The Global Plan
For The Advancement Of Humanity
by
James Nicholas
International Secretary
The World Council for Global Co-operation
July 1, 1991
The Quintessence of the Global Plan For the Advancement of Humanity
Problem No.1
The Ecological Crisis
Recommendation I. -Recognising our common future:
Proposal 1 - The need for an expanded Idea of Security:
Proposal 2 - Regenerate Ecologically Interdependent Communities:
Proposal 3 - Towards a Sustainable World Society:
Recommendation II. - Designing with Nature:
Proposal 4 - Conserve our Natural Resources:
Proposal 5 - Preserve the Diversity of Life:
Proposal 6 - Creative Management of the Global Commons
Recommendation III. - Developing a Sustainable Energy Future:
Proposal 7 - Harnessing Renewable Energy Resources:
Proposal 8 - Improve World-Wide Energy Efficiency:
Proposal 9 - Investments in Climate Protection:
Problem No. 2
Militarism and Violence
Recommendation IV. - Seeking Common Security:
Proposal 10 - The Urgency for a Conventional Arms Non-Proliferation Treaty:
Proposal 11 - Restrain Arms Expenditures and Control the Traffic in Arms:
Proposal 12 - A World Disarmament Agency
Recommendation V. - Achieving a Total Nuclear Disarmament:
Proposal 13 - A Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty:
Proposal 14 - A Nuclear Freeze:
Proposal 15 - A Nuclear Free World by the Year 2000:
Recommendation VI. - Establishing Zones of Peace:
Proposal 16 - Strengthen the United Nations Peace-Keeping Forces:
Proposal 17 - A World Mediating Agency:
Proposal 18 - Peace through Prosperity:
Problem No. 3
Pervasive Poverty
Recommendation VII. - Enhancing Economic Growth through Trade:
Proposal 19 - Promote Fair Trade:
Proposal 20 - Support the International Commodities Agreement:
Proposal 21 - A Blueprint for a Debt Retirement Fund:
Recommendation VIII. - Controlling the Population Explosion:
Proposal 22 - An Integrated Development Strategy
Proposal 23 - Revitalise the Cities:
Recommendation IX. - Radical Improvements in Health Education and Housing:
Proposal 25 - Improve Universal Health Care:
Proposal 26 - Literacy and Education for All:
Proposal 27 - Invest in Massive Housing Schemes:
Problem No. 4
Social Injustice
Recommendation X. - Providing Special Assistance to Least Developed Countries:
Proposal 28 - An Appeal to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Proposal 29 - A Plea to Monetary Corporations:
Proposal 30 - Establish two New World Institutions:
I) The World Treasury:
II) The World Development Reasearch Institute:
Recommendation XI. - The Third World Future Programmes to Eliminate World Hunger:
Proposal 31 - Need for Land Reform and a Second Green Revolution:
Proposal 32 - Establishing a World Food Bank:
Proposal 33 - Science and Technology in the Developing Developed Worlds:
Proposal 34 - Establishing the World Council For Global Co-operation:
Proposal 35 - World Unification through Five World Order Values:
Proposal 36 - The Objectives of the Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity:
Problem No. 5
The Violation of Human Rights
Recommendation XIII. - Respecting Human Rights:
Proposal 37 - Prevent Genocide:
Proposal 38 - Safeguards against Torture:
Proposal 39 - Uphold the Rule of Law:
Recommendation XIV. - Dismantling Apartheid:
Proposal 40 - Sanctions - The Path to Freedom:
Proposal 41 - Democratic Reforms, The only Road:
Recommendation XV. - Meeting the Urgent Needs of Women & Children/Refugees:
Proposal 43 - Ensure Equal Rights for Women:
Proposal 44 - Save the Lives of Children:
Proposal 45 - Rescue the Refugees:
2566 XD Den Haag,
The Hague
Haviklaan 31
November 16th, 1988
The Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity is an excellent document for a discussion on Global Cooperation. It offers, in an ordered form, the most important problems that we face and that cannot be solved at lower levels, such as national levels. They can only be solved by cooperation at the world level and the Global Plan provides us with a vision regarding the world decision making structure we need in order to solve these problems. Among them are the improvement of the quality of the environment, the maintenance of peace and the reduction of the inequality in welfare between developing and developed countries.
Signed: Professor J. Tinbergen
Nobel Laureate - Netherlands
Economic Science 1969.
Former Chief Economist to the United Nations
and Author of the 1960 "Club of Rome Report".
We, The Signatories of the "Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity" are concerned citizens of this world.
We remain loyal citizens of our countries, proud of our culture and traditions, but we also respect the cultural diversity of humanity.
We love our own family, but we are also mindful of the great human family - 5 billion strong, spread among 161 nations.
We cherish the land on which we live and we cherish this beautiful planet earth, common Mother of us all.
As world citizens we accept the cardinal fact that all the earth"s people are united by a common link - their basic humanity. Fundamentally, we are fellow human beings and only accidentally are we African, Asian or European.
We believe that in this shrinking globe, people can no longer live as strangers. There is in each one of us, a little of all of us.
We appeal to men and women of goodwill to partake in an exciting venture. We ask them to work in their own way to advance the welfare of humanity and to promote the well-being of this planet. Specifically, we ask them to champion the cause of human rights, human value, and the sanctity of human life. In essence, let us learn to be kind to all of humanity.
We appeal to our youth, to whom the future belongs, to enter the 21st century not as novices to an uncertain future, but as heirs to an era of planned progress.
As the 3rd millenium dawns, let us together seek a grand victory - not over any nation or people, but over ignorance, poverty, disease and human degradation, wherever they may be found.
As world citizens, we are happy to come together and affirm in this document, The Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity, our vision of a humane global society.
May the realization of the ideas contained in this document be the crowning achievement of our times.
The Quintessence of the Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity
The fundamental premise of the Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity is based on a noble idea of Thomas Paine. "The earth" he said, "is the common property of the human race" This point was also emphasized by Thomas Jefferson when he wrote that "the earth has been given as common stock for man to labour and to live on".
The Global Plan regards the misuse and maldistribution of the earth"s scarce resources as one of the principal causes for economic and political tensions in the world. As world citizens, we believe that to create a more just and humane world society, the resources of this earth must employed more fairly and rationally for the benefit of all the earth"s peoples.
A principal obstacle to achieving this noble aim is soaring military expenditures. Just as thorns do not produce grapes and thistles do not produce apples, the $1,000 billion a year spent on the military does not produce economic wealth to satisfy vital human needs. This expenditure is draining the resources of the poor countries and straining the budgets of the rich countries. A disturbing balance is emerging - the demand for the earth"s resources greatly exceeds its supply.
The Global Plan advocates a change in priorities. It suggests that there be a significant restraint in world military expenditures. A step-by-step mutually balanced reduction in military spending, that is verifiable would be advantageous to all nations. What is needed is world-wide grassroots pressure to compel governments to change their policies.
The Global Plan calls for a link between disarmament and development, as requested by the United Nations. In relation to this, we suggest a special policy called the "DISARMAMENT DIVIDEND". This policy requires that savings obtained through disarmament be invested in national development projects.
Among the developing countries the policy of a DISARMAMENT DIVIDEND will ensure that all the funds acquired through disarmament be exclusively allocated for development. In the case of the developed countries, while a portion must be directed to assist the needy in their own societies, a major portion of it must go as foreign aid to finance self-help projects for the desperately poor in the Third World.
The Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity envisions the policy of the DISARMAMENT DIVIDEND as an attractive alternative for solving the serious financial woes of both the developed and the developing countries. We strongly urge that in the choice between guns and butter, the latter must prevail.
As world citizens, we affirm that the policy of the DISARMAMENT DIVIDEND holds the key for solving the major world problems. The Global Plan identifies five of them:
1. The Ecological Crisis.
2. Militarism and Violence.
3. Pervasive Poverty.
4. Social Injustice.
5. The Violation of Human Rights.
What is unique about these problems is that they have no legal boundaries. They intertwine, intermesh and they all aggravate each other. As these problems are interlinked, the solutions to them are also interlinked. For any one problem to be solved satisfactorily, the other four must also be confronted simultaneously. A piece-meal, ad hoc approach which is the present practice, will not bring lasting results.
We the `signatories" of the Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity, are pleased to present a set of fifteen recommendations which are supported by forty-five proposals that offer possible solutions to the world"s five major problems. All these proposal are based on a central strategy that is both promising and practical. The policy of the DISARMAMENT DIVENDEND suggests a way of converting military expenditures into fruitful investments that promote economic prosperity. We believe that such a strategy can create on this earth, a decent quality of life for all the earth"s people.
In the next section, we will deal with what is perhaps the world"s number one problem - the despoiling of our fragile bluish planet.
Problem No.1
THE ECOLOGICAL CRISIS
Proposals 1-9
The Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity affirms that our home is a small blue planet in which all land is in limited supply, both in quantity and quality. We share this earth not only with people of many cultures, but with plants and animals who depend on it - and we on them - directly and indirectly.
All living things on the earth are held together in a most intricate web o interdependence. They live mostly on or near the surface of the ground in the narrow upper levels of the sea, and in the lower levels of the atmosphere. This narrow band around the earth in which all life exists has been called the `biosphere" by the Soviet physicist, Vladimir Vernadsky. It contains a "majestic unity - a dynamic equilibrium of sort" The biosphere which is the natural environment that society has inherited is in deep conflict with the technological environment that society has created. The expansion of deserts; the fouling of soil, air and water; the disappearance of flora and fauna and the depletion of non-renewable resources, are the common dangers afflicting all of humanity.
Where do nations stand in restoring the integrity of a damaged environment? Our attention must be focussed on a number of extremely vulnerable areas. The early prevention of pollution of the seas from land based resources, protection of the stratospheric ozone layer and the transport, handling and disposal of toxic wastes are just a few of our grave concerns. We can no longer approve a concept of security that ignores the ecological needs of a threatened planet. Universal action is imperative!
The Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity seeks the dedication of caring people toward a vision of harmony with nature. A blending of mutual sympathies would transform our planet into a cherished home for all.
Recommendation I. -Recognizing our Common Future
Proposal 1 - The need for an expanded idea of security
The first law of ecology is that everything is related to everything else. We all live on one earth, formed by a community of organisms, carefully balanced with one another. For the first time in the history of humanity the crisis of the human environment has reached global proportions.
The Global Plan advocates the idea of an expanded security. This ideas goes beyond the narrow limits of military security and addresses the environmental, political and economic needs of a growing population. "The World"s environmental problems are greater than the sum of those in each country. Certainly, they can no longer be dealt with purely on a nation/state basis. It is an idea that attempts to avoid competition over natural resources and establishes equitable sharing of all ecosystems.
Norman Cousins has stated that "the world has to be managed as a whole and not just its parts". The threat to global security could be greatly reduced by environmentally sound management that meets the obligations of an ecologically interdependent earth.
A highly desirable indicator of expanded security would be the establishment of an Early Warning System. Such a system would allow appropriate international organisations and U.N. bodies to pool their resources and draw on the most sophisticated technologies available to monitor environmental risks and conflicts. These organisations could offer their services to the respective countries to establish principles and institutions for joint management.
Proposal 2- Regenerate Ecologically Interdependent Communities:
Ecologically interdependent communities share a common system of earth, air and water which transcends their political boundaries. The health and welfare of peoples bordering the Mediterranean are affected by the ecological condition of the coastal areas. The countries of the Baltic Sea and the Danube Basin have moral commitments to one another. Their system of community relationships transcends their political divisions. In a common spirit of understanding, mutually dependent people can consider ways and means to include an ecosystem approach to management. More bi-lateral resource management such as the 1986 Great Lakes Toxic Substance Control Agreement between Canada and the United States could be held as a model. It provides for the natural regeneration of the environment. Despite complex jurisdictional problems, the core community of Arctic users need to co-operate with one another in securing the rules for a rational exploitation of resources. Governments that have not done so should consider ways to develop a "foreign policy" for the environment.
The Global Plan makes a special appeal to all states to make progress in ratifying existing universal conventions. A striking example is the Internation Tropical Timber Agreement. Until this notable exception, environmental resource considerations had not played any part in commodity agreements.
Proposal 3- Towards a Sustainable World Society
"Sustainable development is development that meets the need of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". The Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity seeks sustainable development that would meet universal human necessities such as food, clothing, shelter, health care, education and employment. The over- exploitation of resources for military purposes is wasteful and damaging our own and future generations. We must seek a new vision that unties development with the natural systems that support life on earth. We must consider the ecological conditions of economic growth that could promote sustainability and minimize the human and environmental costs. The Global Plan urges that resources be diverted from the Disarmament Dividend to the appropriate United Nations agencies for promoting sustainable development. We further propose investing in technology and energy conservation that would dramatically less the over-exploitation of resources. We also seek the conservation of agricultural resources as a prerequisite for promoting sustainability.
Economic growth can satisfy the present while saving the future. A sustainable world society must work toward alleviating the growing poverty cycle with creative programmes that promote conservation as well as growth.
As world citizens we must respect the laws of Nature and seek not to oppose or conquer them. In learning to blend with her we sill find a reliable friend and ally. It is disregard for the laws of Nature that have caused the environmental crisis to reach world-wide proportions. In ignoring Nature"s many warnings, we have put the whole of the planet"s future in peril.
As the deserts expand, the forests shrink. Since 1960, the Food and Agricultural Organization estimates that the world has lost half its forests. Poor land use and deforestation has intensified the loss of valuable top- soil. World-wide, an estimated 26 billion tons of top-soil are being washed of blown off cropland each year. The process of expanding deserts affects some thirty-five percent of the earth"s land from slight to extreme degrees. An estimated 2.4 billion people will be running short of firewood by the end of the century. A sad result of deforestation, overgrazing and overplowing is often desertification. Drought affects more people than any other catastrophe and in 1985-86 one hundred million people were affected in India alone. By the year 2000 a mass extinction of species will have taken place if we continue to cut down 225 million hectares of tropical forests annually. This vital resource is being lost forever as tropical countries eliminate their forests in an attempt to pay their international debt.
In the fertile areas of the world, the rivers flow with water poisoned by pesticides, The majority of victims of pesticide poisoning are farmers in the developing countries; which runs as high as two million world-wide cases each year. At present, the world is using over 70,000 synthetic chemicals, with another 500 to 1000 new ones being added each year.
The global commons of the oceans, the Antarctic and outerspace are under great pressure from the effects of pollution and exploitation. An example of this is the amount of oil spilled from tankers into our oceans, which has now reached 1.5 million tons a year.
Recommendation II. - Designing with Nature:
Proposal 4 - Conserve our Natural Resources?
Conservation is the wise management of the Earth"s resources. A state of harmony should co-exist between the natural and social environments.
The Global Plan supports a six-point programme for the conservation of all the earth"s ecosystems:
1. We call for world-wide reforestation programmes. We endorse the Tropical Forestry Action Plan launched in 1985 and seek more global contributions to forestry. 2. We recommend the stabilization of our water and soil. We suggest action to control massive logging projects, a major cause of soil erosion. Properly funded projects could range from simple construction of terraces and planting of grass to massive tree planting schemes to stabilize soil.
3. We seek international agreements concerning the major transboundary river systems such as the Amazon and the Nile. Sediments brought to the oceans by a river like the Amazon can be traced 2,000 kilometers out to sea.
4. We suggest effective management of urban refuse. Major cities of the world should provide recycling and composting schemes to control this growing menace.
5. We urgently request the removal of industrial and toxic chemicals from the environment. One area where a long lasting solution would be beneficial lies in Integrated Pest Management programs in agriculture. These would severely cut artificial pesticide us and create more self-regulated crop systems.
6. We need measures to control ocean disposal of waste. We advocate nations to adhere to the London Dumping Agreement.
The international community should assume the initiative to safeguard the global commons from the harmful effects of pollution.
Proposal 5 -Preserve the diversity of life:
The Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity urgently requests that an international policy be agreed upon to rescue one of the last great frontiers on earth. Tropical forests cover only 6% of the earth"s land surface but contain over half the earth"s species.
This document proposes an `Action Plan for Tropical Forests" that would cost 1.3 billion a year over five years. This annual sum is the equivalent to half a day of military expenditure world-wide. A programme like this would rescue an area about the size of Ireland each year from destruction, and save vital plant species that could provide future food crops and medicines. Almost half of our drugs and pharmaceuticals are based on the chemistry of wild plants. An obscure tropical forest plant, the rosy periwinkle, has saved the lives of countless children suffering from leukemia.
This document further advocates vigorous efforts to preserve natural areas that would protect and possibly save many species of wildlife from extinction. Furthermore, every country in the world has land that could be potentially restored.
The Global Plan requests governments to increase their land surface designated to parks and nature preserves. At present, this only totals four percent world-wide. This is especially necessary in crowded urban areas. As Thoreau said "it is the marriage of the soul with Nature that makes the intellect fruitful and gives birth to imagination." For Costa Rica, this is a priority. They have designated eleven percent of their territory free from human expansion - a growing legacy for their children.
Governments should encourage and agree on a species convention similar in spirit to the Law of the Sea Treaty, which would articulate the concept of species and genetic variability as a common heritage.
Proposal 6 - Creative Management of the Global Commons:
The global commons comprises the Antarctica, the vast oceans and the outerspace. Let the world declare these masterpieces of natural architecture "a common heritage of humanity".
The Antarctica has often been referred to as the silent continent and it comprises about one-tenth of the land surface of the earth. Universal ratification of the Antarctic Treaty (1959) would ensure its use for peaceful purposes and acknowledge the fair distribution of its rich mineral resources. While there is no general agreement as to whether Antarctica is part of the international commons, many nations outside the treaty have recognised the trusteeship role played by the treaty nations in protecting the environment of the Antarctica.
The Law of the Sea Treaty has been signed by 159 nations -yet to date, only 32 have ratified it. We ask that more countries ratify this treaty for the better management of the oceans which constitute over 70% of the earth"s surface. This treaty defines the seabed with regard to mining as a common resource base for humanity. The Global Plan urges the major technological powers to ratify the Convention as the oceans life-sustaining system is greatly threatened.
The Outerspace treaty (1967), including the moon and other celestial bodies, holds the promise of providing powerful answers to protect our planet"s life-support systems. Non-militaristic space technology is a key to managing our planet. From outerspace we can detect the early signs of planetary decay and implement solutions before the point of irreversibility.
Humankind must take every precaution to prevent an arms race in space. An international group of scientists has proposed the Internation Geosphere/Biosphere Programme. In essence, this is an earth/space monitoring system. Such a system investigates the biosphere using many technologies, including satellites. A strengthening of the UNEP"s Global Environmental Monitoring System would greatly help in their efforts to pool a wealth of data for dispersal among governments and institutions.
Today"s refuse can be tomorrow"s energy. By processing garbage, agriculture and forest wastes, we can produce electricity, heat and synthetic fuels. The province of Ontario, Canada, is using a conversion project that is estimated to produce at least 3.2 percent of Ontario"s energy from such wastes by 1995. That is the equivalent to 27 million barrels of oil annually, which is enough to heat more than one million homes.
About a quarter of the world"s population consumes three-quarters of the worlds primary energy. Developing a sustainable energy future means a shift from the non-renewable sources like coal, oil, gas and nuclear power to the renewable sources of energy like solar, wind, and water power.
The shift to coal, in particular, has accelerated the rise in carbon emissions. When fossil fuels are burned dangerous pollutants like sulfur, nitrogen and hydrocarbons are produced. The burning of coal is warming our atmosphere and producing acid rain. Acid rain is hitting our forests and lakes destroying the exquisite beauty of the world around us. We desperately need each country to enact strict pollution controls.
We are affecting the earth"s atmosphere by the gases emitted from aerosols, refrigeration chemicals and the making of plastics. Seven billion tons of carbon are being discharged into the atmosphere each year from fossil fuels and deforestation.
Some scientists predict that the earth"s climate will warm by an average of 1.5 to 4.5 degrees Celsius over the next fifty years owing to the greenhouse effect. Chemical pollutants in the upper atmosphere are eating away at the thin ozone layer allowing harmful ultraviolet rays to penetrate to the earth. Other dramatic changes would occur in rainfall patterns, prevailing winds and ocean currents, that could have disastrous effects on agriculture and sea levels.
Recommendation III. - Developing a Sustainable Energy Future:
Proposal 7 - Harnessing Renewable Energy Resources:
The shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy resources is a prerequisite for sustainable development.
The Global Plan proposes that the international community pursue energy efficient forms of power such as:
Solar Energy - It is ecologically clean and we are virtually guaranteed and unlimited supply. Four million solar water heaters are being successfully used in Japan.
Wind Energy - Denmark is leading the way in the world-wide windpower industry. 1985 data show that sales of wind turbines reached over 500 million dollars.
Water Energy - The Federal Republic of Germany has demonstrated that 35,000 small hydro-electric power plants, involving the old-fashioned water mill, are doing a superb job for consumers.
Biomass Energy - Biomass, derived directly or indirectly from plant photosynthesis, is a viable and versatile field source capable of providing high quality gaseous, liquid and solid fuels, as well as electricity. Though less that 1% of annual Biomass growth is used for energy, it provides 15% of the energy used worldwide.
Maintaining sustainability in the midst of an unstable economy means providing vital energy sources that are economically more viable and environmentally safe.
Proposal 8 - Improve World-Wide Energy efficiency:
The shift from fossil fuels to renewable resources must be looked upon as an investment in our planet"s future. We must turn away from short-term profit and look to our long-term health and sustainability. We can achieve this through low energy use and greater efficiency.
The key to cost-effective investment in energy efficiency is a concept known as least-cost planning. Adopted by several American States, least cost planning puts investments in energy supply and energy conservation on an equal footing. Whenever an investment in increased efficiency is more economical than one in energy supply, then least-cost planning would give it more priority. Several studies show that such an approach would lead to energy efficiency and a savings of billions of dollars and can be used effectively by government agencies, corporations and consumers.
The Global Plan endorses the following suggestions towards improving world energy efficiency.
1. The creation of a World Energy Research Centre under United Nations direction to help open new energy sources in the poorest countries.
2. A commitment to developing small decentralised and safe energy systems.
3. Improving efficiency standards for cars, buildings and appliances. This requires the orchestration of dozens of technologies, policies and institutions.
4. Government sponsored home weatherisation programmes. In Canada and Sweden they have helped to reduce energy losses.
Proposal 9 - Investments in Climate Protection:
The Global Plan recommends the shift from fossil fuels such as oil and coal and promotes the development of technologies based on renewable energy sources.
We encourage all societies to ratify the Montreal Protocol which is an important step in protecting the ozone layer. If strictly implemented, this protocol could reduce 50% of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) by the year 2000. We propose the strengthening of this protocol by requiring a world-wide phase- out of CFC"s.
We further propose a ban on the non-essential uses of CFC" globally. Such a ban should include aerosol cans and foam products used in the food industry. We praise Canada, the United States and Sweden, for the projected phase-out in the use of CFC"s in aerosols and call for other countries to follow.
The Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity recommends a five point action programme as a rescue strategy for planet earth, This has been conveyed by Chairman Gro Brundtland of the United Nations Commission on the Environment and Development.
1. We propose international talks to create regional strategies for stabilising and reducing energy consumption.
2. We seek internation research and information on renewable energy.
3. We recommend an international technology transfer programme with an emphasis on the needs of developing countries.
4. We request increased international scientific research on the effects of climatic change.
5. We call for the establishment of a global convention on the protection of the climate and reducing emissions of harmful substances.
If these programmes are to be implemented with any success, the policy of a Disarmament Dividend should be energetically pursued and supported by the international community. With this support, the grave problems of militarism and violence which we shall examine in the following section, can be alleviated.
Problem No. 2
Militarism and Violence
Proposals 10 - 18
The chief characteristic of folly is that it can mistake itself for wisdom. The arms race is a prime example of this. Militarism may win a lot of applause, yet according to Arnold Toynbee, it is the commonest cause for the breakdown of civilisations. This observation is particularly true for our own times.
Militarism is a social addiction that has grown so widespread that all humanity has become its victim. The entire world today is an armed camp with many areas becoming drenched in blood. This squandering of resources takes place while three billion of the world"s people are considered poor and nearly one billion of them are inadequately fed.
Since 1945, over twenty million people have been killed in over one hundred and fifty wars. Almost all these conflicts have taken place among countries of the Third World.
The Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity will act as a catalyst for action through which we can replace common insecurity with common security. The principle of common security asserts that countries can only find security in co-operation with their competitors and not against them, As the Palme Commission stated, "Common Security requires that people live in dignity and peace, that they have enough to eat, and live in a world without poverty and destitution."
In order to reduce the impact that unchecked militarism has in our world, specific areas of concern must be addressed. It is imperative that each one is considered equally important. One of the dangers of the preoccupation with nuclear weapons is that it can lead to complacency about the problems of war itself. The proliferation of conventional weapons increases the probability of war and drains precious financial resources.
Recommendation IV. - Seeking Common Security:
Proposal 10 - The urgency for a Conventional Arms Non-proliferation Treaty:
Francois De Salignac, a French Archbishop wrote in 1685, that: "all wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers. Each owes infinitely more to the human race, than to the particular country in which he was born."
Military spending consumes over $2 million every minute of every day. During that same minute, thirty children will die from lack of nutrition and proper health care. The Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity strongly urges a Conventional Arms Non-proliferation Treaty, similar to the Nuclear Arms Non-Proliferation Treaty. We, as world citizens, are particularly concerned that the proliferation of conventional arms poses a great threat to the political and economic stability of the international system.
The essence of a Conventional Arms Non-Proliferation Treaty would be to freeze the production of conventional weapons at current levels. When this freeze has been achieved, a step-by-step, mutually balanced reduction of conventional weapons can begin. This disarmament process must have an effective mechanism to ensure compliance and verification. Eventually, it could be monitored by the World Disarmament Agency (see Proposal 12).
The difficulty in achieving a Conventional Arms Non-Proliferation Treaty, that all states can agree on, is formidable. This treaty will always be our ultimate goal, but any bi-lateral, multi-lateral and regional agreements, which freeze pr reduce the levels of conventional weapons would be a positive signal and is a definite short-term goal.
The nations of the world are, as the late Alva Myrdal wrote, "buying more and more insecurity at a higher and higher price. This compulsion for more and better weapons has forced many resource-poor Third World countries to increase their military budgets seven-fold since 1960, while half of their citizens still have no access to safe drinking water or hundreds of thousands to adequate food. Their defense systems are like big mountains containing deep caverns. Before our mountains come crashing down, let us fill these caverns with the strong foundations of trust and respect. A demilitarized world is a more secure world and has a much smaller price tag.
Positive steps have already been made concerning the elimination of one class of weapons. The Geneva Convention and the recent adoption of United Nations Resolution 42/37, calls for a total ban on the research, production and use of chemical and biological weapons. Let us use this agreement as a catalyst for further disarmament talks.
We believe as Norman Cousins wrote, that: "war is the invention of the human mind and the human mind can invent peace."
Proposal 11 - Restrain Arms Expenditures and Control the Traffic in Arms.
The Global Plan recognises that military spending is one of the obstacles to global peace and economic development. Considering that only 0.1% of present world military expenditures would triple the United Nations peace-keeping resources, imagine what benefits the other 99.9% would bring humanity.
The Global Plan proposes a two-step programme for the reduction in military spending.
1. We call for the gradual elimination of private arms manufacturers and dealers. These merchants of death create an unchecked global marketplace for arms. This produces great instability in the international system - something which all nations should fight against. In addition, we urge all nations to comply with the United Nations arms embargo against South Africa.
2. We would build an enlightened public opinion which would encourage governments to implement the policy of the Disarmament Dividend. Eventually the Disarmament Dividend can be administered by the World Disarmament Agency. (see next Proposal)
Proposal 12 - A World Disarmament Agency:
The Global Plan believes that an international agency should be created to monitor and publicize arms expenditures and the movement towards disarmament. This new agency would have several functions. It would assist and support the developing countries in channeling their previous military resources into beneficial, internal `projects for the people". The Agency would oversee a portion of the policy called the "Disarmament Dividend" that would pay out financial rewards to those countries that are disarming.
Lastly, the Agency would serve as a major publicizing body that would reveal to all of the earth"s citizenry the scope and impact of military expenditures. It is our hope that this agency can be incorporated into the United Nations system by expanding one of the already existing agencies that support disarmament such as the Conference on Disarmament.
"The sacred human right to live has now taken on a global dimension and this is what must always be in the minds, above all, political and state leaders invested with the will of the people."
A specter is haunting humanity. It is the specter of annihilation a thermo-nuclear war. Today, there are over sixty thousand nuclear warheads in the world, each having on average, thirty times the destructive power of the Hiroshima bomb. These monstrous weapons have not enhanced our security. They have in fact increased our insecurity.
If we are rational human beings, we will reject this irrational situation. Humanity"s shining hour will be when we have looked into the abyss, realised that this is not our future, and then dismantled and destroyed all nuclear weapons. In this nuclear age, there can be no losers in peace, and no victors in war.
There is hope. History reveals that sometimes nations act rationally when they have exhausted other alternatives. The build-up of nuclear arms is the ultimate human folly. From this folly, a realisation is emerging that if humanity does not put an end to the arms race, the arms race will put an end to humanity.
When we remember that the cost of one mobile intercontinental missile would feed fifty million children, the reasons seem powerful for not building these missiles. There would still be enough money left after feeding these children to build sixty thousand health centres and three hundred and forty thousand primary schools. It is within our power to eliminate all nuclear weapons by the year 2000. We owe it to our children and we owe it to our earth to make this dream a reality.
If we start today and use the power of the human spirit, we can convince our governments that a nuclear weapons policy is no longer an acceptable policy.
Recommendation V. - Achieving Total Nuclear Disarmament:
Proposal 13 - A Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty:
The Global Plan believes that a ban on all nuclear test explosions by all states, in all environments, for all time, is a matter of fundamental importance. It is satisfying to note that the 1963 treaty banning atmospheric tests has won almost total international acceptance. We applaud the attempts of many countries on trying to ban underground tests and look with hope towards those countries which have limited the kiloton threshold of their explosions. However, we must never be satisfied until all states agree to a total nuclear test ban.
The steps towards the success of this ban are improved verification in areas of assured compliance, and a stable international political system. The first two steps are technical in nature and will be facilitated by the World Disarmament Agency. The last step is something that we, as members of the global community, can help bring about.
Proposal 14 - A Nuclear Freeze:
The Global Plan calls for a freeze in the production of all nuclear weapons. This freeze applies both to nations who are presently manufacturing weapons and to those nations who are presently manufacturing weapons and to those nations that possess the technology to produce them.
We look with alarm to the recent developments in South Africa, (other examples are India, Israel and Pakistan) and call for all nations to ensure that this nation does not produce the bomb. South Africa must not be allowed to possess nuclear weapons. We also look with alarm to the other countries who are increasing their nuclear arsenals.
We also call for all nations that have nuclear weapons to pledge a "No First Use" policy. It is imperative that the nations of the world feel safe from the threat of nuclear attack.
Lastly the Global Plan urges all the non-nuclear nations of the world to declare their national territories "nuclear free zones". These zones are geographical areas designated by law or treaty in which no nuclear weapons can either be place or passed through. The `Treaty of Tlatelolco" and `The South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty" are two positive steps towards this goal.
Proposal 15 - A Nuclear Free World by the year 2000:
The world desperately needs a long-term global perspective for the reduction and eventual elimination of all nuclear weapons. We have already witnessed a big step in that direction with the U.S. - Soviet reduction in medium range missiles in Europe. Let us build upon that treaty and keep the momentum strong.
The only viable solution is the global removal of all national nuclear arsenals within a system that offers equal security to each nation. In order to achieve this goal, we recognise the importance of a credible machinery for inspection and verification.
The Global Plan supports the 1986 declaration by Argentina, Greece, India, Mexico, Sweden and Tanzania, to set up an International Verification Body at their own expense, but under the United Nations auspices.
Working in conjunction with the above proposal would be the immediate systematic reduction in nuclear weapons. We recommend the adoption of George Kennan"s plan for the immediate fifty percent reduction in all nuclear weapons. Secondly, serious consideration should be given to Robert McNamara"s and General secretary Mikhail Gorbachev"s proposal for further cuts after this initial reduction.
Mahatma Ghandi had a bold concept. He suggested that the troubled spots of the world be declared Zones of Peace. Such "zones" have a great potential for lessening world tensions and cooling passions. Zone by Zone, the threats of war could be reduced. The belligerents could learn to more constructively accommodate each other and live in peace.
The forces which drive nations to war are varied and complex. It is impossible to create one single solution which would permit the states of the world to live in peace. Disputes will always arise. What the international community needs and the Global Plan supports, are more effective dispute settlement mechanisms. When it is possible to stop disputes from escalating into wars, humanity will be that much closer to ensuring social and economic justice world-wide.
The task ahead of us is formidable but it must be attempted. The nations of the world are so heavily armed that any minor conflict could easily become a large-scale war. The Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity believes it is the obligation of every state to help stop international disputes. We can begin today by focusing on the "hot spots" on the globe. Let us work together to defuse these troubled areas. With each `zone of peace", the world will become a safer and better home for us all.
We believe, as Fyodor Dostoyevsky wrote, "both people and nations need to be inspired by sublime ideas that promote optimism, peace and tranquility". A sublime idea worth pursuing is to encourage people to have a kind disposition to all of humanity. Human kindness, as Franklin D. Roosevelt said "has never weakened the stamina nor softened the fiber of a nation".
Recommendation VI - Establishing Zones of Peace:
Proposal 16 - Strengthen the United Nations Peace-Keeping Forces:
The Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity advocates total world security as opposed to the present regional security arrangements. The latter have sometimes heightened world tensions.
Under a common world security system, every nation would be secure, thus minimizing or even eliminating some causes of war. World security would be maintained through an international police force, such as the United Nations Peace-Keeping Forces. Their primary responsibility would be to keep the peace by enforcing international law.
The Global Plan suggests that the U.N. Peace-Keeping Forces be strengthened quickly and effectively to forestall potential armed conflict. Perhaps this task will be easier now that they have won the 1988 Nobel Peace Prize. The U.N. Forces also need to be better financed. The world can afford to do so because it spends 2,900 times as much on national military forces, as it does on international peace-keeping efforts.
The Global Plan supports the Palme Commission"s recommendations on collective security. They envisage a structure of preventive peace-keeping involving fact-finding missions, military observation teams and military security forces, to be deployed in advance of armed conflicts. The world community now includes over sixty states with populations of under one million and over thirty with populations less than two hundred thousand. Without an effective international system of collective security to deter aggression, the temptation to use military force will remain strong.
Proposal 17 - A World Mediating Agency:
The Global Plan calls attention to the need for the establishment of a World Mediating Agency. This permanent council of peace will comprise of a body of independent scholars, statesmen, spiritual leaders and business leaders, recruited from all areas of the globe. They would constitute a truly representative body that reflects the wide diversity of ideological and cultural traditions.
It would report truthfully on all problems that threaten peace, serve as a mediator to help conflicting parties resolve their differences and offer long-range vision and planning. The Global Plan suggests that this Agency serve as a complementary institution to the International Court of Justice at The Hague.
The Global Plan strongly advocates greater respect and greater acceptance of the World Court"s jurisdiction to adjudicate political disputes among nations. We strongly urge the strengthening of international law and the observance of international law, to be interpreted and enforced by the World Court. World Peace through world law is a goal worth striving for.
Both the World Court and the World Mediating Agency can do much to let reason prevail in the area of border disputes. Quarrels over borders are perhaps the most bitter, the most intense and the most dangerous issues confronting nations. The problem is very acute where there are no natural frontiers separating nations. Through a judicious consideration of historical, economic and political factors, these two institutions can rule on thorny issues, in a fair and amicable way.
Proposal 18 - Peace through Prosperity:
This document recommends the implementation of reciprocal concessions after an international conflict has achieved a cease-fire. These concessions would serve to reward peace through international aid and moral support. These concessions would be modeled on George Ignatieff"s concept of `Modus Vivendi". This powerful idea calls for conflicting nations to reach a working compromise which both sides can agree upon. "We do not have to find the ultimate answer. Indeed, the search for the absolute solution is tearing us apart. If it is a matter of all or nothing, it usually ends up as nothing".
Reciprocal concessions is a method by which warring states can have an honorable cease-fire, create a stable environment for solving their problems, and be rewarded by the world community for making peace. The Global Plan urges all nations to use a portion of the policy of the `Disarmament Dividend" to give constructive aid to those countries which have achieved a cease-fire. This will hopefully cool the passions of the combatants.
However the greatest motivation for peace will be the prosperity that it will bring to all the nations of the world. For example, at present, there are more than five hundred thousand scientists, engineers and technicians involved in military research. This represents twenty percent of the world total for these groups. Imagine the benefits that humanity would receive if we had these skilled minds working towards life instead of death.
The Peoples Republic of China has already begun this process. They have cut their military spending for the benefit of their standard of living, especially in the area of food production. "If ware not longer occupied men"s thoughts and energies, we could, within a generation, put an end to all serious poverty throughout the world." Actions such as this can end pervasive poverty which we shall examine in the following section.
Problem No.3
Pervasive Poverty
Proposals 19 -27
When world trade expands there is prosperity among nations; when world trade stagnates, recession is soon to follow. Prosperity for one must mean prosperity for all. The Global Plan gives its unqualified support for such measures which will produce economic harmony. Such measures as Trade Acceptance can provide immediate goods and services for poor nations. Unfair protectionism and other trading practices undermine world security and threaten sections of the global economy. The peoples of the world have no choice but to secure their survival together.
When debts of nations are reduced, trading practices are regulated and constructed in a manner equal for all participants, societies can grow together. Suspicion must be removed from the international trading and economic arena. Co-operation is the key to enhancing trading relations throughout the world. Therefore, the Global Plan proclaims a moratorium on such practices as economic coercion, blockades and embargoes, except in the case of South Africa.
We believe that such economic policies should be imposed on South Africa, because of their flagrant disregard for human rights and dignity. We urge the support, in spirit and action of United Nations Resolutions 518/558 and 569. It is essential to see the relationship between many problems, in this instance trade and human rights. Let justice be brought to world trade and world trade will bring justice to the world.
Recommendation VII: Enhancing Economic Growth through Trade:
Proposal 19 - Promote Fair Trade:
The Global Plan gives its unqualified support for the United Nations Commission on International Trade (UNCITRAL). The Commission"s functions include co-ordination of international organizations active in international trade. Through this, it is hoped that the progressive harmonization and unification of the law of international trade can be achieved.
We furthermore propose a six-point criterion for fair trade as being practical and essential for at prosperous global economy:
1. All nations should be accorded access to all markets within their regions.
2. Goods which are purchased within a region should not be overpriced. The rich nations must not take undue advantage over the poor nations. Prices must be set and regulated on a global scale through international price agreements.
3. Nations, regardless of their gross national product, should not suffer a net loss in export earnings from possible retaliation from extra- regional customers.
4. Third World nations should be given every opportunity to develop, diversify and co-ordinate their economies by concentrating their commerce within their regions.
5. There should be an agreement by all major nations, to stimulate the growth of the global economy.
6. An agreement to stop any further trade barriers should be implemented. Article 1 in the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States affirms that: "Every state has the sovereign and inalienable rights to choose its economic system as well as its political, social and cultural systems in accordance with the will of its people without outside interference, coercion or threat in any form whatsoever."
When these policies are put into effect, fair trade can be achieved, along with all the corresponding benefits.
Proposal 20 - Support the Internation Commodities Agreement (ICA)
The present world trading system favours the nations of the North. As a result the nations of the South suffer heavy financial losses and burdens. They produce primary products, such as coffee, tea and sugar and import a wide range of manufactured goods. The crux of the problem is that while the prices of Third World imports are rising, the return on their exports are fluctuating widely. The poor countries are being burnt at both ends of the stick in their trading transactions, to the advantage of the rich countries. It is this trade crisis that has created and aggravated other serious problems like poverty, indebtedness and growing economic tensions.
Therefore, to alleviate the present crisis, we propose that several corrections be made in two areas which have contributed to the present trade imbalance which favours the rich countries. We suggest speedy reforms be implemented in the Internation Commodities Agreement (ICA) and in the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT). We propose the acceptance of the following four points.
1. We strongly request support for market stabilization arrangements.
2. We recommend the early establishment of the Common Fund. To date, less than forty countries have ratified this agreement! Such a fund would assure tremendous assistance in setting up and regulating the supplies of buffer stocks.
3. For non-perishable commodities, greater attention should be given to stock-piling, both nationally as well as regionally.
4. A programme should be designed to phase out escalating tariffs on primary products which are essential to an orderly operation of world commerce. This programme, when implemented with other GATT policies, would be constructed so that its rules could not be circumvented by prior legislation.
Proposal 21 - A Blue-Print for a Debt Retirement Fund:
Third World debt is the greatest source of Third World poverty. The cost of repaying the debt has been transferred to those who are most vulnerable, and least responsible for it. The burden of paying over $1000 billion a year for interest charges alone falls disproportionately on them. In 1986, the debt servicing cost for Africa exceeded 50% of the gross national product across the continent. Total world debt now amounts to over $100 trillion. Urgent measures are required to substantially reduce this staggering amount. If not, many economies among the Least Developed Countries (LDC"s) are in danger of collapsing.
The Global Plan suggests the following seven solutions:
1. A possible moratorium should be placed on both the interest and debt payments.
2. Interest rates could be lowered and adjusted to accommodate the debtor nations, particularly the LDC"s.
3. Restructuring the Third World debt on more generous terms.
4. Converting portions of the debt into grants. Channeling more aid to institutions that encourage self-reliance.
5. A Debt Retirement Fund should be established to liquidate Third World debt and rebuild the depressed economies by the World Bank and the IMF.
6 Debts of the poorest nations should be forgiven.
7. International trade conducted fairly, as set out in proposal (19) would be of great value in reducing the debt of poor nations. As stated in proposal (19), lower tariff barriers would make it easier for developing countries to increase their sales. Such an increase could go to ameliorate their crippling debt burden.
We commend the example of Canada in writing-off the official debts of seven countries. The Global Plan urges other countries to follow Canada"s lead.
The political `problem of problems" is how to deal with overpopulation, and how it faces us on all sides. The problem of overpopulation is worsened by the fact that the population of the world is distributed very unevenly over the land mass. Approximately 90% of all people are crowded into no more of than 25% of the land surface. In approximately 30, 50, and 25 years, the population of India, China and East Africa, (17 countries) will double respectively.
Present population trends are disturbing. Every minute, one hundred and fifty babies are born into the world. That means about two hundred and twenty thousand new human beings a day - eighty million a year, who need to be fed, clothed, sheltered, educated and employed. Nine out of ten are born in the Third World.
Already in some parts of the world the populations is increasing so much faster than the means of subsistence that life has become a severe struggle for existence. The future too is disquieting. According to World Bank reports, the world"s population is expected to reach 6.1 billion by the year 2000, - 3.6 billion will be living in Asia and 824 million will be living in Africa.
"It appears that we have reach a point where our moral imagination must expand again to embrace the whole of mankind, else we will perish." The expansion of cities, the dwindling of available land and the misuse or non- use of agricultural land (see Proposal 32) all add up to a time for a change. Change for the betterment of humanity. Societies and individuals must work for the benefit of all. "The survival of the fittest does not mean those fit to kill; it means those fitting in best with the rest of life". Therefore, let us address ourselves to alleviating the problems caused by over- population.
Recommendation VIII. - Controlling the Population Explosion:
Proposal 22 - An Integrated Development Strategy:
A way to controlling overpopulation lies in a strategy that rescues people from absolute poverty. In the Third World we have, in the words of Kingsley Davis, the combination of "a pre-industrial fertility with post- industrial morality" We are therefore proponents of an integrated development strategy of which six are addressed below:
1. Reduce infant mortality through programmes financed by diverting funds from the policy of the Disarmament Dividend. When families are confident that the lives of their children are secure, they are less inclined to have additional babies.
2. Funds diverted through the policy of the Disarmament Dividend should, in a comprehensive way, improve the lot of women. Enhanced economic development of women, through better health, better education and better employment opportunities, tends to drastically reduce birth rates.
3. Ethnic and other minorities must be discourage from pursuing expansionist policies through population increase, purely for political reasons. Such groups fear domination because of their minority status and attempt to protect their identity through the strength of their numbers. Addressing their political grievances and integrating them with the rest of the community should help encourage them to have smaller families.
4. We recommend a comprehensive family planning policy be implemented for each nation and locality; as has been done in China and India. There is no one grand design; each nation has different values, needs and cultures.
5. Improved maternal benefits can reduce the birth rate. The construction of small-scale maternity centers would be of tremendous benefit.
6. Integrated strategies require the expertise of not only health services, but are also concerned with education, welfare, labour, agriculture, commerce, demography, religion and communications.
Proposal 23 - Revitalise the Cities:
The cities of the Third World will be hit by the population explosion. By the year 2000, Mexico City will have a population of 31 million, San Paulo 26 million and Shanghai 24 million.
The overcrowding of cities aggravates housing and sanitary problems. A viable solution is needed to restrain the exploding population. As President of the Republic of Argentina, R Alfonsin, said in regards to overpopulation: "the only real solution lies in achieving economic development and social progress through an enlightened process of education which respects the ethical values and the freedom of citizens". The problems of sanitation and urban congestion can be mitigated once overpopulation is brought under control. To achieve this we propose funds from the Disarmament Dividend be used generously.
The Global Plan urges the following two recommendations by the United Nations Development Programme be implemented:
1. That governments pay attention to the protection of spontaneous settlements, which are often constructed on marginal lands.
2. Land banks must be established and some of it must be made more available to the poor.
Rapid population growth in Third World nations has caused serious employment problems. The Global Plan, therefore, supports the World Employment Programme, which provides national policy-makers with guidelines and data necessary to reduce under employment and unemployment.
The Global Plan concurs with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), that peace must be based on social practice. As stated in the Declaration concerning the aims and purposes of the International Labour Organisation:
"... all human beings, irrespective of race, creed or sex, have the right to pursue both their material well-being and their spiritual development in conditions of freedom and dignity of economic security and equal opportunity."
Proposal 24 - Dignity for All:
The Global Plan addresses despair in all lands, be they primarily rich or primarily poor. Injustice must be eliminated in all sectors of society. Throughout the world, human beings are treated unfairly. Equality for all people in all sectors of society is our goal. Justice is our concern.
Through the policy of the Disarmament Dividend, funds will be freed for dignity saving projects. Humanity must be guaranteed access to food, shelter and clothing in poor as well as affluent nations. The Global Plan feels strongly that research groups, such as the one constructed by the Australian National University, should be designed. These study groups could examine problems of financial allocations, the role of government to its people, in areas such as housing, would be of tremendous benefit. We propose that in developed countries local projects be designed, with local funding, specifically for their constituents. The financial arrangements could be initiated from private enterprise and local business leaders. The impetus would be to refurbish abandoned buildings as well as provide incentives for business and industry to locate in depressed areas of wealthy nations.
The Global Plan furthermore proposes a two-pronged strategy to provide not only shelter but to give a sense of belonging and dignity to individuals:
1. Affordable houses in habitable conditions should be purchased throughout the city, eligible to low income families. Mortgage payments and interest, should be calculated to stay within a family"s means.
2. A lease-option programme, under which existing owners and operators would rent affordable houses, in habitable condition, to low-income families with an option to purchase at reasonable terms.
We praise Finland and the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements on their model designed to help the homeless. The model aims at helping countries take stock of their available resources and develop a strategy that matches the affordable with the desirable. We urge other nations to follow suit.
Overpopulation is a global problem. Conditions which lie at the root of rapid population growth must be identified and rectified. The causes of overpopulation must be addressed simultaneously. When dignity and hope can be seen by an individual, the problem is almost over. When access to education is made available, a desire to be educated will follow. In one generation, a substantial change could be noted. Conditions must be improved on a sustainable basis.
The homeless and poor must be considered and cared for, no matter what the gross national product of their nation"s totals. "A true test of a civilized society" wrote Samuel Johnson, "is a decent provision for the poor."
Humiliating poverty which denies people their human dignity, can cause social break-down, political upheaval, economic instability and civil violence. These social evils can become regular features of daily life in the urban centres of the developing world by the year 2000.
A disturbing trend is noticeable in the area of health. Smallpox, cholera and malaria, whish were almost eradicated by the World Health Organisation in previous decades, are showing signs of spreading again, due to lack of funds. On a world-wide scale, soldiers outnumber physicians six to one, and the world spends 40% more on the military than on health care, The lack of medical facilities tragically affects millions of children. The short lives are but marches to their graves.
A serious obstacle to combating poverty is illiteracy. UNESCO estimates that there are nearly a billion people who are illiterate; 70 % of them live in the Third World. Education is needed to understand agricultural techniques. A comprehensive understanding of agriculture can alleviate the overcrowding of cities, the lack of food the corresponding crisis of famine.
Recent economic trends have brought a considerable worsening in conditions experienced by many of the world"s poorest people and their children. Africa is slowly losing its capacity to feed itself. The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation reports twenty countries needing emergency food aid to avert starvation.
However, the crisis is not isolated to the African continent alone. The South American continent for the majority of nations has fallen victim, to a large percentage of homeless and starving populations. Though the picture for Africa and South America us dismal, it is worse in Asia. Indeed most of the world"s hungry and poor dwell in Asia. In this continent, four countries (Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Pakistan) house almost two-thirds of the worlds poorest people.
Recommendation IX - Radical Improvements in Health, Education and Housing:
Proposal 25 - Improve Universal Health Care:
The Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity advocates good health care for all by the year 2000. The individual should be educated in all aspects of preventive health care based on local conditions and customs. Proper hygiene coupled with appropriate lifestyle behaviour helps more than any other factor to keep health costs down and people healthy. Preventative care is the best care.
For the people who live in the Third World slums and have no access to safe drinking water, preventive health care is not of much avail. These populations will continue to suffer ill health until their living conditions improve. Thus, the Global Plan suggests that action be taken to improve health care systems for the inhabitants in the Third World.
There are three essential reforms in a country"s health care system which greatly improve its value to a nation.
1. Involve non-governmental organisations such as community and workplace groups into the system in order to reduce costs and provide immediate care. This has been achieved with great success in the Peoples Republic of China.
2. Reduce the overall cost to the individual using the system by instituting universal health care insurance.
3. Have better training and better pay for health care workers such as nurses. Several studies by the World Health Organisation clearly shows that it is these front-line workers who make or break a health care system.
The Third World has limited resources and will need the help of the developed world to fund these important projects. The cost of one nuclear weapons test would provide training for 40,000 health care workers. We must change our priorities.
Proposal 26 - Literacy and Education for All:
The Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity seeks to address the real and shocking problems of illiteracy. Literacy makes people more productive. But most importantly, literacy combined with a good education gives the human being the dignity and confidence to be a full participant in the fate of his own life and that of his society.
The steps towards achieving an educated global citizenry are:
1. Make education in the developed countries more global in scope and future-oriented. Presently, it is locked into an insular western perspective. It is time that the children of the developed world be made aware of the conditions of people who live in the developing world.
2. Ensure that education is compulsory to age 16, and that all those completing their education are literate and have a practical, educational background.
3. We support the creation of adult education facilities. Furthermore, we support the UNESCO proposal to emphasize the genuine link between education and life by instituting "out of school" education policies which make education a way of life.
Proposal 27 - Invest in Massive Housing Schemes:
International Studies reveal that if a concerted effort is not made now, the housing problem, especially in the Third World, will become a very serious problem in the near future. To date, it is believed that one billion people lack adequate housing while 100 million have no shelter whatsoever. It is estimated that in the year 2000, fifty percent of the developing world"s population will be living in urban areas. This will represent about two billion people and most of them will be the poor and destitute, living in slums. It is within our power to provide all the people with a decent place to live. The Global Plan suggests four practical proposals that would help alleviate the housing crisis:
1. Mobilise the poor and homeless into a labour force to build their own homes. This would generate employment among the poor and contribute to the upgrading of their work skills.
2. Provide housing loans to lower income groups so that they can afford to purchase affordable housing units.
3. Establish "building material banks" to provide low cost housing material to ease the high cost of construction. Peru has instituted this programme with some success.
4. Urge national governments to devote more of their resources to providing basic infrastructure for housing such as sanitation facilities, better roads and household energy needs.
The Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity urgently requests that funds be drawn from the policy of the Disarmament Dividend to help fund these housing policies. Such policies provide the necessities for life and dignity. They are major catalysts in achieving social justice, which is our next area of concern.
Problem No. 4
SOCIAL INJUSTICE
Proposals 28 -36
The developing countries which contain 70% of the world"s population, account for only 30% of the world"s income. In North America, per capita income exceeds that of Africa by over 1500%. The only big business in Africa today is aid and disaster relief. It has proved impossible to achieve an even and balanced development of the international community under the existing international economic order. The gap between the developed and the developing countries continues to widen in a system that perpetuates inequalities. This system was established at a time when most of the developing countries did not even exist as independent states.
The vast inequality between the rich and the poor countries, creates one of the worlds most serious and urgent problems. Failure to reduce this international gap is a major source of international tension and is a threat to world peace. A peaceful world cannot long exist, one-third rich, two- thirds poor. In 1985, the poorest 5th of the world"s population consumed only 2% of the world"s wealth, while the richest 5th enjoyed 74% of it. The scourge of poverty afflicts Africa more than any other part of the world. A World Bank Report concludes that if present trends continue, African countries in 1990 would be worse off than they were in 1960.
The International Monetary Fund was established to assist international co-operation in the monetary field, promote the growth of international trade and in particular, help assist countries with their balance of payments adjustments. But the IMF"s handling of adjustments in recent years seems to have lost sight of its `primary objectives". The situation in the world today demands an enlargement of the Fund"s role and its resources.
Another area of increasing concern is the power and affluence if the multi-national corporations. Excessive control of raw materials markets are dominated by a few giant corporations based in the developed countries. It is not surprising that poor developing countries faced with this concentration of buying power reap small profits from their exports.
Recommendation X. - Providing Special Assistance to the Least Developed Countries:
Proposal 28 - An Appeal to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund:
The Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity urges International Non-Government Organisations, (NGO"s), to make representations to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, (IMF) to introduce urgent reforms. These institutions need to adopt more dynamic economically sound policies that would reconstruct the shattered economies of the Least Developed Countries. The IMF and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, (IBRD), should give fair consideration to the wishes of the Third World countries and help their economies to become integrated into the world economy.
The IMF and IBRD should encourage regional economically sound planning and regional development in areas containing a cluster of countries with small populations. Developmental policies should foster balanced growth aimed at satisfying basic needs rather than merely increasing output.
The net inflow of funds into the Third World should be substantially more than the outflow of funds. The Global Plan suggests that sizable funds from the policy of the Disarmament Dividend should be diverted into the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The Third World is particularly in need of soft loans to extricate their economies from the vicious cycle of poverty. The World Bank and the IMF can initiate this development.
Proposal 29 - A Plea to Multi-National Corporations:
National Governments of small countries are no match for the power and influence of transnational corporations.
The Global Plan advocates regional co-operation among small countries. Through such co-operation they can improve their bargaining position to negotiate as a block with the transnationals.
The international community must persuade transnational corporations to orient their market systems to the production of goods which correspond to the needs of people in the developing countries. Too often the manufacture of goods is geared to suit the consumption patterns of people in the advanced countries.
The United Nations allocated 1.25 billion dollars in 1985 to agri-research. Multinational Corporations could improve their standing with the international community by committing part of such a sum through their regional institutes. Multinationals should arrange for leaves of absence for their scientists to work on projects set by governments of Least Developed Countries.
The Global Plan urges that transnational corporations encourage a greater level of local equity participation, allocate more funds for local research and development and reinvest more of their profits into the local economies. Transnational corporations possess tremendous financial, technical and marketing capacities which can be put to the service of people in the developing world. Their global character, however, requires that their behaviour be subject to some form of international supervision by an agency such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, (GATT).
Proposal 30 - Establish Two New World Institutions:
1) The World Treasury:
Every nation on the globe has its own treasury, but the world does not have one. Professor Jan Tinbergen, the Dutch Nobel Laureate, proposes the establishment of a World Treasury, to better co-ordinate the administration of the world"s financial resources. Under the present United Nations system, the World Health Organisation, (WHO), represents the world"s health ministry and the Food and Agricultural Organisation, (FAO), the world"s food ministry and so forth; but there is no corresponding finance ministry. Each United Nations agency has its own finance department acting quite independently of others.
Professor Tinbergen suggests that the finance departments of all the United Nations agencies be combined to constitute the World Treasury. Eventually, the World Treasury could undertake the administration of the policy of the Disarmament Dividend.
II) The World Development Research Institute:
The problems confronting the world today are many and complex. In order to acquire a deeper understanding of these problems and find solutions to them, Professor Abdus Salam, Nobel Laureate, has suggested the creation of a new multidisciplinary field of studies called the Global Sciences.
We propose the establishment of the World Development Research Institute to administer advanced studies in the Global Sciences. The research institute would be staffed by the worlds leading scholars and scientists and its benefits will be shared by all peoples in all lands, The Institute will co- ordinate the advanced research taking place all around the world and use this research for the benefit of all humanity. The Institute will be a forum for a meeting of minds from all continents. Consequently, it could be an important investment for promoting world unity. It could also serve as a complementary institution to the United Nations University in Japan.
Chronic hunger is the worse form of poverty. The pangs of hunger are as painful as any disease and there is no reason why several hundred million human beings should go to bed hungry every night. The struggle to overcome human hunger is still the most urgent challenge facing humanity. Hunger- related causes kill more people in two days as the atomic bomb killed at Hiroshima.
The most tragic victims of hunger and poverty are children. Recent figures indicate that throughout the world, the numbers of children dying before their 5th birthday, from malnutrition and largely preventable diseases, were 15 million a year or 41,000.
A serious obstacle to solving the food problem is the increasing land abuse. In order to feed a hungry world family, we must protect our most valuable commodity - our land. We can achieve this by protecting our water and soil which will enhance our resource base and in turn increase food production and productivity.
We cannot ignore the development of agriculture in the Third World. More money must be invested in the small farmers and their attempt to grow food crops.
Governments often concentrate on small highly productive areas, as is the case of India"s Green Revolution, in the northern areas, but fertilisers and irrigation are expensive and millions of Indian farmers cannot afford the technology. The F.A.O. and the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, estimate that half the world"s irrigation schemed are being neglected and as a result have caused waterlogging, salinisation and alkalisation of soils. The indications are that 10 million hectares of irrigated land are abandoned each year.
Recommendation XI. - The Third World Future Programmes to Eliminate World Hunger:
Proposal 31 - Need for Land Reform and a Second Green Revolution:
We proclaim that it be universally recognised that all human beings have the right to live and hence they must be assured the means to live. Since all our resources ultimately come from the land and as its supply is absolutely fixed, the fair distribution of land and its resources, must be guaranteed in every democratic society. Poverty in the midst of plenty must not be tolerated!
We call for the abolishment of feudalism. In particular, let the farmers of the Third World have clear titles to their land and incentives for production. Prime agricultural lands should be reserved for the cultivators of food crops.
We also urge special assistance be given for the purchase and maintenance of agricultural equipment for small-scale farming. Governments and international agencies have neglected them in the past. Evidence reveals that small carefully farmed plots can be more productive per acre than large estates. To grow more food all arable land must be cultivated. In Africa, only 26% of arable land is cultivated. Of this, only 55% cultivated yearly. For a second green revolution to come to Africa, we support an increase in cultivated land by 5% in 5 years.
As part of our Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity, we would like to suggest that both the developed and the developing countries restrain their military expenditures. The funds generated through this disarmament must be allocated for agricultural development, particularly in areas stricken by famine and extreme poverty.
We propose that generous aid be given for the purchase and maintenance of agricultural equipment that is not too sophisticated but functional. More funds must be immediately released for digging wells, irrigating fields, building drainage systems and improving storage facilities.
The demands of the poor in many countries are modest. They do not ask for more than the chance for hard work to let them live and feed their families adequately.
Farmers land tenure is uncertain. Tenancy arrangements are for the most part extortionate. In many instances, farmer"s hand over to the landlord 50-60 percent of their crops as rent. The outcome is that most of their incentive to produce larger yields becomes eroded. Let there be land for the landless and let not absentee landlordism be a cover for exploitation.
We must realise that in order to cause a green revolution, technology must be given a more broader definition. As well, improvements in agricultural production must take place with adequate safeguards against the use of various forms of chemicals. Technology is not merely machinery or an apparatus. In relation to the Third World, technology means the choice of the crop itself such as China"s high yielding varieties of wheat and rice.
Proposal 32 - Establishing a World Food Bank:
The world has over the years stockpiled an immense quantity of deadly arms. These arms need to be dismantled. The Global Plan recognises that, though a World Food Bank is essential, it is an answer for crisis situations only. Our first concern must be to eliminate such crisis". To accomplish this, the Global Plan urges the immediate implementation for the following Food and Agricultural Organisation"s Plan of Review Advice and Action.
1. Need access to major constraints - economical, physical, technical and institutional, as well as the possibilities for increased food production.
2. Areas which meet proper criteria must be examined closely. The next step is to determine which nation needs priority attention. Following this, it should be determined if short or medium action is required.
3. Establish national monitoring and early warning systems for basic food surplus.
4. Inventory of a nation"s food and grain supply must be conducted regularly and policies of distribution, based on the quantity of stock needs be implemented.
5. Institute special measures to assist low-income food deficit countries to meet current import requirements and emerging needs.
6. Encourage the collective self-reliance of developing nations.
We also recommend the stockpiling of food and that greater support be given to the United Nations World Food Programme. We urge the establishment, on stand-by basis, of either food disaster units or charge an existing administration unit with the responsibility for planning and organising food relief programmes. In addition, we suggest the establishment of a World Food Bank to solicit private donations for food. The Bank would store food during good times and distribute them during bad times. We must ask the international community to contribute generously to the bank. We ask governments of all jurisdictions to grant liberal tax credits to individuals, farmers and humanitarian organisations who donate food.
Proposal 33 - Science and Technology in the Developing and the Developed Worlds:
The Global Plan strongly supports the "Science for Peace" movement founded by Professor Eric Fawcett. This movement calls for the establishment of an International Forum of Scientists, under the auspices of the United Nations. It would "seek the right of scientists to impose restrictions on the availability of their results so that they are not used for destructive objectives".
"Science for Peace" is a bold and noteworthy proposal that should be attempted. Just as doctors take an oath to preserve human life, a scientist should have the option to declare his or her right to work only for the betterment of humanity and this planet. The International Forum of Scientists will serve as a unified voice in the international community. This Agency will slowly convince both scientists and national governments that non- beneficial research is no longer an acceptable nor moral field of investigation.
The Global Plan supports the idea that a greater level of planning must be undertaken by the leaders of the industrial and non-industrial World. This planning would ensure that the appropriate technology is used to further economic and social development. Efficient labour intensive development projects would provide higher levels of employment and ensure multi-sector economic development. Too often, foreign aid is capital intensive, short term and benefits only one sector of the economy.
The post-industrialised nations of the world are facing a crisis of unemployment caused, in part, by technology. Automation is replacing manual labour with machines, cybernation is replacing mental labour with machines such as the computer, and robotisation is replacing managers with machines. If the leaders in these countries do not make adequate plans to alleviate the resulting displacement of workers, serious economic and social problems will occur. Therefore, the Global Plan strongly urges that the political, business and labour leaders in post-industrial countries work together to produce a plan of action which would cause the least amount of economic and social disruption.
The paradox of science and technology is that it can provide immense benefits for humanity while at the same time create serious new problems. It seems that some things get better, other things get worse. The policy makers of all countries have an obligation to find a way to rep the benefits of science and technology while circumventing its shortcomings.
In the words of the late President John Fitzgerald Kennedy: "Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors, Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths and encourage the arts and commerce".
There are a number of international associations in the world today with a proud history and world-wide memberships. Their impressive strength and organisations provide an infra-structure with tremendous potential for building world unity.
These organisations function quite independently and therefore a splendid opportunity exists to build bridges among them. In doing so they can lay the foundation for the development of a greater, world fellowship. These organisations should be invited to add a new dimension to their activities by coming together to form a Confederation of Global Non-Governmental Organisations. The Confederation could draw in it"s train, several millions of ordinary citizens the world over. It could become a formidable force for world unity. Through this confederation a world-wide infra-structure could emerge to harness international support at the grassroots level thereby creating a more just and humane world.
The world belongs to those who blend vision with resourcefulness. Margaret Mead inspires us with these words: Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it"s the only thing that ever has.
A new global economic system will arise when we learn to see the world as a whole. In the evolution of human thought, the idea of world-mindedness has emerged only recently. For centuries people have been living in relative conformity and constancy of attitude. People have acquired a sense of intense national consciousness which makes them impervious to the call of internationalism. We should realise that we are not only citizens of our own country but citizens of the world as well.
In the last public statement by Albert Einstein in 1955, he left this simple yet profound statement to the world: "we appeal as human beings to human beings; remember your humanity and forget the rest."
Recommendation XII - Mobilising the support of Non-Governmental Organisations Promote World Fellowship:
Proposal 34 - Establishing The World Council for Global Co-operation:
There is a pressing need in the world today for a body of world citizens to identify the international interest and advocate policies that benefit all people in all lands. We propose that such a body of world citizens be called the "World Council for Global Co-operation". The Council will point out as Plotinus did 25 centuries ago, that "just as a chorus or a family cannot exist except as a unit, the human family too, must function as a unit in order to thrive and prosper". The world is being ravaged by extremism and narrow nationalism. The World Council will present a vision of the oneness and dignity of all humanity.
A body of world citizens, drawn from many countries, with other distinguished people, would combine their talents, not to speak on behalf of any special interests but to champion the cause of humanity. The World Council will present a general view of global issues and problems from the standpoint of reason. It will conduct a dialogue based on the entire state of the world and initiate discussions on how to achieve minimum standards of decency for all the earth"s 5 billion people. In short, it will attempt to win recognition for a set of universally beneficial aims and values.
The World Council would encourage concerned people to come to a meeting of minds in a dispassionate and realistic way. They would act as a catalyst to stimulate discussion on how to create a dignified human society for all the people of the world.
Proposal 35 - World Unification through Five World Order Values:
The World Council for Global Co-Operation holds the promise of being a centre of stability in the midst of blind passions and a centre of absolute independence to espouse the human interest. It will nurse the cultivation of an ethical culture that proposes five fundamental values. They are:
1. Ecological Balances
2. Minimization of Violence
3. Economic Welfare
4. Social Injustice
5. Democratic Participation
These values are all important because the directly address the five fundamental problems facing the world today. These values provide certain intellectual guidelines on how we may cope with today"s urgent planetary problems and how to progress towards the achievement of a good life by all human beings.
According to Mahatma Ghandi: "true patriotism lies in a love of humanity." We all dearly love our own countries. However, we are all inhabitants of one earth. Therefore, we must never forsake our duty to the globe and humanity - our fellow citizens. To end the dilemma of where out loyalty belongs and to work towards the elimination of the five world problems, Professor George Wald, Nobel Laureate, suggests `Dual Citizenship". All people should be accorded their fundamental, moral and legal rights as citizens of the world. It is imperative that they receive all rights as citizens of the world. They should also receive all rights as citizens of their particular nations. When the acknowledgement of these rights are practiced and respected in both spirit and action, the world is one step closer to becoming a more peaceful and productive place. We realise that to seek the good of humanity is a sacred cause. We need to pursue its best interests through the best means.
Proposal 36 - The Objectives of the Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity:
The chief instrument for bringing international associations together would be the Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity. In this document, we call upon Non-Governmental Organisations to promote international understanding and fellowship, mutual respect and co-operation. It would provide a means for their members, irrespective of their national differences, to display a higher loyalty to the whole of humanity. The Global Plan can produce a new solidarity among peoples, nations, corporations, religions and organisations. It can foster friendship and trust which are necessary for peace, just as enmity and suspicion are necessary for war. Finally, it can stimulate the organic growth of a "Global Community" that would in good time, ripen into a reality that has been cherished for centuries.
If the Global Plan gains popular support, its impact could have certain far-reaching consequences. It could presage world referenda on policies leading the world to a saner path. There could emerge for the first time, a movement that entails unified and co-ordinated world action for the creation of a world public opinion. The leaders of the world would gradually be persuaded to respond to world public opinion and pursue policies that would more effectively deal with world problems.
The advantage of the endorsing process is that it offers a focus of hope to concerned citizens. They need not despair about inaction. There is room for optimism that some ferment is taking place at the international level. They need not feel helpless. The endorsing process should give them a sense of participation in shaping a better world. And finally, they need not feel powerless that their solitary voices do not count. The endorsing process would ensure that their individual voices in combination with millions of other voices would become a formidable political force; a political force which could direct its attention to alleviating the four previous problems. Furthermore, this political force could put an end to the violations of human rights, which we shall examine in Section 5.
Problem No. 5
The Violation of Human Rights
Proposal 37 - 45
Introduction:
The inherent dignity of each human being is assured through the observance of their rights and no society may exist as a civilised entity without respecting them. It is respect for these human rights that guarantees the condition of life and enables people to fully develop their potentiality without limiting their mental, moral, and creative abilities.
The denial of human rights has led to a sequence of horrors. In one country there is evidence of mass executions of political prisoners, without trial, and their conviction after summary proceedings. In another country, prisoners found guilty of theft have their hands amputated in public. In many countries whole populations of peasants have been terrorized by agents of their own governments and by secret para-military forces.
The Global Plan will attempt to heighten awareness that the true test of a civilised society is its willingness to respect and protect the human rights of all its citizens. World public opinion must be strengthened to act as a bright searchlight that exposes the dark and criminal side of state terrorism.
Society must be seen as a collection of individuals. An act of injustice against one blemishes the entire world community. Ignorance cannot be invoked as a reason for apathy. Apathy is a crime. A crime which allows the continuation of torture, terror and prejudice. It is a crime which we can only end together.
Our rallying cry and inspiration for terminating all violations of human rights can be found in the words and spirit of Thomas Jefferson, who wrote, "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over mind and man". Our voices can change the pain of individuals, nations and races to smiles filled with hope and happiness.
Recommendation No. XIII - Respecting Human Rights:
Proposal 37 - Prevent Genocide:
Genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, such as:
1. Killing members of any abovementioned group.
2. Causing seriously bodily or mental harm to members of the group. 3. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction, in whole or in part.
The Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity has a plea to the international community. It pleads with them to take all possible actions to ensure the strict observance of the United Nations Conventions on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide that went into effect in 1951. It reiterates a key provision in the Convention, that "genocide committed by the government in its own territory is not an internal matter, but a matter of international concern."
We propose an "urgent action network" of Non-Governmental Organisations to gather information on the disappearance of political opponents. Governments of all jurisdictions must appoint an Ombudsman to inquire into all violations of Human Rights and provide safeguards for their citizens. We support the trial of the Honduran Government for being involved in the disappearance of some of their citizens. We recommend that this, the first trial of a government, act as a precedent for future incidents. We propose that regional bodies modelled on the Inter-American Court be constructed around the globe.
We also urge an investigation of government actions which often reveal that governments are not acting in good faith. Such actions include the imposition of a state of emergency, martial law and secret places of detention. These actions refer to the horrible fact that governments are imprisoning, perhaps torturing or killing, their own citizens. When information is accumulated, it should be immediately relayed to the United Nations. They would then be able to administer justice through the United Nations Code of Conduct.
We propose a preventive strategy by having the international community create and maintain a "logbook". Such a measure would be used to keep track of individuals in certain key positions. These positions include lawyers, journalists, doctors and political opponents. Governments would then have to seriously reconsider any forms of political detention or killing which they might otherwise practice.
Even after the horror of the Holocaust, genocide continues to exist in our time. Over two million people were slaughtered in Kampuchea (then known as Cambodia), several thousands were massacred in Uganda, East Timor and in Burundi.
Proposal 38 - Safeguards against Torture:
"Man is born free, yet he is everywhere in chains." Thus wrote Rousseau on the eve of the French Revolution. Regretfully, two centuries later, his lament if still true for many parts of the world.
We strongly urge the abolition of torture through the provisions of the United Nations Declaration. (Resolution 3452). We also propose that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights be regarded as more than a statement of principles. This Declaration, especially articles 5, 9, 18, and 19, must be more rigidly observed. At our disposal is a United Nations Voluntary Fund for victims of torture which may be used to offset legal fees. At present only nine countries have contributed. We urge other nations to give generously to this fund.
The Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity advocates that the following twelve point programme for the prevention of torture be implemented:
1. Official condemnation of torture by every nation is a must. All states must show that torture will not be tolerated.
2. Limits on incommunicado detention must be achieved. All persons must be brought before a judicial authority.
3. There should be no secret detention. All prisoners should be held in publicly recognised places.
4. Safeguards during interrogation and custody must be under constant review.
5. Independent investigations of reports of torture must be impartially undertaken.
6. No use of statements extracted under torture should be invoked in legal proceedings.
7. Prohibition of torture in law and all acts of torture must be punishable under criminal law.
8. Torturers must be brought to swift justice.
9. Training procedures must clearly explain that torture is a criminal offence and one that must not be obeyed, even when ordered.
10. Compensation and rehabilitation is a must for the prisoner, be it financial or medical.
11. International response must be swift and unified. All channels must be explored by governments acting on a lead that torture is being used in another state.
12. Ratification of international instruments including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and it"s Optional Protocol which provides for individual complaints.
Article 7 of the Declaration of Human Rights, states that "all are equal before the law and entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law". The Rule of law is the cornerstone for all democratic societies. It is defined as the principle, institutions and procedures, not always identical but broadly similar, which the experience and traditions of lawyers in different countries of the world, often having themselves varying political structures and economic backgrounds, have shown to be important to protect the individual from arbitrary government. It guarantees the liberty of all citizens by promoting their fundamental rights. Every citizen is entitled to trial by jury, all accused should be presumed innocent until proven guilty. There should neither be summary executions nor cruel and harsh punishment.
We plead that the Declaration of Human Rights become a credo for all nations and citizens. Those nations which have accepted the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights have inherited a fundamental principle - a principle which they have pledged to obey. All nations must realise that each tenet of the Declaration must be adhered to in practice - not only in theory.
The pleas of citizens against bureaucracy in government and other institutions, must be acted upon. To do this, the Global Plan proposes that an office of Ombudsman be established in every major jurisdiction. The complaint would be two-fold. The Ombudsman would have power to publicise any misgivings or injustices. Moreover, numerous safeguards would have to be created to ensure that citizens would not be further victimised.
In the words of Woodrow Wilson, "Co-operation is possible only when supported at every turn by the orderly process of just government based upon the law, not upon arbitrary or irregular force". In the beginning, as well as the end, ultimate power resides with the people. It is through the consent of the people that those who govern gain their legitimacy. The Global Plan calls on Government to extend universal franchise to all their citizens. The withholding of voting rights to any citizens because of sex, age, poverty, education or race, is totally unacceptable.
The Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity pleads for an end to military rule and calls for free elections, so that people may choose their own governments.
The United Nations proclaims the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Declaration of the Rights of the Child and the Declaration of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, to be universal principles which can strengthen the moral solidarity of humanity. Yet there exists a political system that defies the dignity, culture, rights and freedoms of the majority of its people. The place is South Africa. The condition is "Apartheid". The Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity condemns apartheid, (separateness), without reservation as a system of institutionalised racial discrimination.
The human spirit in South Africa cries out for help. Help for three- quarters of its native people who live under gross exploitation and poverty. Twenty-eight million blacks cannot vote and have no political rights. The apartheid `regime" sustains its political domination by perpetuating the myth of racial superiority. It reinforces a cycle of categories and ends at death with segregation even in their final resting place. The successive states of emergency, the censorship of the media, the detention of 25,000 South Africans, (about 10,000 are adolescents and children) reports of systematic torture, confirmed removals of populations, have created a sympathy and understanding of why sanctions are now on the agenda everywhere.
South Africa is a rich country, but only rich for the white minority. In a country where wages are determined by the colour of one"s skin, it is not surprising to find white workers holding most technical positions. Whites make up only 10% of the labour force, yet receive half the wages.
The economic and social gap between black and white is staggering. Forgotten diseases such as cholera and bubonic plague, (these were announced to be present in 1982), tuberculosis, measles and malnutrition, continue to be major killers. For black babies born in this squalor, at least 25% will die at birth. Nowhere is apartheid more apparent than in the scars borne by youth. Children under the age of fifteen make up 50% of the homeland population. Security forces routinely target them for detention, assaults and even shooting. We commend their courage. We abhor their suffering.
Recommendation XIV. - Dismantling Apartheid:
Proposal 40 - Sanctions - The Path to Freedom:
Apartheid is a crime against humanity. Millions of blacks have been made citizens of the `homelands" areas giving up leasehold properties and work rights in the urban areas. These people strongly advocate economic sanctions against their country - they are a symbol of resistance to the outrage of apartheid. The minority racist regime will abdicate its power only under the stress of economic and other non-violent counter-power. For this reason, powerful international sanctions are needed. They could deprive South Africa of much needed foreign exchange and bring a speedy end to apartheid. A method of imposing mandatory sanctions that is internationally accepted is present under Articles 37 - 42 of the U.N Charter, giving the Security Council the right to impose binding sanctions.
