|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Thursday, 21 October 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Features | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
|
Fifth Neelan Tiruchelvam Memorial Lecture : Justice and human rights for all - the key to peace and a sustainable world - part 3 by Clare Short, MP (British Labour Party politician) - BMICH, October 9, 2004 Those of use who reject the current approach to the 'war on terror' and the immorality of targeting innocent civilians as a way of protesting at injustice must demonstrate that there is a realistic and better way of resolving the problems that underlie the current conflicts. I believe that it is quite easy to see the way forward in the Middle East. Delivering the policy would take time and face difficulties, but the principles on which it should be based are very clear. As I say to my Muslim constituents when we discuss these matters, the Muslims of the world do not have a different view from the rest of the world. The people of the UK, of Europe and most of the world agree that the suffering of the Palestinian people is unbearable and strongly support a settlement based on a two-state solution. The Palestinian and Israeli people also support such a solution. The problem we have is an inadequacy of Israeli and US political leadership. The present difficulties that the US faces in Iraq and their growing need for international support creates the possibility of the world uniting to demand progress in establishing a Palestinian State and a genuine commitment to hand Iraq over to the Iraqis as a condition of international help. This should be accompanied by an agreement that all WMD, including Israel's nuclear weapons, should be removed from the Middle East. Such progress would lance the boil at the centre of the Middle East conflict and open up the prospect of an era of progress and development in the region. Beyond the Middle East, the world must seek to resolve the conflicts in other places like Kashmir, Chechnya, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the great Lakes region Africa. And then we must urgently get back to focus on reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development, preventing conflict, rebuilding weak states and overcoming the catastrophes that global warming and all of its consequences are likely to bring to the world. All of this is very daunting and depressing, but the picture is not all negative. In the last 50 years more people have lifted themselves out of poverty than in the previous 500 years - more children survive, fewer women die in child birth, more are literate, more have clean water. And more people live under democratic systems than ever before. There has been great progress, but there are more people than ever before and therefore more poor people. We know what needs to be done, we know how to make progress, but we need to scale up our efforts to prevent a massive growth of the numbers living in poverty. 90% of the 3 billion new people who will be added to be human family over the next 30-50 years will live in developing countries. If we do not make better progress, they will be born into a growing sea of terrible poverty in a globalising world where they see the material wealth that 20% of us enjoy. It is hard to believe that such a world is politically, let alone morally, sustainable. My conclusion is that there is no way forward for the world other than a stronger, universal commitment to justice, the rule of law and respect for the human rights of all people. and respect for human rights requires a commitment to development. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights imposes on all of us a duty to do all in our power to secure all rights - including social and economic rights - for all people. We could do so much more. Abject poverty could be removed from the human condition over the next 20-30 years. There are two futures ahead of us; one is to continue on the path we are on now with every growing turmoil, conflict, bloodshed and environmental catastrophe; the other is a genuine commitment to global justice. The world's only superpower is currently demonstrating that the use of force cannot make the world safe and stable. My argument is that justice can. But there are rocky times ahead. We must work hard to create a determination amongst the people of the world that will force our governments to commit to the better path. It is the only way in which we can hand on safe and sustainable world to the next generation. (Concluded) |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
