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06newsletterAdvancing human rights in an era of globalization
SHSSocial and Human Sciencesunesco
p. 3 Ethics / p. 5 Interview Joan Clos / p. 8 Human Rights Chidren in distress • Weekends for Brazilian youth • shs Human Rights
Programme in Brazil • Contribution to the eradication of poverty and to strengthening human security / p. 12 Dossier World Forum •
Globalization and the struggle against all forms of discrimination and exclusion • Poverty as a violation of human rights • Human rights and
terrorism / p. 18 Social Sciences Social dimension of globalization / p. 19 Democracy / p. 20 Social Transformations Studying
social transformations • Academics and film-makers “Together with Migrants” / p. 23 Just published / p. 24 Calendar • News“Pathways of thought”: a symposium in Mexico • Philosophy in the park
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Over the past few months, the Social and Human Sciences Sector has heldmeetings with representatives of 102 unesco Member States, exploringpossible partnerships with those countries’ institutions.
Partnerships mean speaking out – advocating a point of view – together.They also mean practical cooperation, using each partner’s comparativeadvantages to meet a common goal. Many institutions share the ideals ofinternational peace through justice, the rule of law, human rights andfundamental freedoms for all. Many institutions – and individuals – couldbecome partners to promote these goals.
The Social and Human Sciences Sector has unique strengths as aninternational centre for ethics, social sciences and humanities. As such, we focus onbringing together experts from different countries – balancing each other’scomparative advantages.
As an international centre in an intergovernmental organization, we havecertain strengths to offer our partners. Much of our work is to foster researchin a number of disciplines. And, in service of the ideals set out in unesco’sConstitution, we promote public policy decision-making based on the best ofthis research, including comparative research.
www.unesco.org/shs July – September 2004
06We tend to concentrate on regional work, by developing or reinvigorating
regional networks, bringing together national partners across regions andcooperating with regional institutions. In complex issues of social change, weuse comparative approaches and transnational outlooks, and therefore cantouch upon some of the most pressing issues of our times – the risks andpromises of societies in transformation.
Partnership has always been and still is how we meet our goals. unesco isits Member States, so it is normal to expect that there are many partners whoshare our aims: governmental and non-governmental actors, universities,associations, scientific and intellectual communities, individual experts andopinion leaders.
Partners on both sides gain from cooperation. For example, Argentina, shsand others are now preparing a major social science conference in BuenosAires in 2005 (see page 21). Argentina’s leading role is a sign of faith that theconference will benefit Argentine institutions and individuals in the form ofinternational contacts and new learning.
Partners advise us, plan events with us, share personnel, translate from andinto local languages, help our publications and our research. While shsabsorbs very little funding from outside partners compared to other high-profile unesco work, we have some projects that are ready to expand, andcould well interest outside funders. (We will soon be releasing a detailedbriefing on the partnerships being sought to help deliver the prioritiesidentified by unesco’s governing bodies.)
I hope partners will propose other, unforeseen ways to expand, as one of themost exciting aspects of partnership is innovation leading us more surely towardsour shared goals. Perhaps an article in this Newsletter will inspire you to proposesome form of collaboration. I invite you to explore partnership possibilitieswith unesco shs – to seek a better world, working together.
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Pierre SanéAssistant Director-Generalfor Social and Human Sciences
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The quarterly shs Newsletter
provides information on the
work of the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (unesco)
in the field of social and human
sciences. It is available both
in printed and electronic form
(www.unesco.org/shs).
Articles may be reproduced
providing the credit line reads
“Reprinted from the shs
Newsletter”, along with the date
and number of the issue and,
when appropriate, the name
of the author of the article.
© unesco, 2004
Director of publication:
Pierre Sané
Editor: Gillian Whitcomb
Editorial assistant:
Rosemary Wiltshire-Romero
Design: Atelier Takavoir – Paris
Layout: Anne Drezner
Printing: unesco
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CONFERENCE ON ASTRONAUTS, 29 OCTOBER 2004
A one-day conference on “The Legal and EthicalFramework for Astronauts in Space Sojourns”, will beheld at unesco in Paris on 29 October 2004. It will bringtogether lawyers, ethicists,other scholars and astronautsto discuss space issues raisedby the current geopoliticalsituation and the new spaceexploration programmes. It is being organized byunesco’s Division of Ethics of Science and Technologytogether with the EuropeanSpace Agency (esa), theEuropean Centre for SpaceLaw (ecsl) and the Universityof Paris xi - Sceaux (Institutdu Droit de l'Espace et desTélécommunications - idest).The conference will be openedby the Director-General of esa, Jean-Jacques Dordainand the Deputy Director-General of unesco, MarcioBarbosa, with closing remarksby Adigun Ade Abiodun, Chair of the United NationsCommittee on the PeacefulUses of Outer Space(uncopuos). ¶Julien Tort, [email protected]/shs/comest
ETHICS OF THEENVIRONMENT
The Division of Ethics ofScience and Technology is exploring the possibilitiesof international action inthe field of ethics of theenvironment and has createda Working Group on thissubject. The Group of 11leading experts will meetperiodically from September2004 to January 2005. Theyare being asked to establishthe state-of-the-art in environ-mental ethics and to advisethe Division in the preparationof international actionproposals. These will subse-quently be presented to the scientific and politicalcommunities prior to beingsubmitted as draft resolutionsto the unesco GeneralConference. ¶Julien Tort, [email protected]
PRECAUTIONARYPRINCIPLE
unesco has convened a group of experts on thePrecautionary Principle tostudy and define the conceptand to advise as to itspotential applications. Theexpert group held its firstmeeting on 12 and 13 May2004. The results of theirstudy will be presented in a report to the WorldCommission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (comest) in March 2005. ¶Simone Scholze,
From July to November 2004,the Division of Ethics ofScience and Technology is exploring the possibility of international action in thefield of the ethics of outerspace and in particular theadvisability and feasibility ofan international instrument onthe subject. It has prepared a policy document using foursources: the recommendationsof comest on the ethics ofouter space; the report on these recommendations by the un Committee on thePeaceful Uses of Outer Space(copuos); international spacelaw; and the activities ofspace agencies andinternational organizations.This document will serve as the basis for a series ofbilateral consultations withinthe space community.
The result of these consulta-tions will be a major input forthe preparation of a feasibilitystudy on an internationaldeclaration on the ethics ofouter space, as well as for the drafting of possibleresolutions for the nextunesco General Conference. ¶Julien Tort, [email protected]
BILATERAL CONSULTATION ON THE ETHICS OF OUTER SPACE
ETHICS 3
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ETHICS4
DEADLINE –NOMINATIONS FOR THE AVICENNA PRIZE FOR ETHICS IN SCIENCE
Nominations for the 2005Avicenna Prize for Ethics inScience must be submittedbefore 1 November 2004.Established on the initiative of the Islamic Republic of Iran,unesco’s Avicenna Prizehighlights the importance ofethics in science by rewardingindividuals and groups foroutstanding contributions in this field. More informationand nomination forms can befound on the shs website. ¶Elaine Kuok, [email protected]/shs/comest
A BUSY FOUR MONTHSFOR THE DIVISION
15 SeptemberRotating conference “Ethicsaround the world” in Turkey. 17-18 SeptemberSecond meeting of thePrecautionary Principle ExpertGroup. unesco Headquarters, Paris, France.23-24 SeptemberFirst meeting of the Group of Experts on environmentalethics, unesco hq, Paris.28 SeptemberSecond Meeting of esa'sEthical Working Group onPlanetary protection andastrobiology (ewg), ECPresidency, Brussels.21-22 OctoberRegional Meeting of Expertsin Ethics Teaching, Budapest,Hungary.29 Octoberesa/ecsl/idest/ unescoWorkshop: “Legal and ethicalframework for astronauts”,unesco hq, Paris.2 NovemberRotating conference “Ethicsaround the world” in Argentina.2-3 NovemberRegional Meeting of Expertsin Ethics Teaching,Montevideo, Uruguay.10 NovemberRotating conference “Ethicsaround the world” in Seoul,Republic of Korea. 18-19 NovemberSecond and final meeting of the group of experts on environmental ethics, New Orleans, usa.
26-27 NovemberThird and final meeting of thePrecautionary Principle ExpertGroup. Institute for AdvancedStudy, Princeton, usa.24 NovemberRotating conference “Ethicsaround the world” in Mexico. 2 DecemberRotating conference “Ethics around the world” in Indonesia.
TEACHING ETHICS
An Ethics EducationProgramme is beingdeveloped to strengthen andincrease the capacities ofunesco Member States in thefield of ethics. Among the plannedactivities are the creation of networks of professionalethics teachers, thedevelopment and subsequentimplementation of teachingprogrammes and the settingup of “Schools of Ethics”. Regional meetings will be heldduring which experts in theteaching of ethics will definepossible internationalcooperation and teachingmodalities. The first meeting,with experts from CentralEurope, will be held inBudapest on 21 and 22October 2004, and the secondone, with experts from LatinAmerica and the Caribbean,will take place in Montevideoon 2 and 3 November 2004. ¶Simone Scholze,
PLANETARY PROTECTIONAND ASTROBIOLOGY
The Division of Ethics ofScience and Technology isrepresented in the EthicalWorking Group that theEuropean Space Agency (esa) has set up to prepareguidelines in view of its Marsexploration programme. The Group will preparerecommendations to esaDirector-General on issuessuch as: what would we do if we detected extraterrestriallife? How would we treat theissue? How would we addressthe potential risk it mightrepresent? Are there anyintellectual property rightsapplicable? Could geneticengineering be used on it? The Group held its first meetingin Paris, at esa Headquarterson 14 and 15 June 2004, andwill hold its second meetingon 28 September in Brussels.Their first set of recommen-dations will be submitted to the esa Director-General by December 2004. ¶Julien Tort, [email protected]
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This year, Barcelona is the capital of cultures. From 9 May to 26September 2004, the city is organizing the International Forum ofCultures, in which unesco is one of the main partners. Joan Clos,Mayor of Barcelona, here tells us more about the Forum, andabout the increasing role of cities in the promotion of democracyand human rights.