South Africa greatly desires a sense of belonging to the world community. The Global Plan proposes cultural as well as economic sanctions by the free world that would help bring South Africa to its senses. Here are some urgent requests:
1. Impose a mandatory oil embargo against South Africa.
2. Exclude South Africa from all sporting and cultural activities.
3. Ban imports of agricultural products from South Africa. (We praise Sweden for being first among western nations to ban new investments, halt agricultural imports, and ban financial leasing.)
4. Stop the transfer of technology. (We praise Finland for action in this area)
5. Ban the promotion of tourism to South Africa.
6. End landing rights for South African Airways.
7. Place an embargo on all military co-operation with South Africa.
The Global Plan pleads with the free world to promote effective campaigns for the imposition of mandatory sanctions against South Africa.
Proposal 41 - Democratic Reforms. The Only Road:
South Africa"s salvation lies in democracy. "The laws of South Africa virtually criticise God for having created men of colour". Let these words of Albert Luthuli stir the conscience of the world. His vigil light shines on the blessings of common freedoms and serves as a reminder to those with liberty to cherish their freedom and the freedom of others.
We, supporters of the Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity, beseech South Africa to put an end to this 20th century form of slavery. We urge the South African government to take genuine steps to reform towards the dismantling of apartheid.
The Global Plan proposes the following steps:
1. Declare that the system of apartheid is dismantled.
2. End the state of emergency.
3. Release Nelson Mandela and all others detained for their opposition to apartheid.
4. Lift the ban on the African National Congress and other political parties.
5. Initiate genuine dialogue to establish a one person on vote government.
This document recognises the "Freedom Charter of South Africa" which declares that "only a democratic state based on the will of the people, can secure to all their birthrights without distinction of colour, race, sex or belief". The Global Plan proclaims that the essence of democratic government lies not in command but in consent.
A Conference assembled by UNESCO and attended by experts in 1964, stated that pure races in the sense of genetically homogenous populations do not exist in the human species.
Those who suffer because of a difference in skin colour, seek equality. We must join in their quest. We must deliver! They seek freedom of speech and assembly, universal suffrage, equal employment and educational opportunities, fair housing and equal protection under the law. For this reason we strongly urge the observance and compliance to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, noting in particular, Article 2, which states:
"Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration without distinction of any kind such as race, colour, sex, language, religion political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status."
We also urge that each person work toward the spirit of The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Articles 1 - 27 in particular.
The Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity strongly recommends the implementation of an "Action Network" (Proposal 38). Any report of an international incident of racial injustice must receive the prompt attention of the international community.
We abhor the situation in South Africa. We urgently request that all possible measures be taken to eliminate this scourge on human life and liberty. However, we equally abhor racism in whatever arena it takes place. Racism in whatever mask it appears, must be abolished. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., said "people must be judged not by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character".
In the world of women and children there is a constant drama of life, too often marked by overwork, malnutrition, unsafe childbearing and poor health. We are all humble hosts of this earth but our unjust world order has made our mothers beg and our children go hungry.
The condition of women in the world today is best exemplified in this well known statement from the United Nations. "Women constitute half the world"s population, perform two thirds of its work hours, receive one tenth of the world"s income and own less that one-hundredth of the world"s property." They have greatly challenged the credibility of patriarchal societies, but they still do not have full equal rights with men.
At least half the world"s output of food is produced by women, mostly in poor agricultural countries. Only a very few percent have been trained as agricultural personnel. Too often population policies ignore the facilities needed for proper health and welfare for women and their families.
The condition of the world"s children is appalling. Of all human inequities, injustice against children is the most despicable. Forty thousand of them die each day from malnutrition and preventable diseases fostered by malnutrition such as whooping cough, measles and diarrhea. This amounts to four million deaths each year. Their lives could have been saved by adequate food and simple immunization in the first year of life, at a cost of only a few cents per child.
UNESCO has estimated that sixty percent of all known illiteracy involves women, while seventy-five percent of the total male and female youth living in Asia receive no formal education at all. Of the estimated twelve million refugees in the world at least eighty percent are women and children. They suffer great hardships as refugees trying to perform the tasks of daily survival. Too often they fail - and the world is shamed.
Recommendation XV. - Meeting the Urgent Needs of Women & Children/Refugees
Proposal 43 - Ensure Equal Rights for Women:
The Global Plan for the Advancement of Humanity looks forward to the time when there will be world-wide adherence to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 1 of this document states that "all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights"
Recognizing the dignity of each individual is basic to our worth as human beings. For women, this means being partners in full equality and total justice. It means participating fully in the unfolding of history and in the decision-making of our children"s future.
The proposed policy of the Disarmament Dividend would bring to fruition, the much needed low-cost services for women in developing countries. In fact, the price of just one fighter plane would equip forty thousand village pharmacies.
We propose integrated family planning that provides village-based paramedics and midwives who can teach the benefits of birth-spacing, breast-feeding and prenatal care. Small-scale maternity centers could promote simple solutions to such pervasive problems such as providing iron supplements to prevent anemia in women. Assuming that maternal deaths run as high as one million per year, such care would save the lives of 500,000 women annually and improve the health of millions more.
We propose adopting measures to eliminate the backbreaking work of millions of women in their daily task of cutting and carrying wood and carrying water. Two very practical solutions are the large-scale use of dung fuel in providing cheap household energy and the construction of wells in every village community.
The Global Plan advises strict implementation of legislation that safeguards the rights of women. We suggest land rights for women, increased literacy and higher educational programmes, increased wages, daycare facilities and job security.
We also propose strict implementation of all laws protecting women and children from the degradation of sexual harassment. We call for an end to the international traffic and sale of women - such illegal conduct reduces women to mere commodities.
The 30-Arcticle - Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, was adopted by the General Assembly in December 1979; it has set the machinery in motion for the international supervision of the obligations that have been accepted by States.
In the preamble of the Convention it reads, "the full and complete development of a country, the welfare of the world and the cause of peace require the maximum participation of women on equal terms with men in all fields".
Proposal 44 - Save the Lives of Children:
The first cry of a newborn baby in Chicago or Caracas, in Cairo or Calcutta, has the same pitch and key; each saying I am, I am; I have come through. I am a member of the human family.
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Child states that every child has "the rights to affection, love and understanding" - It further proclaims the rights of children to adequate nutrition, medical care, protection from cruelty and exploitation and the right to be brought up in a spirit of peace and brotherhood.
Every twelve years a billion people are added to this planet, a planet that must look to its children to provide creative solutions for a better future - a future that could be a triumph for all humanity. All children are part of the universal family. They require the best care and concern we can give in order to develope their individual potential.
The Global Plan pleads with governments to strictly implement existing laws and conventions regarding the humane treatment of children. We propose adherence to the Minimum Age Convention of 1973 (No. 138) which contains guidelines of when, where and under what circumstances children may not work. It is estimated that nearly two hundred million children, under fifteen, are in the world"s workforce, many of them are working in dangerous industries or forced into the street world of prostitution.
This document advocates massive education schemes in the developing countries to fight against child labour. It is worth noting that the price of a new nuclear submarine is equivalent to the educational budgets of twenty- three developing countries with 160 million children of school age.
The Global Plan proposes more funds to improve public health and child nutrition programmes. The military expenditure of half a day would be enough to eradicate malaria. "Through breast feeding, adequate nutrition, clean water, immunisation programmes, oral-rehydration therapy and birth spacing, a virtual revolution in child survival could be achieved."
The Global Plan looks with alarm at the number of children and youth affected by illegal drugs throughout the world. It is urgent that all governments call for the prevention and reduction of the demand for illicit narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances; control of the supply; suppress illicit trafficking. We also call on them to research into newly discovered drugs; share data on drug abuse regionally and promote the treatment needed to rehabilitate our youth.
Proposal 45 - Rescue the Refugees:
The number of refugees increase each year by two to three thousand. Armed conflict, environmental disasters, oppressive regimes and poverty, are the catalyst for this heavy flow. It is the innocent who suffer. A large percentage of refugees are created because individuals are caught in the cross-fire of civil wars. These wars are often intensified by superpower intervention. This is exemplified by the war in Afghanistan which has added the largest number of refugees to the world.
Governments set stringent numbers on the numbers they will admit into their territory thus aggravating the refugee problem. When any fellow citizen is without a country, it must become a problem for us all. The Global Plan urges nations to accommodate as many refugees as possible. Those nations with restrictive policies must rethink their positions. Many prosperous nations have vast areas of space unsettled, We propose that resettlement policies be considered as a most viable solution. Furthermore, we commend the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR), for their impressive track-record in aiding the world"s refugees. We strongly urge that funds accumulated through the Disarmament Dividend be funneled into projects created and approved by the UNHCR. We see the need for governments to co-operate with the UNHCR by scrupulously observing the principles of asylum.
Oppressive and segregationist governments must be held accountable and made to follow to the letter the Charter on Human Rights. To this end, we strongly recommend that the Commission on Human Rights be elevated to a "Council on Human Rights". We unequivocably believe that "The Council" is a necessity and must be given equal status with the other three United Nations Councils. We strongly support the United Nations Resolution 40/117. It is of vital importance to give aid and development assistance to achieve a desirable solution for all refugees in Africa and the World.
A further problem arise when one considers stateless persons. Those people who do not have a nationality must be cared for as well. In 1961, the United Nations proposed a convention to aid individuals in obtaining a nationality at birth. The proposal also seeks to limit the circumstances in which one may lose their nationality or citizenship. We are therefore proponents of the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. We strongly advocate that other nations add their country"s name to the fourteen who have signed this Convention as of 1987.
The enhancement and preservation of human rights must be the cornerstone of public policy. Therefore, a body of safeguards and a redirection of our goals are long overdue. It is because of our inaction directly or indirectly, that human beings are transformed into refugees and stateless persons.
In today"s turbulent world, the opposite of love is not hatred, but apathy. The one-third of humanity that is rich is not concerned enough about the two-thirds of humanity that is poor. We, as world citizens must stir the minds of people. Though we live in different worlds, we are all inhabitants of one earth, with a common interest and a common future.
In today"s turbulent world extremism feeds on extremism. Reason and moderation are losing and the exaggerated claims of one ideology are match by the exaggerated claims of another. The factors that divide people are more emphasised than the forces that bind them. We, as world citizens, must dispel the old myths and heighten the new realities. We must point out that excessive nationalism and political extremism undermine world unity and fellowship.
In today"s turbulent world our leaders excel in the arts of war. We must find a way for them to excel in the arts of peace. We must present to the people a vision of a single world community, in which international disputes are settled, not through confrontation, but through mediation.
The human tendency to seek superiority is at the heart of most obstacles to peaceful mediation. As a result, there is great difficulty in building mutual trust. A solution to this social problem may be found in the uniqueness of humankind to examine ourselves from within. There is a growing awareness of the need to embrace ourselves, our uniqueness, our environment, our planet and the universal good. Only in this way can we truly understand the integrated systems that embrace all living things.
Only when human progress has achieved a blending of all human cultures into a single world culture, will we have achieved a decent quality of life for all. Only when we achieve the free movement of people and ideas everywhere will the path to peace be realised. As we approach the 21st Century, let us work toward the goal that one day human miseries and human inequities will be unthinkable.