Global Threat, Global Response

Human Wrongs Watch

By Federico Mayor and Roberto Savio*

14 November 2015 (Other News) – The world can no longer be bloodied and frightened by a group of fanatics capable of committing the most horrible crimes. A reaction worldwide, which not only has the real and moral strength to act with firmness and diligence now, but allows to know the causes in order to prevent recurrence in the future, is urgently necessary.

It is clear that partial and scattered actions are not efficient.

So is it has been a colossal mistake to weaken the UN system replacing it by plutocratic groups (G.7, G.8, G.20) and to undertake military actions, without at least the consent of the Security Council.

It is essential a great alliance, leaving aside for the moment aspects and differential criteria, acting together to solve challenges facing all countries without exception.

Along with terrorism, extreme poverty causes thousands of deaths every day and leads many human beings, helpless, to abandon their places of origin and trying to arrive, in a terrible emigration, which generates more feelings of hate,  because of lto ack of solidarity, to countries that today are characterized by confusion, disorder and improvisation.

Terrorism, extreme poverty ….. and the environment,  because the current ecological emergency can shortly reach points of no return that irreversibly affect the habitability of the earth. It would be a historic irresponsibility leaving to the following generations a legacy of very poor living conditions.

A few weeks ago, in a “joint statement” whose first signatories are, with us, Mijail Gorbachov, Mario Soares, Garry Jacobs (WAAS), Colin Archer (IPB) and François Bernard (www.fund-culturadepaz.org) we urged, Racing potentially irreversible procesess, to convene a special session of the United Nations General Assembly for the sole purpose of adopting global measures against these problems, while designing a “road map” leading to the refunding of the United Nations.

With special urgency now we renew that call. All united against processes that later would not have remedy. Join now, with great urgency, the leaders of countries and regional organizations specially concerned and, above all, agree to convene without delay -to give hope to “We, the peoples …” as lucidly starts the Charter of the United Nations- a Special Session, which could mark a “new beginning”, which is so urgent in these times of anguish and desolation.

*Federico Mayor, Spanish scientist, scholar, politician, diplomat and poet. Chairman of the Foundation for a Culture of Peace. He served as Director-General of UNESCO from 1987 to 1999.

*Roberto Savio, founder and president emeritus of the Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency and publisher of Other News.

2015 Human Wrongs Watch