What was the origin of the “Universal Forum of Cultures” and how did it come about?We decided to organize the Forum in the mid-nineties, afterthe Olympic Games of 1992 in Barcelona. A lot of Barcelo-nans had expressed the wish that the city should have anew international event that could unite it behind a bigproject. That is why we decided to call in the Forum. Butinstead of choosing one of the existing events on theinternational agenda, we decided to create a new one inorder to innovate and to open more space for public debateand public gathering.
What is the purpose of the Forum? It is to gather different cultures of the world for a discus-sion of three main topics: cultural diversity, sustainabilityand generation of conditions for peace. These three topicsare very relevant to us here in Barcelona because in termsof cultural diversity we are a bicultural and bilingualsociety, and in addition to this we are receiving a huge waveof new immigration from different parts of the world. Thetopic of how to create better conditions for peace was amust, because we are living in a world which is challengedquite frequently by the new dangers of conflict andterrorism. Cities themselves are exposed to social unrestand uprising. This is why we decided that peace – not justpeace in itself, but the question of how to generate andcreate conditions for peace – should be one of the topics ofthe Forum. And the third topic of sustainability was
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DEMOCRACY
Joan Clos
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wrelevant too, because we wanted to include infrastructuressuch as a sewage treatment plan and a factory thatproduces energy within the fabric of the city in a sustain-able manner.
But is there a link between the three themes? Yes, of course. If we don’t accept cultural diversity and ifwe don’t accept that we need to sustain our environment,the conditions for peace cannot be fulfilled. So the first twotopics set the conditions for the third one.
You mentioned some of the social conflicts that humanity is faced with today. Could you give some concrete examplesand tell us how they relate to the problems you encounter in your work as Mayor? Recently, we have had to face the challenge of terrorism notjust at the level of the State, but also within cities such asMadrid, where we have witnessed a devastating terrorattack. Besides that, we have had to deal with the Iraqconflict, and the same social problems related to immi-gration from which many European countries aresuffering. Those are three clear examples of how oursocieties are reaching their limits in terms of sustainingpeace. This is why we wanted to propose a dialogue on suchsubjects, in order to go deeper into these questions and seehow we can adapt our urban cultures to these newchallenges of cultural diversity.
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➥ The United Cities and Local Governments Organization
The United Cities and Local Governments, the largest localgovernment organization in the world, was launched in May 2004.It is the result of the unification of three organizations: the WorldFederation of United Cities (fmcu), the International Union ofLocal Authorities (iula) and Metropolis, the internationalassociation of major metropolises. This new organization isdedicated to promoting the values, objectives and interests ofcities and local governments across the globe. It promotes thepolicies and experiences of local governments in key areas suchas poverty, sustainable development and social inclusion. ¶www.cities-localgovernments.org
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DEMOCRACY6
Are these issues related to globalization?The question of globalization is wider. It is the whole worldsociety which is changing. In Europe, the old model of thewelfare state is being challenged; its role and economicmeans have diminished, which of course also affect cities.In many spheres of society, new challenges are emergingthat we even didn’t know of in the more comfortablesociety of the sixties or even the seventies. In the seventies,the oil crisis and, later, the liberalization of society kickedoff a process of change, which moved our societies from the20th to the 21st century. The word “globalization” covers partof this development, but it has become charged withconnotations, and this is why we didn’t want to focus onlyon globalization. Different parts of the world are in factimproving their economy and millions of people areimproving their living conditions. On the other side, a largepart of the world has become worse off. That is the realitynowadays, and it is in this reality that we can find the seedof more conflicts or the seed of a solution for the future.
But do you think that some of these emerging trends you have just described are particularly affecting the social fabric of cities?Yes, of course. The evolution of cities is becoming day by daymore indicative of what is happening in the generalpopulation, because most of the world’s population is nowliving in cities. The move from rural areas to city life isprobably one of the most impressive trends in modernhuman history. In different parts of the world, notably inthe poor countries, this move is taking place under very badconditions. It is creating a new form of urban poverty,which also entails a great deal of new conflicts in cities,especially in the mega cities of the Third World. Thisquestion of new urbanization in the 21st century is thereforevery relevant for the issues of development and peace.
When you say new urbanization, could you be more specific?For most of the 20th century, migration was mainly relatedto industrialization and, in particular, to one aspect ofindustrialization, namely manufacturing. Today, thisinflux of people from rural to urban areas is taking placewithout an increase in the creation of workplaces. Peoplecome to the city expecting that they will find a betterfuture there, but without the city necessarily having themeans to develop that. You see that in the favelas or in theslums of most of the big cities of the world.
Barcelona has been chosen as the Headquarters of a neworganization, the United Cities and Local Governments... [see box page 5] This is an initiative of the main associations of cities whichdecided to merge and to create a united association of cities
around the world, in order to have a stronger position toengage in the dialogue with international institutions,such as the United Nations system and the World Bank. Weare very pleased they have chosen Barcelona for theirHeadquarters and we support this organization because inBarcelona we feel that the future of the world is veryrelated to cities and that cities should play a new role inworld politics. Everything that can help cities expressthemselves and say what they want is good news, and thisis why we are so pleased with this decision.
This new organization has also been called “the un of Cities”.What can cities do, that governments can’t do? City governments, or local governments, are very close tothe citizens and deal with everyday problems that affectour citizens. They have the power to introduce a new kindof politics, in the sense that in order to improve democracy– apart from big issues that only the State can deal withsuch as defending the frontiers and the independence ofthe nation – there is a demand on the political system bythe citizens to provide services and to perform better.Today, people around the world are not just asking those ingovernment to give direction and a feeling of meaning andidentity, they are demanding them to perform. Therefore,local government is a very interesting level of governmentbecause it is close to the citizens. The citizens know verywell who the Mayor is as well as those they have elected tolocal government. They can meet for discussions on thestreets every day. It creates the possibility of rehabilitatingpolitics in the best way, because it combines a sense ofcommunity with the need to provide services and goodperformance. I think that this mixture is very authentic intoday’s politics, and it is becoming even more relevantevery day. In that sense, politicians become public servantsbecause they have to serve the community, not just throughrhetoric but also on a very practical level. So I think localgovernments are very well suited to fulfil an important rolein the political scenario. Strengthening the cooperationbetween local authorities is a way to strengthen democracy.
Your city seems to concentrate a great deal on human rightsissues. What in your opinion is the role of cities with regard to the promotion of human rights? Together with a number of cities in Europe and around the world, we have developed a Charter of Urban Rights,
There is a need to strengthen
local democracy, and, to that end,
I think that a new set of rights
and duties is required – the right
to the city.
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because – in addition to the existing Human Rights instru-ments – we need to begin thinking about a new set of rightsand duties, in order to meet the expectations of a modernand democratic society. Citizens have the right to expectthat public servants provide certain services and that thesecorrespond to the ones that are being promised duringpolitical campaigns and not changed later on. In that sense,there is a need to strengthen local democracy, and, to thatend, I think that a new set of rights and duties is required.
Are you referring to the concept of the “right to the city”? Yes, the right to the city, which means the right to a peacefulcity, an educational city, a healthy city, etc.
Could you give some more concrete examples of how to implement this concept?For example, we are now trying to improve citizens’ rightsby placing in our city an ombudsman to the local author-ities; and we are creating a new local justice system inorder to install a platform for dealing with conflicts withinneighbourhoods, that allows us to resolve the problemswithout going to the traditional judicial system.
unesco has launched the idea of creating an InternationalCoalition of Cities against Racism and Barcelona is involved in the drafting of its charter. What do you think about thisinitiative?I totally agree with that kind of initiative. The cosmopoli-tan city today has a new face and a new structure, in thesense that, in the past, a city used to be a place of nationalaffirmation, but now they are becoming places of interna-tional and cosmopolitan affirmation. In our part of theworld, we are receiving many people who come from allparts of the world looking for a better life. Racism waseating our souls and consciences during the 20th centuryand is something that we always need to “revaccinate”against periodically, in order to protect ourselves from thisill. Strengthening the international cooperation in thisfield is one way to do that.
You have been the Mayor of Barcelona since 1997. What do you consider your most important accomplishments? I am quite pleased with the fact that Barcelona isincreasingly affirming its role as a city. We are not thecapital of the State, but we grow, we dream, we change and
we transmute with the strength of our own dynamics. In asense, Barcelona is a city in a pure state. That creates thespecial “Barcelona feeling”, which I think is the mostinteresting aspect and very particular to the city. A mixtureof pride and existencia, criticism and demand. This is, to mysense, what makes Barcelona different. Concretely, mypriorities have been, and still are, the promotion of lowincome housing, the improvement of the quality of servicesthat the city offers to its citizens, and the investment inthe creation and maintenance of a public space. It isequally important for Barcelona to have projects that canhelp make new strides in the transformation of the city,such as the renewal of the seaside in the Besòs zone withthe creation of new public spaces, renewed economicactivity, new districts and new infrastructures, hospitalsand schools, etc. The Barcelona Forum 2004 has also been adriving force behind this sustainable transformation of theBesòs zone and of the city as a whole. Another importantproject is the enlargement of the public transport systemsand its metropolitan area, such as the new High VelocityTrain (tgv) station in La Sagrera. Finally, efforts are being made to improve employment policies and createknowledge-based industries. Barcelona is a city which livesand transform constantly thanks to new ideas; it is a proudand demanding city which fights to achieve and maintain ahigh quality of life. ¶
➥ The International Coalition of Cities against Racism
The International Coalition of Cities against Racism is an initiativelaunched by unesco to establish a network of cities interested insharing experiences in order to improve their policies to fightracism, discrimination, exclusion and intolerance. The cities parti-cipating in the coalition will commit themselves to two principles:adherence to an ethical and political Charter; and adoption andimplementation of a Ten-Point Plan of Action. In order to respect the specificities of the different areas of theworld, a regional approach has been adopted. The first region,under the guidance of unesco and Nuremberg, designated asLead City, has just finalized a draft Plan of Action which will bediscussed and approved in December 2004 (see page 9). ¶www.unesco.org/shs/citiesagainstracism
HUMAN RIGHTS8
In 1992, unesco established a specific,entirely extrabudgetary programme forthe education of children in distress.Hundreds of projects aimed at relievingthe suffering of disadvantaged childrenhave been created the world over.
The objective is to restore dignity to adamaged childhood and to give childrenrenewed faith in the future througheducation – the key to development andsuccess, for without it a child has nohope, no dignity and no rights.
For 12 years now, more than us $26million have been collected throughcharity galas, media campaigns andevents organized to raise broad publicawareness of the plight of these excludedchildren.
Over 225 direct, tangible, practical aidprojects have now been carried out in 80countries in Asia, Africa, the Arab States,Europe and Latin America.
Cyrano de Bergerac eveningOn behalf of the world’s disadvantaged
children suffering from a heart condition,unesco’s programme for the education ofchildren in distress organized inpartnership with the Association MécénatChirurgie Cardiaque – Enfants du Mondea fund-raising theatre performance, on 21June 2004. More than 1100 peoplewishing to be part of this tremendouschain of solidarity came to unescoHeadquarters to see the play “Cyrano deBergerac” by Les Parcœurs, a troupe ofamateur actors who gave a voluntaryperformance.
The Mécénat sponsorship association,chaired by Professor Francine Leca, Headof Paediatric Cardiac Surgery at NeckerHospital in Paris, was created so thatdisadvantaged children with a heartmalformation could have cardiac surgeryin France, free of charge, when it is notavailable in their own country. Throughfund raising and private donations, theMécénat pays for the travel of doctorswho identify children in need of anoperation, organize their journey to
France, cover operation and hospitalizationcosts at Necker Hospital, and find hostfamilies for the children where they canconvalesce before returning home.
Thanks to the sale of tickets and thegenerosity of the guests, unesco wasable to collect over 17,000 euros in justone evening. This year, exceptionally, allthe funds raised will go to the Associa-tion. In the coming weeks, these fundswill give meaning to the word “tomorrow”for two children whose cardiacmalformations require urgent surgery. ¶Françoise Pinzon Gil and Cécile Krug,
Children in distress
Lasavong Thong, two year old Laotian boy,
is to be operated on in Paris in November 2004.
➥ A few figuresFrom 1992 (when the Programme was setup) to 2002 – us $23,250 were invested in 200 projects in 80 different countries.For the year 2003 – us $1,315,030 wereinvested in 32 projects in 19 countries.For the first half of 2004 – us $1,100,000were invested in 21 projects in 16 countries.¶
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STRENGTHENING COMMUNITY CAPACITIESIN AFRICA
Within the framework of theproject “Strengtheningcommunity capacities: anapproach through law andsocial equity”, severalseminars have been organizedin Bamako, Gorée, Djenné andNiamey. The seminars weredesigned for intellectuals andcivil society NGOs with a viewto putting into operation the concept of “Poverty as a violation of human rights”.In the three countries coveredby the unesco Bamako Office – Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger – follow-up committeeshave been established andplaced under the imprimaturof the presidency of the countries concerned.The mandate of thesecommittees is to undertakefurther research and toidentify other financial andtechnical partners, as well as to support the governmentin reviewing the strategicframework of the fight againstpoverty which constitutes the single frame of referencefor policies and developmentstrategies. It is the maindocument governing relationsbetween the government andall the financial and technicalpartners. ¶Firmin Matoko, [email protected]
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school, university studentsand young people taking partin voluntary social service;courses to train multipliersand human rights activists,with some of the coursesincluded in extensionprogrammes of Brazilianuniversities. A computerizedsystem has also beendeveloped for the use of the Councils for the Care and Rights of Children andAdolescents. A significantnumber of relevant publicationscompletes this area of work. ¶Marlova Noleto,[email protected]
www.unesco.org.br/publicacoes/
index_html/mostra_documento
THE COALITION OF CITIESAGAINST RACISM IN EUROPE
The plan for the creation of an International Coalition ofCities against Racism, an ideainitiated by unesco this year(see page 7), is successfullymoving forward: the draft of a Ten-Point Plan of Action forthe Coalition of Cities AgainstRacism in Europe has justbeen finalized. In close collaboration with theCity of Nuremberg (Germany)which plays the role of theLead City for the region,unesco organized an expertsmeeting on “Commitment ofCities Against Discrimination:Defining a Ten-Point Plan of Action to Combat Racism at the Municipal Level” on 9-10 July 2004 in Nuremberg.The city representatives of Barcelona, Kracow, Paris,Saint-Denis, Stockholm andNuremberg, together with
NEWS OF THE LATINAMERICAN RESEARCHNETWORK OFOMBUDSPERSONS
The first workshop of the LatinAmerican Research Networkof Ombudspersons’ Offices onEconomic, Social and CulturalRights working in cooperationwith unesco took place inQuito, Ecuador, from 16 to 18June 2004. The researchers ofthe various Ombudspersons’Offices and the internationaland regional experts met for a dual purpose: to discuss thenature and normative contentof the right to education, and to elaborate a commonmethodology for the researchon the implementation of thisright in the different countries.The countries currentlyparticipating in the networkare: Bolivia, Colombia, CostaRica, Ecuador, El Salvador,Guatemala, Honduras,Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Venezuela. The right to education wasanalysed from an international,regional and nationalperspective, with particularattention given to the legalaspects of this right, as wellas to the public policies in the field of education.Different tools to measure the implementation of theright to education, includingindicators, were explored. A central point of the workshopwas the analysis of the projectprepared by the Office of theColombian Ombudsperson on the implementation of the right to education in Colombia, including a well-developed system of indicators.
The workshop, organized bythe Human Rights Division of unesco in cooperation withthe regional unesco Offices of Brazil and Quito, wasconsidered by all to be veryuseful and productive. The participants have agreedon a joint method of work and the Ombudspersons will present the first results of the research in Summer2005 in order to prepareregional reports andrecommendations. ¶Yvonne Donders, [email protected]
UNESCO WORKS HAND INHAND WITH THE BRAZILIANSTATE SECRETARIATFOR HUMAN RIGHTS
The technical cooperationagreement between theunesco-Brazil Office and theState Secretariat for HumanRights aimed at implementingthe National Program ofHuman Rights, is working as a catalyst for manyactivities. This cooperationstarted in 1996 and is showingsignificant outcomes in termsof concrete results and the activation of partnerships.The work is focused basicallyin two areas: consciousness-raising and institutional andsocial structuring aimed atvaluing and promoting humanrights, and the construction of subsidies for the formulationof government policies.In the area of consciousness-raising and institutional and social structuring, thework has involved nationalcampaigns, seminars,workshops and meetings;prizes for pupils in secondary
representatives of NGOs and experts in the field ofdiscrimination and publicpolicies discussed priorityissues and possible actions to be taken into account in the Plan of Action. The Ten-Point Plan of Action is composed of tencommitments covering thevarious areas of competenceof city authorities such aseducation, housing, andemployment. It also suggestssome examples of practicalpolicies that city authoritiesmight consider with a view to fulfilling each of thecommitments. The signatorycities will undertake tointegrate the Plan of Action in their municipal strategiesand policies and to involve the various actors within civilsociety in its implementation. The European Coalition ofCities Against Racism will belaunched in December 2004,on the occasion of the FourthEuropean Conference of Citiesfor Human Rights that willtake place in Nuremberg. ¶Jun Morohashi,
www.unesco.org/shs/citiesagainstracism
HUMAN RIGHTS10
Weekends for Brazilian youth
PLACING HOPE IN OURCHILDREN: CRIANÇAESPERANÇA
Criança Esperança is one ofthe most successful socialstrategies for children andyoung people in Brazil. Run bythe Globo television networksince 1986, the campaign is organized annually andraises funds for accreditedorganizations. In its 18 yearsof existence, the campaignhas raised more than us $40million, undertaking 4,500projects and helping morethan a million children andadolescents. This initiative,which has received interna-tional praise, has beenexported to Colombia,Ecuador and Argentina.Starting this year, unesco isto take on a decisive role inimplementing the campaign.The Globo network has optedto shift the responsibility of this large programme tounesco after considering boththe national and internationalreputation of the Organizationin the areas of its mandate.The new partnership is notrestricted to this programmeonly but extends to the Globonetwork as a whole. unescowill also be offering adviceand support in educationmatters, youth-oriented issues and culture of peacecampaigns. ¶Marlova Noleto,
The unesco-Brazil office launched the programme “MakingRoom” in 2000 in order to help youth in difficulty. Four years later,more than five Brazilian states are actively participating in theproject.
