Final Statement from Sixth World Congress of Peace Laureates

international | anti-war / imperialism | news report Sunday December 04, 2005 12:28 by Justin Morahan - Peace People

SUMMARY: A focus on Africa, praise for individuals, condemnation of torture, Millenium Development goals not being met or properly addressed, promise to scrutinize and hold to account the full commitments of the G-8 at Gleneagles on Africa, commend Africa for being a nuclear free zone, call for channeling of money towards health and education rather than arms, call on nuclear nations to abrogate the use of nuclear weapons, call for end to anti-personnel land mines, call for full restoration of rights and freedom to Aung San Suu Kyi.

The following is the fullt text of the Final Statement of the Nobel Peace Laureates made after their Sixth World Summit at Rome, Italy November 24-26, 2005


"As Nobel Peace Laureates and Nobel Peace Laureate organizations we have gathered in Rome, Italy these past three days and deliberated on global issues with a particular concern regarding Africa.

Our rapidly changing complex and contradictory world presents several features that must be recognized if we are to build more effective governance for a better world order:
· Globalization is accelerating and despite recognized interdependencies billions of people
remain excluded from its benefits.
· New giants, such as China, India and Brazil are emerging and no solution to world challenges
can be achieved without their full participation.
· Democratic transitions in many countries have had a positive impact on social and political
processes but democracy cannot find stability without overcoming poverty and full implementation
of human rights.
· There remains a pressing need to advance a deeper and fuller appreciation for the richness
and complexity of the Islamic world. Failure to achieve this could have explosive
consequences.
· Despite growing recognition of our collective responsibility for sustainable development, the
environment, and security, governmental institutions are not responding adequately to the
voice of the people.
· Ethnic, religious and nationalistic prejudices stimulate violence, undermining our ability to live
in peace in a diversified world. We know such conflicts can be resolved through nonviolent
means.

We recognize that in an interconnected world every individual can make a difference. For that reason we have honoured Bob Geldof with the Man for Peace Award for his service to Africa and humanity in mobilizing public attention and causing the G-8 to take steps to help Africa. For that reason too we have honoured the memory of a great human being, Prof. Joseph Rotblat, and presented the Special Man for Peace Award to PeaceJam and its founders Dawn Engle and Ivan Suvanjieff for their service in finding ways to teach and inspire youth to advance peace. We welcome the launch of Children’s Peace Prize during our summit.

We condemn the use of and the rationales for torture as an instrument of policy by any group or nation. Torture cannot be justified under any circumstance. It dehumanizes both its victims and its perpetrators.

This year we focused on Africa because its extreme poverty is morally unacceptable and undermines the foundations of life and human dignity. Additionally, we know the means to reverse this situation are available.

Achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), which have the consensus of the nations of the world, is an indispensable promise to the poor of the world, especially Africa. We are deeply concerned that the MDG goals are not being sufficiently met and were inadequately addressed at the Summit of Heads of State at the United Nations in September of 2005. They provide a framework for progress and a way toward decent work, and full employment opportunity, for all of Africa – the best way out of poverty as stated by the African Heads of State at their extraordinary summit in Ouagadougou in September, 2004. Encouraging small businesses through micro-credit and stimulating investment are but two examples of what needs to be done.

Many African nations are making good faith efforts to advance democracy, improve governance, accountability and gender equity. The world now must fulfill its promises to all the people of Africa. There is an urgent need to end gross human rights violations and assure accountability for all abuses. We abhor child labour. Effective and fair justice systems are essential to ensure stability and economic development.

The G-8 commitments in Gleneagles are a first step. The upcoming WTO negotiations in Hong Kong will be a test of whether these commitments are honoured. In this regard, in addition to debt cancellation, we call for increased aid flows, and prompt reform of inequitable policies and practices, especially agricultural subsidies that damage Africa and the entire developing world. We urge the European Union immediately to break the current deadlock on agricultural trade negotiations.

We personally and through our respective institutions commit to scrutinize and hold to account the full commitments of the G-8 at Gleneagles on Africa and we shall remain fully engaged with this critical matter.

As Nobel Peace Laureates we request President Gorbachev and Mayor Veltroni of Rome to convey to President Putin, as next year’s G-8 chairman, our request to place on the agenda of the G-8 Summit in Moscow next year the creation of an accounting and monitoring system to ensure fulfillment of all Gleneagles’ commitments. At the same time we call upon Africa to continue making progress on the New Economic Partnership for African Development.

Focusing on meeting human needs and having a reverence for life are the foundation of human security. Excessive military expenditures actually breeds insecurity. Two areas where funds need to be channelled by both African nations themselves and the international community are education and health, particularly regarding the scourges of AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis through both protection and prevention.

While expressing regret that some African nations spend too much on conventional weapons, we commend the entire African continent for becoming a nuclear weapons free zone. It is absurd that the Nations with nuclear weapons refuse even to pledge not to use nuclear weapons against all nuclear weapons free nations.

As in past years, we reiterate our insistence that the existence of nuclear weapons is morally unacceptable and condemn military doctrines allowing their use. We demand progress by the nuclear weapons states in fulfilling their disarmament obligations under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. The corrosion of the non-proliferation regime is a danger to world peace.

We call for full compliance with and universal ratification of the Ottawa Convention Banning Anti-Personnel Landmines.

We salute Mohammed El Baradei and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the recipients of the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize. We emphasize that IAEA strengthened safeguards and inspections are the best solution to concerns regarding proliferation.

We reaffirm our strong belief that there is no alternative to sustainable development. Development is more than just material wealth. Development means being more, not just having more. Being more just, compassionate, and humane is to become fully human. In this regard the nations with material wealth need development as much as the poor. To improve global governance and to engage civil society in developing its full capacities, we propose to start work on drafting a new global social contract and will be inviting wide participation in this process.

We commit to creating a Permanent Secretariat in Italy to amplify our efforts to advance world peace.

A CALL FOR FREEDOM

We note with deep concern that we have once more been deprived of the presence and wisdom of our colleague Aung San Suu Kyi. A witness for non-violence and democracy should not be silenced. This is a loss for the whole world.

We call upon the government of Myanmar to restore the civil, human and political rights, of Aung San Suu Kyi and her followers, fully, immediately and without reservation. Justice demands this.

We support the International Labour Organization’s call for full recognition of trade union rights in Myanmar. We call upon the ASEAN governments and businesses to intensify efforts to obtain full human rights for the people of Myanmar.

We ask all persons of good will to work with us in all these endeavours.

Rome. November 26th 2005

Summit Participants Included:

Mikhael Gorbachev, Lech Walesa, Frederik Willem De Klerk, Betty Williams, Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, American Friends Service Committee, Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders, International Campaign to Ban Landmines, International Labour Organization, International Peace Bureau, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, United Nations, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNICEF