CULTURE 

Speech on population policy by the Ambassador of the Netherlands, Mr. Rob Vermaas

Delivered to The Commemorative Conference on Pope JOHN PAUL II  At “St. Francis “Institute of Philosophy and Theology,  Gulele, Addis Ababa, 16^th April 2005 

Your Excellency, Ato Girma Woldegiorgis, The President of FDR of Ethiopia  Your Excellencies, Ambassadors,His Holiness Archbishops Abba PAULOS, Patriarch of Ethiopia.The Honorable, Hadji Omer Idris, Chairperson of Addis Ababa Islamic Affairs Supreme Council, Imam, Priest and  Sister Distinguished Participants Sisters and Brothers    

Firstly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Organizing Committee for giving me an opportunity to deliver the highlights of my paper, titled Human Responsibility and Culture of Peace. In the next twelve minutes I would like to focus my speech on Human Responsibility in which the Holiness Pope JOHN PAUL II dedicated his life.  

Your Excellencies the Holiness

Distinguished Participants

Sisters and Brothers

 We have just entered the 21^st Century, a new episode of the history of humankind. If we look back to the time that we had spent together, to the road that we walked together since the beginning of the last decade of the 20^th century, since the end of cold war until today, we are living in a changing world marked by a fundamental change of international politics constellation, the rapid progress of science and technology, interdependence and transparency amongst nations, states, communities, and people. The change has made our world become a small world, a global village.

 In the meantime, while many people expected “peace dividends” or a better future, following the cold war, the world, instead, has become involved in other forms of problems, challenges and struggles ;  The current globalized economic and social system has brought unparalleled wealth to a few and marginalization and misery to many.  It has globalized production, trade, finance and communication, but it has also created national and regional unemployment, widening income gaps, and a mounting degradation of the local and the global environment.

In industrialized countries, job security is a thing from the past.  In poor countries, poverty is aggravated by hunger, joblessness, and degrading conditions.  Both rich and poor countries overwork productive lands, contaminate rivers, lakes and seas, and draw down water tables.  And the gap between the modern and the traditional segments of society tears apart the structures and institutions on which social stability depends.

 To the facts, our world has become economically and socially unsustainable. But this is not all: as we know, the unsustainability of our world also has deep ecological roots.  They reside in the serious and still growing imbalance between human habitations and the self-maintaining cycles of nature.

 In the meantime catastrophic conflicts presently facing mankind, such as civil war, acts of terrorism and genocide, clearly testify to the seriousness of these struggles.  Since then, we notice with increasing anguish a series of ethnic and religious conflicts in the sense of ethnicity in many parts of the world.

 According to the UN statistics, since 1989, there had been over 33 armed conflicts with casualties to thousands of people, many causing millions of refugees and unimaginable suffering.  The sad thought is that, “More people have been killed in the name of religion than all the wars and natural disasters put together”.  In this regard, religious are also responsible for culture, civilization, great social service, and communal harmony.  So if we want to find the answer to some of these conflicts we have to go to the religious sources.  This part had been played by the Holiness Pope JOHN PAUL II in his life. He dedicated his life to great social service, culture, civilization, communal harmony, humanity and peace. We commemorate the Holiness Pope JOHN PAUL II dedication today. May the Mighty God, Allah swt bless and grace his soul.   

We are also aware that the concept of “global society” is growing piece by piece into concrete reality, shaped by the complicated new means / possibilities of communication, transport, commerce and finance.  But, it is in many ways a mechanical impersonal reality, unleavened by human feelings and ideals.

In his appeal for the global campaign, Dr. Herbert C. Brown, Nobel Laureate 1979, said “the world society is not only becoming less kind and considerate but also show signs of degenerating. Even with staring developments in science, technology and economy, social phatologist are becoming more serious day by day. The problems originate from a decline of moral sensibility”. In other

words, we look physically modern, but not mentally moderate.Who will be responsible for all those things, to the existing problems that we are facing today?

 Distinguish Participants

Sister and Brothers

Today, we are living in a small world, democratic world. There are only two or maybe three countries left in the world, which have not been labeled as a democratic state. So if we considered that we are citizen of a global village, we have to play our part in catalyzing and promoting a grassroots movement toward a peaceful and sustainable world, we must be sure to think in a new and better way.

Starting from our self, don’t wait for a fundamental change to come from above, from the elected leader or appointed leader of contemporary society, meaningful change must come from below, from the people who are in the society, from us.

 The first step is to ree-xamine our ethics.  Ask our self: Is the way we think about right and wrong really sound and up-to-date? Are the things we judge worthy and good truly good and worth striving for?  

We must decide our ethics for ourselves.  In a democratic society a wide variety of opinions can be held and a great many goals pursued.  But there is a limit to our freedom to define our ethics: what we hold to be right and good must mesh with what is right and good for the communities in which we live.  Today we are living not only in a local community—a village, town, or city. We are living not only in one state and nation, and not even in just one region and culture.  We are living in an interacting and interdependent global village.  Our ethics must also mesh with what is right and good for humanity.  

Yet, with the notable exception of the new cultures, the global dimension is missing in people’s ethics. This is evident in the way they live, or aspire to live.  As we have seen, when multiplied by the number of people in the world, the ecological footprint of individuals is larger than the total biological productivity of the planet.  Modern lifestyles have become globally unsustainable, and pursuing an unsustainable way of living cannot be considered ethical.  Without a global dimension to people’s ethics humankind will faces difficult times.