The programme is the outcome of several research projectswhich led to the following observations: there is an increase in thenumber of deaths among youth during the weekend; there is nospace for social encounters in poor communities; and schools areinsufficiently used and safeguarded on weekends.
“Making Room” was therefore created to promote the devel-opment of a culture of peace in local communities by openingschools on weekends for cultural and citizenship activities, sportsand art workshops. It was developed in partnership with Brazil’sState governments of Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, Pernambuco, São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul and others, and is part of unesco’sEducation for a Culture of Peace Programme.
The public includes both youngsters and their families, witharound 600 schools involved in the programme. “Making Room”focuses on three aspects: Youth, School and Community. It usesvacant spaces where low-income youngsters in situations of highpersonal and social risk can have access to culture, sports, artsand leisure. The project has significantly contributed to keepyoung people away from danger and risky situations and increasetheir participation in citizenship activities.
This is one of the most successful programmes in Social andHuman Sciences in Brazil and before long it should be able tocount on five cooperation agreements: three have already beensigned with the State Secretariats of Education of the State of Riode Janeiro, Bahia and Pernambuco and a further two agreementsare under discussion with São Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul.
The programme falls into unesco’s broader framework of buildinga culture of peace, lifelong education for all, the eradication ofpoverty and the creation of new forms of education. For moreinformation on “Making Room”, please consult the publicationslisted in the research section of the unesco Brasilia Office website. ¶Marlova Noleto, [email protected]
www.unesco.org.br/publicacoes
INTERNATIONAL YEAR
The United Nations GeneralAssembly proclaimed 2004the International Year toCommemorate the Struggleagainst Slavery and itsAbolition. This marks, inparticular, the bicentenary of the proclamation of the firstblack State, Haiti, symbol of the struggle and resistanceof slaves, and triumph of theprinciples of liberty, equality,dignity and the rights of the individual. A number of events are beingorganized throughout theyear, two of which havealready been held in Uruguay.On 1 June, the Cultural Centrefor Peace and Integration(cecupi), a Uruguayan ngo forAfrican descendants, togetherwith the backing of the unescoMontevideo Office and theMontevideo unesco Centre,organized a debate entitled“African-Uruguayans discussthe heritage of slavery and its past, present andfuture consequences”. This was followed on July 13by a seminar, also held inMontevideo, hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,together with the unescoMontevideo Office andcecupi. ¶Manuel Bernales,
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More information about the year
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Since 2002, the unesco Office in Bamakohas been entrusted with the project“Eradication of poverty by strengtheninghuman security in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger”. In its first phase, the projectconcentrated mainly on meeting people’sbasic needs, and at the same timeproviding training and awareness sessionson their basic rights.
Different activities Among the various activities undertakenin 2003-2004 were:2 studies: “Diagnostic study of the socio-economic situation in the village of Villy(Burkina Faso)”; and “Endogenousmethods of management, resolution and prevention of conflicts in the villageof Villy (Burkina Faso)”;the installation of two television sets in Diogo and Semba, thus allowing their populations to follow national andinternational news as and when ithappens;workshops and/or training seminars on several subjects, for example, “HumanRights and Citizenship”.This project has had positive repercussionson the population as a whole butparticularly on those who received thehuman rights training. They were able to reflect on the possibility of setting upinterpellation facilities at village level,which would be composed of the headsof the villages and two notables. Theproject also encouraged acknowledgementof the role of women and the importanceof gender issues in providing answers to their specific needs.Following the workshop which took place in Gorée in March-April 2004 (see Newsletter 05), the project is beingremoulded in order to integrate actionthat strengthens the concept of “povertyas a violation of human rights”. ¶Firmin Matoko, f.matoko / [email protected]
In addition to partnerships, unesco inBrazil directly commissions originalresearch linked mainly to the theme of“violence, youth and citizenship”, as a way of contributing to the expansion of knowledge and providing material forformulating government policy. Theseresearch projects are planned and carriedout directly by unesco, using relevantmethodology and instruments that areespecially developed for each case study.The research helps in the discussiontopics studied through the publicationof results and organizing debates.
Another strategy adopted by unescois to make use of the capacity of Brazilianuniversities, taking advantage of thepotential of the unesco/unitwin ChairProgramme and working with theuniversity extension programmes throughthe National Forum of Pro-Rectors ofExtension Programmes in PublicUniversities. In the area of human rights,the University of São Paulo has created a chair in “Education for Peace, HumanRights, Democracy and Tolerance” andextension courses in human rights havealready been held by the Federal Universityof São Carlos, the Federal University of Goiás and the Federal University ofParaíba. Seminars and debates dealingwith the theme of “adolescents whocommitted an infraction” have also beenheld at the University of Paraíba, theFederal University of Santa Catarina andthe State University of Santa Catarina. ¶Marlova Noleto, [email protected]
Contribution to the eradication of poverty and to strengthening human security
shs Human RightsProgramme in Brazil
A NEW WEBSITE TO HELPIN THE FIGHT AGAINSTPOVERTY
unesco’s Human Rights andPoverty website is now online. It is an extensive sourceof information on unesco’sefforts to address the first un Millennium DevelopmentGoal, that of eradicatingextreme poverty and hungerthrough twenty innovative,multidisciplinary, pilot andresearch projects. Projects are presented in termsof the human rights issuesthey address and the regionsin which they are implemented.A growing network of linksprovides additional projectinformation, internationalhuman rights standardsrelated to poverty, and thework of other inter-govern-mental, non-governmentaland governmental agenciesworking to combat poverty asa violation of human rights. ¶Hans Wahl, [email protected]
www.unesco.org/shs/poverty
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We all have a part to play in makingthe enjoyment of all human rights a reality for everyone.”Sergio Vieira de Mello
The World Forum on Human Rightswas dedicated to the memory of Sergio Vieira de Mello, UnitedNations High Commissioner for Human Rights, killed in Baghdadon 29 August 2003, and to theInternational Year to Commemoratethe Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition.
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The World Forum onHuman Rights at NantesFrom 16 to 19 May 2004, the City of Nantes in France becamethe centre of a major event on the international agenda: theWorld Forum on Human Rights. With over 1000 participantsfrom 76 countries, the first objective was reached: to offer aspace for meetings and exchanges to all the differentcategories of actors working to uphold and strengthen humanrights.
Organized by the City of Nantes on the initiative and withthe support of unesco, the Forum brought togetherrepresentatives of States, parliamentarians, researchers,students, activists and others, giving them the opportunityto speak out and participate in discussions on an equalfooting, during the plenary sessions and the round tables.
Under the high patronage of French President JacquesChirac, the Forum was organized in cooperation with theFrench National Commission for unesco with the supportof the United Nations High Commissioner for HumanRights and the International Labour Organization.
A new concept: strengthening research-policy links and building partnerships The idea of the World Forum was to respond to one oftoday’s imperatives: the need for an open and free dialogueon priority human rights issues amongst all actors in thisfield. In an area where condemnations and mutual accu-sations are common ground, the aim of this Forum was toconfront ideas in order to understand the pressingchallenges of today and exchange on ways and means toaddress them. In particular, it was designed to encouragejoint reflection and the free flow of ideas within aninclusive setting and to establish a closer interactionbetween the world of research and the worlds of decision-making and action.
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Another aim of the Forum was to build and strengthenpartnerships amongst the various actors working in thefield of human rights. In this sense, the Forum proved verysuccessful. A large range of actors gathered at the Forum:representatives of Governments, United Nations bodies,the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe(osce), the Inter-Parliamentary Union (ipu), internationaljudicial bodies, parliamentarians, NGOs, research centres,national human rights institutions, human rightsspecialists, etc.
Three days, three themes: terrorism, discrimination and povertyThe Forum was organized around three closely interrelatedthemes, which had been identified by the ScientificCommittee of the Forum as some of the most pressing issueson the human rights agenda today: Terrorism and HumanRights; Globalization and the Struggle against All Forms ofDiscrimination and Exclusion; and Poverty as a Violation of HumanRights. Each of these themes was examined and discussedduring the three plenary sessions of the Forum (seefollowing pages). In order to ensure the highest degree ofinteraction between the speakers and the public, thesessions started with the presentation by an expert of adiscussion paper on the topic of the day. Following thepresentation, panelists were invited to comment on thediscussion paper before giving the floor to the public. Thedebates were greatly enriched by the contribution ofparticipants from all walks of life.
In addition to the plenary session, a series of parallelround tables, which were organized in the afternoon,highlighted specific aspects and features of the three majorthemes. Some of the round tables were organized byexternal partners, others by unesco. The themes includedtopics such as Media and terrorism; A human rights basedapproach to poverty eradication: strategies and experiences from thefield; and a round table on Human Rights Education.
A challenge: strengthening the international and nationalhuman rights frameworksThe Forum was also the occasion for an exchange of moregeneral views about what needs to be done in order toreinforce the international human rights framework.Bertrand Ramcharan, Acting un High Commissioner forHuman Rights who spoke at the opening ceremony, pointedout that the current crisis in the application of humanrights and humanitarian law calls for a strengthened roleof the United Nations and its institutions, especially theSecurity Council and the International Court of Justice. Heemphasized that efforts should be pursued at the nationallevel, where the effective implementation of human rightswould require the adoption of relevant legislation, judicial
mechanisms and education initiatives. He stressed that “AllGovernments must be held accountable for abiding byinternational human rights and humanitarian law”.Turning to one of the themes of the Forum, he called for thesetting up of mechanisms to detect and prevent discrim-ination adding that “National courts should be vested withthe competence to hear claims from the victims of povertyin situations where they consider that the governmentcould have acted to prevent it but has failed to do so”.
Jean-Marc Ayrault, Mayor of Nantes, underlined theimportance of finding, at the multilateral level, responsesto human rights crises occurring in a given country andstressed that the rule of law should prevail over the use offorce when dealing with complex challenges such as thefight against terrorism. He also indicated that the need toenforce the right to economic and social security is themain challenge of today in the developed countries andespecially in countries where large sections of the popu-lation live below the poverty line. Jean Favier, President of
➥ Mobilizing civil societyThe Forum of Human Rights mobilized many members of civilsociety and local associations in Nantes. Showing the strongcommitment of the citizens of Nantes to human rights and theirsupport for the Forum, a committee of about 80 local NGOsorganized complementary debates, cultural events, and activitiesthroughout the City, prior and in parallel to the Forum, from 11 to20 May 2004. ¶
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Left: Bertrand
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as a laboratory of ideas and catalyst for international coop-eration, put forward the initiative of this Forum tocomplement the efforts of other members of the UnitedNations system and to respond to its constitutional man-date “to contribute to peace and security by promotingcollaboration among nations through education, scienceand culture in order to further universal respect for justice,for the rule of law and for the human rights and funda-mental freedoms…”. Representatives of un agencies andother IGOs concurred on the need to continue such effortsand expressed their interest in becoming more closelyinvolved in the future.
Many participants were supportive of the idea thatNantes could become for human rights what Porto Alegre isfor social issues and Davos for the economy. This opinionwas formulated by several people, in particular AbdelfattahAmor, Chairperson of the Human Rights Committee of theUnited Nations and Special Rapporteur of the Commissionon Human Rights on freedom of religion or belief. Duringthe closing ceremony, the Mayor of Nantes expressed hishope that the World Forum on Human Rights in Nanteswould be institutionalized.
For all those working to build a world order based onhuman rights, the World Forum was a major encounter – aplace to step back and gain a new perspective on thechallenges ahead and the ways to address them. As expressedby Pierre Sané, Assistant Director-General for Social andHuman Sciences of unesco, “Times as dangerous as these callfor investing in reflection with priority given to ethics,reason and honest dialogue. We have nowhere else to goapart from this Earth which belongs to us all. It is not asthough anyone from another planet will be arriving to solveour problems or, in desperation, put an end to everything.Removed from distractions, our challenge here and now is tothink together and to motivate one another before returningto our respective tasks and daily struggles”. ¶Jeanette Blom et Christine Allen
www.unesco.org/shs/humanrightsforum
the French National Commission for unesco, insisted thatall actors should work together to ensure the rule of lawand social justice, to provide equal opportunities for all andto eliminate poverty.
An innovation: bringing together all actors on an equal footingAs stated by Kari Tapiola, Executive Director of theStandards and Fundamental Rights at Work Sector of the ilo, “More systematic dialogue is needed within andbetween emerging networks of State and non-State actors…These dialogues need to take place at all levels. They shouldbe able to provide a basis for more coherent action to linkeconomic progress with employment and social justice. TheForum here in Nantes brings together actors from variousdisciplines, on an equal footing, to discuss and deepen theknowledge base of critical issues which face our worldtoday. The added value of the Forum is that it promotes adialogue from a human rights based perspective, with theaim of finding solutions… All too often, we stop at theidentification of the problems, without finding thesolutions and building the bridges to them”.
The Forum also received wide media coverage, includinglocal, regional, national and international press, radio andtelevision. Many articles emphasized the innovative andinclusive character of the event where all categories ofhuman rights actors had a chance to freely debate andexchange views on pressing challenges to human rights.
A need: creating a space for open dialogueFor three and a half days participants debated freely aboutcomplex and pressing issues. Though a number of contro-versial and sensitive issues did give rise to some heateddebate, for instance concerning the situations in Iraq, inPalestine and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, thespirit of constructive discussion, mutual respect and aresponsible dialogue prevailed. While diverse opinionswere expressed, the Forum’s main feature was thus opendialogue rather than confrontation.
The World Forum on Human Rights proved that there isa need for a space for such a dialogue. unesco, drawingupon its ethical and intellectual mandate and its functions
“Activists from all over theworld mark respect forhuman dignity… They’rehere to understand, reflectand learn.”Presse Océane, 19 May 2004. ©
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➥ Cultural eventsDuring the World Forum, the NantesCity Congress Centre, which hostedthe meeting, became the centre of a series of cultural events. A newexhibition of royal wall hangings,presented by the City of Schoelcher,Martinique, and produced bycraftsmen and women from Benin,was held to celebrate the onehundred and fiftieth anniversary of the abolition of slavery. A seriesof films and documentaries relatingto the themes of the Forum wereshown in partnership with thetelevision channel arte, andseveral concerts were organizedwith music and artists of differentcultural traditions. ¶
Racism, discrimination and xenophobiahave existed in one form or anotherthroughout history. Despite the fact thatequality and non-discrimination arerecognized as basic principles in theinternational system of human rightsprotection, discrimination persists.
Globalization encourages the free flowof people, information, goods and capital,but it also engenders inequality, excludespeoples from global dynamics andgenerates discrimination. The latesteconomic, scientific and technologicalstrides are giving rise to new kinds ofexclusion. New forms of racism,xenophobia and discrimination arespreading in economic, social and cultural areas.
Addressing the roots of racismThe plenary session of the Forum onTuesday 18 May, which focused on theissue of how to combat discriminationand exclusion in a globalized world, was introduced by Mr Doudou Diène,Special Rapporteur of the United NationsCommission on Human Rights oncontemporary forms of racism, racialdiscrimination, xenophobia and relatedintolerance. He highlighted that, despitewell-developed legal standards andmechanisms, discrimination persistedand new forms and manifestations were emerging all over the world. Some speakers noted that efforts tocounter discrimination were sometimes
overshadowed by the priority given to thefight against terrorism. This new orderingof priorities often led to the creation of new categories of victims.
The keynote speaker emphasized thatthe struggle against discriminationshould also address the roots of racism,underlining that slavery and the slavetrade are at the origin of many raciststereotypes of today. A panelist stressedthe need to address culture and thevarious systems of values as underlyingfactors of discriminatory practices. Manyspeakers underscored the impact ofpoverty and migration, as well as of powerrelations within societies, and called for a special focus on discrimination againstwomen. The role of the media and of new information and communicationtechnologies to the propagation of hatespeech and prejudices was another issueof concern for many.
Round tablesThe Plenary Session was followed by a series of round tables addressing morespecific issues, such as the round tableson Discrimination against people withdisabilities: from discrimination to socialparticipation; Women, Fundamentalismand Human Rights, and Languageand Cultural Diversity and Human Rights.
➥ For more informationA publication on the Forum, basedon the reports of the rapporteurs ofthe plenary sessions and the roundtables, is scheduled to be releasedin late 2004. Statements anddocuments of the Forum, as well as news on the latest follow-up, areavailable on the following website:www.unesco.org/shs/humanrightsforum ¶
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Globalization and the struggle against all formsof discrimination and exclusion
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Poverty, especially extreme poverty,undermines human dignity. Having noaccess to food, shelter, education andhealth facilities constitutes a violation of social and cultural rights and impedesthe enjoyment of other civil and politicalrights. However, the awareness ofpoverty’s many dimensions and itsrecognition as a human rights violation by the international community and theentire United Nations system is quiterecent. These dimensions were at theheart of the debate of the third plenarysession of the Forum, which took placeon 19 May.
An approach based on human rightsIn his introductory presentation, Mr JoséBengoa, Member of the United NationsSub-Commission for the promotion andthe protection of Human Rights, statedthat the alarming increase of poverty in many parts of the world together withthe failure, so far, of policies and actionsto change the situation called for ahuman rights-based approach to povertyeradication. He stressed that this newparadigm which was in line with theprinciple of the indivisibility of all humanrights entailed obligations binding uponStates and non-State actors.
One speaker highlighted the relationbetween rights and needs and theimportance of accessibility to justice.Many participants agreed that aparticipatory approach and broad
cooperation in building poverty reductionstrategies are indispensable. One speakersuggested that a more effective approachwould be to emphasize the contributionof the fight against poverty to securityand peace rather than focusing blamesolely on States and non-State actors.According to another speaker the value of a rights-based approach in fightingpoverty lies more in the reordering of priorities and less in the denunciationof human rights violations and theattribution of responsibility.
Round tablesMany speakers agreed that a humanrights-based approach is the cornerstoneof the fight against poverty. This wasreiterated by the un agencies and bodiesparticipating in the round table organizedby shs on the subject. Several otherround tables focusing on ways and meansto eradicate poverty were organized on themes such as The very poor lead the way to the indivisibility of humanrights and Globalization of knowledgeand education. ¶
Human rights and terrorism
Terrorism is a violation of fundamentalrights – the first of which is our right tolife – and it poses a serious threat todemocracy and the rule of law. Terroristacts are attacks on human rights, whichcannot be justified by any cause orideology. At the same time, the fightagainst terrorism cannot justify thedeprivation of certain fundamental rightsnor must it endanger the achievementsand foundations of the rule of law anddemocracy. Protecting and promotinghuman rights must be an integral part of the fight against terrorism.
This dual challenge was the subject of the first plenary session of the Forum,which took place on Monday 17 May. Inintroducing the debate, Mr Pierre Sané,Assistant Director-General for Social andHuman Sciences of unesco, gave a briefoverview of the actions taken by the unsystem in the fight against terrorism andclarified unesco’s role in this field as an intellectual and ethical organization, in the eradication of intolerance,discrimination, inequality and ignorancewhich provide fertile ground for terrorism.
“Like the Davos EconomicForum, unesco is strivingto build a connectionbetween those who thinkand those who act on these issues.”Le Point, 15 April 2004
Poverty as a violation of human rights
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Conformity with international legalstandardsThe participants in the panel, whilestrongly condemning the spread of terroristpractices, deplored the growing tendencyto justify the curtailment of several humanrights in the name of security andunderlined the non-derogable characterof certain human rights (e.g. the right to a fair trial, the presumption of innocence,the prohibition of torture). They insistedthat “law-free zones” should not existand that all actions against terrorismshould be carried out in full conformitywith international legal standards.
Some speakers stressed that the unshould react more effectively to humanrights violations committed within theframework of the fight against terrorism.The creation of an independent expert
group to monitor respect for humanrights when fighting terrorism wasproposed as a possible solution to theinherent limitations of un human rightstreaty bodies. Some speakers stressedthat the fight against terrorism would bemuch more effective if coupled withpreventive action, including the struggleagainst discrimination and poverty. Manyspeakers insisted that education shouldplay an important role in this regard.
Round tablesFollowing the plenary session, specificissues relating to this theme weredebated at a series of round tables, for instance on The Role of NationalHuman Rights Institutions in protectingHuman Rights while CounteringTerrorism, and on Media and Terrorism. ¶
➥ Guest speakersof the World Forum
Abdelfattah AmorJean-Marc AyraultTaieb BaccoucheJosé BengoaPaul BouchetKhémais ChammariRao ChelikaniM. Alexander CherkasovBrice DicksonDoudou DièneAndreas EsheteJean FavierGérard FellousLoubna FreihDiego García-SayánJoseph IngramGeorge N. JabbourHina JilaniAnders B. JohnssonSidiki KabaGabriel KellerBerma Klein GoldewijkStephen MarksXavier MichelFlorizelle O’ConnorAmii Omara-OtunnuKhaled RamadanBertrand RamcharanGloria RamirezPierre SanéKari TapiolaJoël ThoravalMichel TubianaSteven WagenseilBeate Winkler
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignityand rights. They are endowed with reason andconscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”Article 1, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948
“Nantes – world capital of human rights. Close to 1000 participants assembled to give greaterthought to action.” Communiqué mif-Agence
multimédia rfi, n° 228Jean-Marc Ayrault, Deputy, Mayor of Nantes
and Pierre Sané, Assistant Director-General of unesco
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SOCIAL SCIENCES 18
Social dimension of globalization
unesco’s Management of Social Transformations Programme(most), the International Labour Organization (ilo) and theInternational Social Science Council (issc) joined hands on 7 July2004 at unesco Headquarters to present and discuss the report ofthe World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization:“A Fair Globalization: Creating Opportunities for All”.
The World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalizationwas established by the ilo in 2002 with inter alia the purpose ofpreparing a major authoritative report on the social dimension ofglobalization. The members of the Commission include a NobelPrize winner in economics, elected officials, experts in economicand social affairs, key actors from business and civil society, unionleaders and academics. Co-chairs of the independent Commissionare Mrs Tarja Halonen, President of Finland, and Mr BenjaminMkapa, President of Tanzania.
The Commission strongly recommends an urgent rethink ofcurrent policies and institutions of global governance. The report“A Fair Globalization: Creating Opportunities for All” calls for aseries of coordinated measures across a broad front to improvegovernance at both national and international levels. Theseinclude fairer rules for international trade, investment, financeand migration, measures to promote core labour standards and aminimum level of social protection in the global economy, andnew efforts to mobilize international resources to meet the UnitedNations’ Millenium Development Goals.
The Commission underlines that fairer rules are critical, butthese will not be sufficient to ensure that globalization deliversfor all people. There must also be respect for the internationalframework of human rights and measures to promote socialjustice. The report is building a global socio-economic floor,dealing with global production systems and how they can deliveron the needs of people, enterprises and countries, helpingcountries to construct integrated responses to globalization andcoherence in action among international organizations.
The report represents a turning point in the discussions concern-ing what are the challenges for a fairer globalization, and whichare the policies to be undertaken in order to achieve a better andmore inclusive world. Several of its recommendations are ofrelevance for unesco, such as the focus on human rights basedapproaches, the social dimension of regional integration, thepolicy coherence initiatives, the establishment of a Global PolicyForum and the preparation of a regular State of Globalizationreport, as well as the chapters on “Education, skills and techno-logical capacity” and “Local values and cultural heritages”.
A role for mostThe chapter on “More systematic research programmes” isespecially pertinent for the most Programme. Among therecommendations are a call for “… general support to existingmultidisciplinary task forces and policy forums which bringtogether researchers, policy-makers and civil society networks toidentify viable options in these and other domains”. most PhaseII and its focus on research-policy linkages is contributing toimplement this recommendation. It was because of the highrelevance and quality of the report that most wanted to show itscontribution and commitment to the follow-up to the report by co-organizing an event focusing on the content of the report with iloand issc at unesco Headquarters.
Following the words of welcome from most (represented by MrGonzalo Abad-Ortiz), ilo and issc, the Report was presented bytwo of the Commission members, Mrs Ruth Cardoso, President ofthe Programa Capacitaçao Solidaria, Brazil, and Mrs AminitaTraoré, author and Director of the Centre Amadou Hanyrat Ba(cahba), and one of the organizers of the African Social Forum.After the Report presentations, there were two discussion panelsof high-level scientists who stated that social sciences shouldbecome more social. Attention was also drawn to the fact thatmany people are not only facing economic deprivation, but alsoknowledge deprivation. The event generated ideas for furtherreflection which hopefully can be built upon.
Great interest was shown in the event: attendance was around130 with strong representation on the part of unesco’s PermanentDelegations, NGOs, researchers and members of the Secretariat.In response to the interest and positive feedback, most/ilo/isscwill be issuing a brochure or publication of the proceedings. ¶Cecilie Golden, [email protected]
The Commission report is available at: www.ilo.org/public/english/wcsdg
Report of the World
Commission on the Social
Dimension of Globalization,
established by the ilo.
DEMOCRACY 19
WORLD URBAN FORUM
unesco is the main partner in this year’s Universal Forumof Cultures in Barcelona (seealso page 5 the interview with the Mayor of Barcelona).During the Forum, which runsfrom 9 May until 24 September,un-Habitat is holding itssecond World Urban Forum onthe theme “Cities: Crossroadsof cultures, inclusiveness and integration?” (13 to 17September). This will includePartners Dialogues andNetworking Events. unesco is taking part in twoof the Partners Dialoguesessions and organizing threeof the Networking Events.“Dialogue on Urban Realities– Best practices in fightingdiscrimination and exclusionin cities” will be held on 14and 15 September. The secondPartners Dialogue session is “Dialogue on UrbanGovernance – Democraticurban governance as a keymechanism of partnershipstowards public regulations”,scheduled to take place on 16 September.
Networking eventsunesco is also organizingthree Networking Events, the first of which is a RoundTable of experts on “Socialsustainability in historicaldistricts”. For further information:[email protected] second Networking Eventis “Cities as world heritage”scheduled for the morning of 14 September. This is beingorganized by unesco’s CultureSector.
For further information:[email protected] third Networking Event“Rivers and Urban Culture”, to be held in the afternoon of 14 September, is beingorganized by the Culture andNatural Sciences Sectors. For further information:[email protected]án Solinís, [email protected]
http://www.unhabitat.org/wuf/2004/
default.asp
For more information on any of the
above, please contact unesco’s Focal
Point for the World Urban Forum:
PATHWAYS OF THOUGHTAND DIOGENES
Diogenes 202. The results ofthe International “Encounter ofRationalities”, held in Porto-Novo, Benin, in August 2002,have just been published inEnglish in issue 202 ofDiogenes, the Internationaljournal of the icphs.Diogenes 206. The results ofthe International Pathways ofThought Symposium on“Emerging Humanisms”, held in Alexandria, Egypt, in December 2003, have justbeen published in French. The English version is expectedsoon. ¶www.diogene.org
Within the framework of thepromotion of human rights,unesco launched a trainingproject on human rights, localdemocracy and citizenship for local representatives (seeNewsletter 05). The project is funded by the Grand Duchyof Luxembourg and the plansare to organize 20 trainingmodules in human rights,participatory democracy andlocal governance. The trainingcourses will take place in theKidal, Ségou, Gao and Bamakodistricts as well as in theprovinces of Boulkiemdé,Houet and Tuy, and forBurkina Faso, in the capital,Ouagadougou.The training courses will beconducted as a participatoryprocess, and will compriseseveral sessions: one trainingsession will be for expertise,two sessions for localrepresentatives and civilsociety leaders, representa-tives of decentralized servicesof the State and developmentpartners. Radio programmes
will be broadcast to providethe public with generalinformation on the project.Focal points have alreadybeen designated in theMinistries of the territorialAdministration of the countryconcerned for follow-up and implementation of theactivities. With regard to Mali,the plan is to create an inter-ministerial pilot committeearound the project in order to involve other Statestructures as well as civilsociety. It is also planned to create synergies among all the partners engaged in this field. The unescoBamako Office chairs thegroup on human rights, soexchange and sharing ofexperiences will take placewithin this framework. ¶Firmin Matoko, [email protected]
The Sixth Ministerial Meetingof the Human Security Networktook place in Bamako, Mali,from 27 to 29 May 2004.Around twenty Member Statesof the Human Security Networkattended. Mali held thePresidency of the Network in 2003 and this year it isCanada. unesco contributedto the implementation of the Network activities by
translating the trainingmanual “UnderstandingHuman Rights” into Arabic. ¶Firmin Matoko,
The hsn manual can be currently
consulted in English at
www.etc-graz.at/human-security/manual/
modules/Manual%20komplett.pdf
TRAINING IN HUMAN RIGHTS, CITIZENSHIP AND LOCALDEMOCRACY IN SENEGAL, BURKINA FASO AND MALI
HUMAN SECURITY NETWORK MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
20
➥ Promoting best practicesOne way of encouraging positive socialchange is by identifying and disseminatingknowledge about best practices relevantto the goals to be obtained. Mr NicholasYou from UN-Habitat in Nairobi, spokeabout how to assess and manageknowledge of best practices.
