely by the desperate need of individuals to seek a viable future elsewhere, is shedding light on the urgent necessity to revisit the way in which humanity is organised.
The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration dated 11 July 2018 highlights the need to “Minimize the adverse drivers and structural factors that compel people to leave their country of origin” (Objective 2). In this light, one cannot overemphasise the importance of viewing the movement of populations in the larger context of humanity’s collective life and as yet another symptom of much deeper and far-reaching concerns.
Unprecedented numbers of people around the world have been displaced from their homes, fleeing war, violence and persecution, and a growing number of migrants see themselves with no choice but to leave fragile states, economic deprivation and environmental degradation to search for better lives elsewhere. At the receiving end, these movements have put an enormous strain on some countries who, themselves fragile, are bearing, however ill equipped, the largest share of those displaced. Other countries have also been put under social and political stress, giving way to discourses of fear and prejudice. Governments, swept up in the immediacy of the challenges, feel forced to respond by adopting restrictive policies or by showing leadership through rapid and mostly short-lived responses.
What is becoming increasingly apparent is that those forms of mobility, which are caused by despair and the need to survive, cannot merely be the object of an expedient political or humanitarian solution, nor can they fundamentally be addressed by the adoption of one or the other form of migration policy. The need for a long-term approach, which addresses the underlying causes that give rise to and perpetuate movements, has never been more keenly felt.
Such a long-term approach calls for a far-reaching, multi-dimensional, dispassionate and informed conversation around the issue of migration. That conversation cannot fall short of examining social, political and economic structures, systems and attitudes that underpin and perpetuate the current order. It needs to include a genuine reflection on how this order can be redesigned to ensure an adequate response to the needs of masses of the world’s population living in situations of war, poverty and oppression. Most importantly, it needs to be based on the understanding of the indisputable interconnectedness of our societies, and the reality that humanity’s collective life suffers when any one group thinks of its own well-being in isolation from that of its neighbours.
The implications of the above are extensive and the reasons compelling millions of people to move are manifold and complex. Take poverty for example, just to name one of the drivers of displacement. Any framework claiming to address movements caused by the lack of hope in a viable future, cannot shy away from looking at the continuously widening economic disparity existing at the global scale, the generation, distribution and utilisation of wealth, the organisation of the world’s raw materials, or the coordination of markets. After all, it would not be reasonable to expect to minimise the drivers of migration while neglecting to reconsider economic processes that leave some countries with little chance to prosper.
The state of affairs described above is not just reinforcing global inequality, but also fueling many of the contemporary conflicts that result in millions of refugees and displaced people. One can only imagine the depth and intricacy required of any conversation that would attempt to disentangle the various contributors to war, terrorism, and violence perpetrated in the name of religion. However insuperable this may seem, no serious and responsible attempt to address the situation of refugees can be dissociated from the broader question of how to stem and overcome conflict.
Although these challenges must be addressed collectively by all, the precise nature of the questions facing the different regions of the world will naturally vary. Some must reflect on the inadvertent effect of their policies, whether foreign, trade, investment or environmental, on the socio-economic conditions in the countries of origin. Others must explore how they can eradicate, within their own countries, those habits and patterns which feed conflict, deepen impoverishment, and leave their citizens deprived and prone to negative influences.
As insurmountable and unrealistic as the task of re-examining some of the foundations of our current order might appear to be, if not given due consideration, there is no reason to expect that the undesired aspects of the movement of populations will not take further impetus and become untenable for all regions in the world. The proposition that regions can in one way or another remain unaffected by the arrival of those from elsewhere is an illusion.
The global conversation to which the Global Compact has given rise, and the collective consciousness it is fostering, highlights the nascent ability of the international community to avoid succumbing to the uncritical assertion that the current order cannot be revisited. It provides a promising juncture to look at the movement of populations as intimately connected to the needs of an increasingly interwoven world, and to open the space for a broader consultation on the requirements of a humanity which is inevitably moving towards the next stage of its collective life.
The Baha'i International Community and partners are hosting a series of breakfast dialogues to discuss the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The meetings provide a neutral and open space for UN officials, Member States and civil society to discuss progress made on the Goals in the lead up to the High Level Political Forum in 2019, where they will be reviewed.
By Daniel Perell
Humans knew not to fall from high off the ground long before they knew the law of gravity. Similarly, while we may not have the language to describe our interconnectedness fully, we must respond to the reality in front of us.
The Baha’i International Community’s Brussels Office co-hosted a roundtable discussion jointly with the Conference of European Churches, the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union, and the Quaker Council for European Affairs on the theme, “EU-ACP: Implementing a Partnership Approach.” The dialogue brought together faith-based organizations with policy makers to explore what makes a partnership between the European Union (EU) and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) meaningful.
尽管通往进步与平等的道路困难重重，世界各地的农村妇女仍然热切地投身于推动社区进步的行动中。经验表明，参与的关键在于集中力量增强个体和集体的能力，而这又和人类生存的各个方面密切相关，比如社会、智识、文化、精神、道德还有经济。
巴哈伊国际社团在提交给妇女地位第62届委员会（于2018年3月12日至23日召开）上的一份声明里也做如是说。本届委员会的优先主题是，“农村女性赋能与性别平等中的机遇和挑战”。
此份声明起草时采纳了全球范围内众多农村妇女们的真知灼见，进而应对 “妇女和女童在社会中争取公正地位仍然面临重重困难”的问题。声明还提到，其中最大的障碍是“拒绝接受男女平等的事实。”
最后，声明指出，改变的发生需要男性与女性的共同积极参与：“几十年的经验已经表明，越来越多的有着各种各样经济和教育背景的男性和女性，无论年龄大小，当大家一起致力于学习反映“人类一家”之根本原则的新型社会关系模式和相应的社会结构之时，真正的变革就可能产生。”
