Dear Friends, all,
Below are items from the final document of the third Assembly of the UN of
the peoples
>held in Perugia, Italy, on Sept.23-25, 1999.
I snip and then comment.
********* NB - Please see the action call, at the end of this
post ************
----------
>From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Mario Pianta)
>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Subject: [ATTAC] GLOBAL CIVIL SOCIETY
>Date: Wed, Oct 13, 1999, 10:58 am
>
>Dear friends
>
>I attach the final document of the third Assembly of the UN of the peoples
>held in Perugia, Italy, on Sept.23-25, 1999 with the participation of 140
>representatitives of civil society organizations from 100 countries,
>addressing THE ROLE OF THE GLOBAL CIVIL SOCIETY AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES FOR
>PEACE, AN ECONOMY OF JUSTICE AND INTERNATIONAL DEMOCRACY
>It includes policy strategy, demands and actions in several fields, with a
>comprehensive view and a global perspective.
>
>You may be interested in CIRCULATING IT IN YOUR LIST
>
>A lot more material is available in English and Italian (including a video).
>
>[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>http://www.krenet.it/a/mpace
>are the contacts with the organizers
>
>
>
>
>Below is an excerpt:
>
>
>
>THE ROLE OF THE GLOBAL CIVIL SOCIETY AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES FOR
>PEACE, AN ECONOMY OF JUSTICE AND INTERNATIONAL DEMOCRACY
>
>Final document
>of the 3rd Assembly of the United Nations of the Peoples
>
>
>(...) Without an active and thriving civil society, without its
>collaboration and a close relationship with institutions, no local or
>global project to improve the quality of life or to preserve the planet
>will ever be successful. Therefore, every "realistic" vision of the future
>must include:
>
>- projects and plans for strengthening the civil society and local communities;
>- the recognition of the role that civil society organisations perform and
>can carry out for peace, for an economy with justice and for democracy;
>- the growth of cooperation between civil society and institutions at all
>levels, from the local to the global one, spreading a culture of
>reciprocity;
>- respect for the autonomy of the civil society and its non-subordination
>to the political or economic system;
>- the growth of cooperation between the civil societies of different
>countries, reinforcing the international dimension of their activity and
>the role of a global civil society.
>
>In the era of interdipendence and globalisation, the main concrete
>"resources" of a global civil society are:
>
>1. the sharing of universal human values such as life, equal dignity of all
>persons and peoples, freedom, solidarity, peace, human development,
>political and economic democracy;
>2. the capacity to understand the signs of the times and act in order to
>make the international law on human rights - civil, political, economic,
>social, cultural, to peace, to development, to the environment - prevail
>over the old international law of armed sovereign states;
>3. the will and the capacity to build cooperation networks between groups
>and communities across all borders,
>4. the capacity to plan and act even in the most difficult situations;
>5. the capacity to inform and educate;
>6. the capacity to stimulate and collaborate with the institutions,
>starting from the local level.
>
>The power of the organisations of the global civil society does not lie in
>money or in weapons but in the will to "do" and not only to "talk" or
>"demand".
>To do: with competence, capacity to analyze, plan and mobilize. To do in
>difficult places: working for the prevention of conflicts and in promoting
>the growth of civil society where democracy is still weak. To do
>immediately: by offering, for example, aid to victims of a tragedy, but
>also searching for the causes, intervening on the sources of problems.
>Civil society's strength lies in the capacity to coherently unite
>denouncing, proposal and direct action.
>
>If one of these components is missing (study and understanding, control,
>denouncing, proposal, direct action, personal behaviour), civil society's
>actions risk losing credibility and effectiveness.
>
>The international situation is rapidly worsening and there is the need to
>oppose the current attempts to establish a hierarchical world order,
>founded upon the sovereignty of armed national states, national
>self-interest, the "law of strength" and the practice of war, upon the
>exploitation of the natural and human resources of the poorer countries,
>violence and the destruction of the environment, upon the control of
>information and communication, financial speculation damaging the real
>economy and human development. This imposes great responsibilities upon
>civil societies all over the world which no woman or man can ignore.