The un defines best practices asinitiatives that have demonstrable andtangible impact on people’s lives andresult from effective partnershipsbetween the public, private and civicsectors of society. Another criterion isthat they must also be socially, culturally,economically and environmentallysustainable.
un-Habitat’s original call for bestpractices was launched in 1996 during the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) as a means of identifying solutions to someof the most pressing social, economic and environmental problems facing anurbanizing world. They are now widelyused within and outside the un system.shs, which has already used this approach– concerning indigenous knowledge, for example – will collect and disseminatebest practices in areas such as womenand conflict resolution, and povertyeradication. ¶
Every year, Headquarters and Field stafffrom unesco’s Sector for Social andHuman Sciences meet for four days of intense debate to exchangeinformation, experiences and viewsabout the Sector’s activities. It is theoccasion to discuss how to carry the work of the Sector forward andadapt its strategies and programmes to an evolving world context.
This year, the shs Retreat took placefrom 28 June to 1 July in Gressy, France.Several guest speakers had been invitedto present subjects relevant to theSector’s work, namely the issues of socialtransformations, research-policy linkagesand best practices (see boxes).
The mission of the Social and HumanSciences Sector is to advance knowledge,standards, and intellectual cooperation in order to facilitate social transformationsconducive to the universal values of justice,freedom and human dignity. unesco isthe only un agency which has the socialand human sciences in its mandate, andan important part of its role is to furtherintellectual cooperation and exchange.But working with universities and researchinstitutes is not an end in itself; it has to be for a purpose. This is why shs seeksto encourage academia to address issueswhich will help decision-makers designpolicies that could bring about socialchanges in line with the values of theOrganization. The concept of social
Studying social transformations
transformations thus lies at the heart of the Sector’s mission.
According to one of the guest speakers,Professor Siebers from the Department of Organizational Sciences at TilburgUniversity (The Netherlands), the study of social transformations provides a newconceptual framework for interlinkingresearch and policy on critical issues ofour times. This requires analysis of theprocesses of radical social change whichgive rise to some of the problems societyis faced with today – such as increasinginequality, rising fundamentalism and emerging violence – and relevantknowledge needed to tackle theseproblems must be retrieved and unlocked.
The study of social transformations isrelatively new for the social and humansciences, and it still requires moreattention to be mapped out. Althoughsome processes may be encompassing the globe and are relentless in their driveand dynamics, the ways they affect specificpeople and the way in which they are beingdealt with always differ from one placeand epoch to another. Global trends needto be broken down into specific processesthat have specific meanings for specificpeople. Accompanying and unfolding this kind of knowledge is essential inorder for shs to assist decision-makers in designing policies that can bring aboutsocial transformations leading to thevalues that unesco is seeking to promote.¶Jeanette Blom, [email protected]
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Public policy think-tankiea, Ghana’s first public policy think-tank,was founded in 1989 with a view tobroadening the debate on public policy,generating private sector-led economicgrowth and strengthening the pillars of democracy. Mr Charles Mensa,President of the iea, explained how the Institute regularly brings togetherParliamentarians, Ministers of State,business leaders, representatives of donor countries, academics and civilsociety to deliberate on national policyissues. It also organizes trainingprogrammes and workshops for keyinstitutions of democracy such asParliament, the media and civil societyorganizations.
By bringing the world of ideas andaction together, the iea translatesacademic research and analysis on policyissues into more practical information,and makes recommendations for policymakers. Through its numerouspublications, the Institute makes relevantinformation available to the Ghanaianpublic and contributes to raise the levelof debate on numerous policy issues. ¶For more information: www.ieaghana.org
Jeanette Blom, [email protected]
➥ Examples of good practices: theadva Center in Israel and the Instituteof Economic Affairs in GhanaLeaders of two NGOs – the Institute of Economic Affairs of Ghana (iea) andthe adva Center for Information onEquality and Social Justice in Israel –presented their experiences in workingwith academics and decision-makers to further ideals of democracy and socialjustice. Both NGOs represent examples of best practices: they have efficientlymanaged to establish research-policylinkages, in particular by working withparliamentarians and the media, and by generating increased public debate.
Action-oriented policy analysisThe adva Center (adva means “ripple” in Hebrew) defines itself as an action-oriented policy analysis centre. It worksto promote equality and social justice in Israeli society through policy analysisand advocacy. Its network of committedscholars and researchers producesanalyses and policy recommendationsthat integrate dimensions of gender andethnicity. Its principal task is to monitorsocial and economic trends as well asfiscal policies. According to Dr ShlomoSwirski and Ms Barbara Swirski, whopresented the activities of the Center, it has established itself as a reliablesource to which policy makers and themedia turn for a second opinion ongovernment economic and social policy,and contributes to enrich parliamentarydebate by proposing policy alternatives.Its annual reports provide a concise viewof major social and economic trends andare widely quoted by the media. For more information: www.adva.org
MOST PREPARES ITS FUTURE
From 2 to 5 July 2004, atunesco Headquarters, themost Programme organizedthe first Joint Meeting of itsnewly appointed ScientificAdvisory Committee (sac) and the most igc Bureaumembers. During the meeting,Professor Nazli Choucri, a renowned political scientistat mit, Cambridge (usa), was unanimously electedChairperson of the sac.During three days of extensivedeliberations, both sac andigc Bureau members assistedthe most Secretariat in fine-tuning its action with a viewto bridging more efficientlyresearch, policy and practice,improving impact andproducing synergies – in strategic, programmaticand geographic terms. Specialemphasis was placed on the coalition strategy of most-Phase II. The InternationalSocial Science Forum to beheld in September 2005 in Buenos Aires, Argentina,will advocate the usefulnessof comparative social scienceresearch for clients asdiversified as Ministers ofSocial Development, advocacyNGOs and un agencies. ¶Christina von Furstenberg,
SOCIAL TRANSFORMATIONS22
Every year in China, about 100 million people migrate from rural to urban areas. In order to gain insight on the variousdimensions of this phenomenon, unesco’s Beijing Officedevoted 8 July 2004 to academic debate, films and discussionswith the general public.
The events were organized within the framework of unesco’s“Together with Migrants” project. The overall aim of the project,which began in 2002, in partnership with the Institute ofSociology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (cass), is tobreak through the discrimination gap separating rural labourmigrants from city dwellers and to help migrants integrate withthe rest of urban society. A radical change in law and policy as wellas in mentality and behaviour is clearly needed. So “Together withMigrants” is not only fieldwork in the eight Chinese pilot sites with20,000 migrants as beneficiaries, but it also involves scholars, thegeneral public, and national and local policy-makers. Chinesesociety as a whole needs to be involved in order to move forwardon this issue of gaining greater respect for the human rights ofmigrants, whose fundamental rights are still violated.
Discussions and documentariesThe discussion panel “Urban poverty and rural to urban migrationin China” was organized on the occasion of the 36th WorldCongress of International Institutes of Sociology, with the supportof cass. The four speakers stressed the need for a non-discrimi-natory approach on Chinese migration policy, proposing usefulstrategies for fighting discrimination in the different aspects ofmigrants’ daily lives. The main concerns were elementaryeducation for migrant children, employment and supportivesystems for migrants, as these represent key elements formanaging the flow of migrants. Central government was called onto take immediate action.
The discussion then moved to a cinema where Chinese film-makers, involved in the issue of migration in China, presentedtheir documentaries on migrant workers. The films* shown wereWang Shiqing’s “Drifting Dust” – a 50’ documentary made in2002 – and a ten-minute excerpt of Wu Wenguang’s 60’ film,“Dance with Farm Workers”. Both films focus on the difficultiesmigrant workers face daily in their urban environment. The aimwas to team artistic expression with research – academic researchin the social sciences, day-to-day fieldwork of the poverty projectand the independent Chinese film industry on social issues.
Cinema, a powerful tool for mobilizing The films were shown in order to interest Chinese society in crucialsocial issues such as poverty, social integration and rural labourmigration, and to draw attention to unesco’s activities helpingmigrants, especially young women. The screening was followed bya debate among the film-makers, social scientists and migrantsthemselves, to explain and discuss the Chinese migrationphenomenon and migrants’ actual needs.
The creation of policies dealing with social inequalities andpolitical and legal reforms can only result from a combination oftwo processes: top to bottom – (from State to society) and bottomto top (from society to the political sphere). The screening –attended by artists, scholars, UN agency representatives,diplomats and journalists as well as the general public – was animportant step in the bottom-to-top process for the creation ofnew migration-related policies. Indeed, the day’s activitiesshowed how all actors should be concerned by the poverty andsocial exclusion of migrants.
shs/Beijing has already fixed the next appointment with film-makers involved in migration issues in China, and a further twoscreenings will be held in October and December of this year. ¶Geneviève Domenach-Chich et Elena Asciutti
* For a synopsis of the films, see the shs website agenda: www.unesco.org/shs
Academics and film-makers “Together with Migrants”
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JUST PUBLISHED 23
ong et gouvernance dans le monde arabe Eds. Sarah ben néfissa, Nabil abd al-fattah, Sari hanafi and Carlos milani. Paris, 2004, Karthala – cedej, 2004, 421 pp. isbn 2-84586-527-9
“NGOs and governance in the Arab world”is published in French only. It is a selectionof papers given at a conference held inCairo, in March 2000. The conference wasorganized by the most Programme, theInstitute for Development Research (ird),the Centre for Social, Economic and LegalStudies and Documentation (cedej), andthe Al Ahram Centre for Political andStrategic Studies. The Conference’s mainaim was to encourage scientific debatearound the actual functions of NGOs as political and social actors in the ArabStates.