>
>THE THREE SECTIONS OF THE TEXT ARE THE FOLLOWING:
>
>- Above all, peace
>- For an economy with justice
>- For an international democracy
>
>
>
>
>Mario Pianta
>ISRDS-CNR, Via De Lollis 12, 00185 Roma, Italy
>tel. (39) 06 44879207, fax 06 4463836, e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
*************************
Firstly, our thanks to Mario Pianta and the meeting participants.
Secondly, I have selected the following from the text of the document:
*************
3rd Assembly of the UN of the Peoples
THE ROLE OF THE GLOBAL CIVIL SOCIETY AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES FOR
PEACE, AN ECONOMY OF JUSTICE AND INTERNATIONAL DEMOCRACY
Final document
of the 3rd Assembly of the United Nations of the Peoples
****Selected abstracts from the above,
by john courtneidge <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
14 October 1999 ****
2. Redistribution means reversing the trend to growing inequality. The civil
society demands to governments and parliaments:
- to cancel the foreign debt of impoverished countries and promote the
revision of the credit concession system that generates unsustainable debt,
making sure that the resources made available are used against poverty;
- to fight against poverty by adopting coherent politicies and local,
national and supranational agreements, also involving local authorities,
social and economic forces, and by supporting global development with
agrarian reform, the transfer of knowledge and the opening of western
markets;
*************
3. Co-operation means not to leave the future of our societies in the hands
of the competition in a market without rules. The civil society demands to
governments and parliaments:
- the development of alternative financial institutions, such as ethical
banks, microcredit, a credit system favouring the poor and women, and all
the other financial instruments for an ethical management of savings;
- the promotion of socially useful work;
**************
4. to promote the reform and democratisation of international economic and
financial institutions (World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the
World Trade Organisation) bringing them back under the political control and
effective co-ordination of the United Nations.
***************
5. to promote the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, creating a true
culture of human rights, educating and strengthening the respect for social,
economic, political and civil rights;
��Above all, peace
Peace, as is proclaimed in Article 28 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, is a fundamental right of every person and people. Without peace
there cannot be development or democracy. Without justice there cannot be
peace, which means respect and promotion of human and social rights, a
balanced relationship to nature, building justice and democracy for all
peoples. However, peace cannot be obtained solely through the actions of the
United Nations and Governments. In fact, in the last few years all the
limits and the responsibilities of these institutions have emerged so
clearly as never before.
************************
The Campaign for Interest-Free Money works:
��to transfer the Banking and Financial system (the motor of present-day
economics):
*from* the for-profit sector
*to* the Democratic, Public Service Sector.
We see this as *key* to delivering Fair, safe and peace-full societies.
Accordingly :
Our Petition to MPs and other public representatives (just released !! )
says:
*******************
CAMPAIGN for INTEREST-FREE MONEY
Petition to __________________, MP.
( ____________________ Constituency )
We, the undersigned, consider that money-lending for profit (usury, riba,
money-making-money) is both wrong and the cause of in-numerable personal,
family, social and environmental ills.
We, therefore, call on the UK Government to repeal the legislation that
permits money lending at interest and to create a Public Service,
interest-free Banking and Financial System.
We, as your Constituents, call on you to support this Petition,
Name Address
Please note - the signatories to this sheet will not be contacted by the
Campaign or other organisations or individuals, nor will their details be
shared with any-one other than the MP�s and Prime-Minister�s Offices.
Please return full sheets to:
The Campaign for Interest-Free Money,
Global Cafe, 15 Golden Square, London W1R3AG (and, please, phone
01992 501854 or e-mail; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> to advise of posting)
****************************
***** Please, friends, all,, do use this - internationally - as (?!)
*The* Millenial Request ******
****************************
Your Friend in peace, john courtneidge
Networking The Campaign for Interest-Free Money
***********************************************************