“Are Arab NGOs positive entities fortheir societies or is their contribution todevelopment and democratizationoverrated?” That is the core questionaddressed by the authors. Opinions aredivided: some are optimistic and otherspessimistic, but they all provide a clearpicture of Arab NGOs and they show thatthe latter, as a whole, are not really equalto the political, scientific or ideologicalinvestments that have been placed in themover recent decades. ¶
International Social Science Journal(Issue 180 – June 2004)Excellence in Social Science
The traditional organization of researchsystems is currently subjected to a rangeof pressures as a result of financialconstraints, internationalization,disciplinary trends and the growingconcern, not least in the social sciences,to relate research to emerging societalissues. In the quest for research of bothhigh quality and strong social relevance,evaluation plays a key role. In currentthinking on evaluation, the idea ofexcellence is of great significance, but is also far less clear than it appears atfirst sight. On the face of it, no one couldpossibly object to excellence. Who, after
all, would wish to promote inept, mediocreor even merely adequate research?However, in contemporary usage,“excellence” has a comparative ratherthan an absolute sense. Researchers,projects or institutions are “excellent” in so far as they count among the best.Can excellence be promoted withoutpreferential support for the bestendowing them with durable rents thatmay paradoxically contribute to sclerosis?
This issue also includes a secondthematic section on rethinking poverty. In the official language of the internationalcommunity, extreme poverty is now saidto be a human rights violation. Is thiscoherent? And what follows if it is takenseriously? If human rights that are alreadyformally recognized entail a fundamentalright not to be confined in extremepoverty, would it be acceptable if thosewho suffer from it had no enforceablepositive right? Conversely, however, ifextreme poverty is to be actionable, uponwhom is responsibility for its eradicationincumbent? ¶John Crowley, [email protected]
www.unesco.org/shs/issj
Femmes et politiques urbaines : ruses, luttes et stratégiesFrançois hainard and Christine verschuur. unesco Publishing - Karthala, Paris, 2004, 103 pp. isbn 92-3-203885-4
Published in French, “Women and urbanpolicy: stratagems, struggles andstrategies”, attempts to develop, for the general public, the results of the firstphase of the study carried out by anetwork of research teams from seventransition countries in Eastern Europe(Bulgaria and Romania), Latin America(Argentina, Dominican Republic andBrazil), and West Africa (Burkina Faso and Senegal). This study, which has beenunder way since 1996, falls within theframework of unesco’s most Programme:“Cities, the environment and genderrelations”. It consists of comparativeresearch into the way in which social
relations between men and women – gender relations – have a bearing oninitiatives taken by residents in order toimprove their social and material livingconditions. ¶
La ilusión del buen gobierno - Sociedadcivil, democracia y desarrollo humano en América Latina Eds: Manuel bernales alvarado and Víctor floresgarcía, 308 pp., unesco-most Montevideo,Uruguay, 2004, isbn 92-9089-078-9
The illusion of good governance – Civil society, democracy and humandevelopment in Latin America (in Spanishonly) is a contribution to internationalreflection on the situation and prospectsof Latin America and the Caribbean. The collection of papers reproduced in this volume is representative of thevaried, inexhaustible and increasinglyintense discussion on democracy in LatinAmerica. Going against current thinkingwhich emphasizes the vulnerability of democracy in the region, the democraticpolitical systems of Latin America haveshown, over the years, strong resistanceto the evils undermining them: poverty andparticularly the increasing inequalities,dictatorships, corruption, drug traffickingand organized crime.
This publication puts togetherarguments from both sides: governabilityand human development as an extensionof freedom, and a critical evaluation of the role of development NGOs. Eightchapters, beginning with “Ten fallaciesabout the social problems of LatinAmerica”, and ending with “The eternaldemocratic dream” attempt to provideanswers as to what unesco’s Social and Human Sciences Sector input shouldbe to Latin America and the Caribbeanover the next 20 to 25 years. ¶
24
AUGUST
7-8 August: CriançaEsperança fund-raisingcampaign co-organized by unesco Brasilia and Globo TV Network. São Paulo, Brazil.([email protected])
SEPTEMBER
3 September: Presentationof the unesco IntegratedStrategy to Combat Racism,Discrimination, Xenophobiaand Intolerance to the CommonwealthParliamentary Assembly.Toronto, Canada.([email protected])
5 September: “Dialogue onMigration without Borders”organized by unesco withinthe 2-5 September hmiWorld Congress on HumanMovements and Immigration.Barcelona, Spain.([email protected])
5-9 September: Governancefor Urban Change (48th
International Federation for Housing and Planning).Oslo, Norway.([email protected])
13 September: Ethics aroundthe world rotating conferenceon the declaration onuniversal norms on bioethicsand opening of the BioethicsDocumentation Centre.Vilnius, Lithuania.([email protected])
13-16 September: SecondWorld Urban Forum (unHabitat), organized withinthe Universal Forum ofCultures (Barcelona 2004).Meetings organized by unesco: Round table of experts on SocialSustainability in HistoricalDistricts – Cities as WorldHeritage – Rivers and UrbanCultures – Dialogue on UrbanRealities: Best practices in fighting discriminationand exclusion in cities –Dialogue on UrbanGovernance: democratic
urban governance as keymechanism of partnershipstowards public regulations.Barcelona, Spain.([email protected])
15 September: Ethics aroundthe world rotating conferenceon the declaration onuniversal norms on bioethics.Ankara, Turkey.([email protected])
16-17 September: Meeting of the International Jury forthe unesco Prize for HumanRights Education. Paris,France.([email protected])
17-18 September: Meeting ofthe Precautionary PrincipleExpert Group. Paris, France.([email protected])
18-22 September:Management of UrbanRegions, 40th World Congressof the International Societyof City and Regional Planners.Geneva, Switzerland.([email protected])
23-24 September: WorkingGroup on EnvironmentalEthics. Paris, France.([email protected])
29 September: “Migrationwithout Borders?Investigating a NewScenario”. Workshoporganized within the NinthInternational MetropolisConference “Co-operativeMigration Management:International, National and Local Answers” from 27 September to 1 October.Geneva, Switzerland.([email protected])
CALENDAR
www.unesco.org/shs
“PATHWAYS OF THOUGHT”:A SYMPOSIUM IN MEXICO
As paradigms lose theirstability, the teleological issueof the perfectibility of ourworld takes a severe blow.The need arises most forcefullyto rethink the spaces and the faces of human relationsand exchanges. Shouldutopian thought and practicestill be pursued in our day andage, or should it not? Can it be?Can it not be? Such are thephilosophical issues to bediscussed at the InternationalSymposium on “Readings of Utopia” to be convened in Morelia, Mexico, 22-24November 2004. ¶Frances Albernaz,
PHILOSOPHY IN THE PARK
For four days, from 20 to 23 November 2004, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo willbe celebrating Philosophy.The events, which are beingorganized by the ngo PalasAthena Association, willinclude round tables, meetings,plays and movie discussions –all on the theme of Philosophy.The Philosophy Faculty of the University of São Paulowill be celebrating its 70th
anniversary and, coincidingwith their celebrations, will be a series of round tables as well as two workshops with professors from the University participating. ¶Marlova Noleto,
OCTOBER
18 October: InternationalDay for the Eradication of Poverty. Paris, France.([email protected])
21-22 October: Ethicsteaching in Central Europe.Regional conference ofexperts on ethics teaching.Budapest, Hungary.([email protected])
29 October: InternationalConference: Legal and ethicalframework for astronauts inspace sojourns, co-organizedwith the European SpaceAgency (esa). Paris, France.([email protected])
NOVEMBER
2-3 November: Ethicsaround the world rotatingconference with regionalconsultations on thedeclaration on universalnorms on bioethics. Montevideo, Uruguay.([email protected])
10 November: Ethics aroundthe world rotating conferencewith national consultationon the declaration onuniversal norms on bioethics.Seoul, Republic of Korea.([email protected])
16 November: AwardCeremony of the unesco-Madanjeet Singh Prize forthe Promotion of Toleranceand Non-Violence, within the celebration of theInternational Day forTolerance. Paris, France.([email protected])
18 November: PhilosophyDay at unesco. Eventsorganized at unescoHeadquarters and aroundthe world. Paris, France.([email protected])
18-19 November: WorkingGroup on EnvironmentalEthics. New Orleans, United States of America.([email protected])
22-24 November : Pathwaysof Thought InternationalSymposium: Readings of Utopia. Organized byunesco’s Pathways ofThought steering committee,in cooperation with theMinistry of Culture of Mexico.Morelia, Mexico.([email protected])
24 November: Ethics aroundthe world rotating conferencewith national consultationon the declaration onuniversal norms on bioethics.Mexico City, Mexico.([email protected])
26-27 November: Meeting ofthe Precautionary PrincipleExpert Group. Princeton, nj, United States of America.([email protected])
29 November-4 December:“Peri-Urban Landscape and Environment”. Firstinternational workshop of the unesco Chair inLandscape Architecture and Environment.Marrakesh, Morocco.([email protected])
NEWS