 The basic principle is to treat others—all others—as you expect others to treat you. This is a universal “golden rule” expressed in all the great religions of humankind.  In Christianity it was pronounced by Jesus: “In everything, do to others as you would have them do to you.” In Judaism the golden rule is expressed in the Talmud” What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor,” and in Islam it is present in Mohammed’s tenet, “Not one of you truly believes until you wish for others that which you wish for yourself.” Hinduism says, “This is the sum of duty: do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you”; the Buddha advised,  “Treat not others in ways that your yourself would find hurtful;”  and Confucius said “Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself.”

In the tradition, “you” has stood for neighbor, friend, and fellow member of the local community.  That was the range within which people interacted.  Today the range of human interaction is global: what any of us does affects all the others. Our ethics must expand as well.  What any member of the global community does must not be injurious to any other member of this community.

We are far from attaining this goal.  What some people do is in fact injurious to the rest of the global community, even if they do not do it on purpose. The rich use up an inordinate share of the planet’s resources and produce the lion’s share of its waste and pollution, and the poor are forced to over-exploit the lands, waters and forests that surround their habitation. If these practices continue we shall soon be missing essential resources and live in an impoverished and dramatically unhealthy environment.

The lesson is clear: if we do not want others to violate our right to a health environment and to a fair share of the planet’s resources, you must not degrade other people’s environment and interfere with their access to basic resources. In today’s world, “Do as you would be done by” becomes “Live in a way that allows all people on the planet to live” (and not just subsist at the edge of starvation).  Adopting this planetary ethics does not mean that you must live in poverty, or even with extreme frugality.  All people do not need to live at the same material standard you do; they may not even want to. The goal is not uniformity, but fairness.  We can aim for fairness in the world without depriving ourselves of the pleasures and enjoyment of a reasonable and responsible live. 

We can strive for personal excellence, growth, and enjoyment, even for comfort and non-wasteful luxury.  We must simply define the pleasures and achievements of life in relation to the quality of responsible enjoyment and genuine satisfaction they provide, rather than in terms of the amount of money they cost and the quantity of materials and energy they require.  Then we give a fair chance to all people in the world to live with a decent measure of dignity and well-being.   In line with values and principles of the United Nations Millenium Declaration, we consider certain fundamental values to be essential to international relations in the twenty-first century.  These include:

• Freedom. Man and women have the right to live their lives and raise their children in dignity, free from hunger and from the fear of violence, oppression or injustice.  Democratic and participatory governance based on the will of the people best assures these rights.

• Equality.  No individual and no nation must be denied the opportunity to benefit form development.  The equal rights and opportunities of women and men must be assured.

• Solidarity. Global challenges must be managed in a way that distributes the costs and burdens fairly in accordance with basic principles of equity and social justice. Those who suffer or who benefit least deserve help from those who benefit most.

• Tolerance. Human beings must respect one another, in all their diversity of belief, culture and language.  Differences within and between societies should be neither feared nor repressed, but cherished as a precious asset of humanity.  A culture of peace and dialogue among all civilizations should be actively promoted.

• Respect for nature.  Prudence must be shown in the management of all living species and natural resources, in accordance with the precepts of sustainable development. Only in this way can the immeasurable riches provided to us by nature be preserved and passed on to our descendants. The current unsustainable patterns of production and consumption must be changed in the interest of our future welfare and that of our descendants.

• Shared responsibility. Responsibility for managing worldwide economic and social development, as well as threats to international peace and security, must be shared among the nations of the world and should be exercised multilaterally. As the most universal and most representative organization in the world, the United Nations must play the central role.

Distinguish Participants

Sister and Brothers

Adopting a planetary ethics and updating our beliefs about the world are new and timely ways in which we must think. When we begin to think in this way, we will soon ask ourselves: how can we live up to our new ethics and view of the world? In what way can we act more responsibly? 

Seeking and answer to these questions is urgent, for some of the things we can, and as responsible people should do, no delay. If we wish to live and act responsibly, we must choose a path that leads toward sustainability and peace on this planet. This does not call for undue sacrifice, for there is no contradiction between doing good and doing well.  If you live and act in a way that is good for others and for nature, we live and act in a way that is good for us.   There are urgent and responsible things we can do in our private life, in our relations to the sphere of business, as well as in the civic sphere of society.  These are things we should do; in an interdependent and interacting world each of us is a factor in the life of all.  

Some aspects of our private lives have become public business. These aspects are subject to the “ten commandments” of responsible living:

1. Live in a way that satisfies your needs without detracting from the opportunity of other people to satisfy theirs. 

2. Live in a way that respects the right to life and development of all people, wherever they live, and whatever their ethnic origin, sex, citizenship, and belief system.

3.   Live in a way that safeguards the right to life and a healthy environment of all the things that live and grow on this Earth.

4. Pursue happiness, freedom, and personal fulfillment in consideration of the similar pursuits of your fellows in your community, country and culture, and in the global community of all peoples, countries, and cultures.

5. Do your best to help those less privileged than you to live without hunger and penury, whether they live next door to you or in another part of the world.

6. Join with like-minded people to preserve or restore the integrity of the environment so it can generate and regenerate the resources essential for human life and well-being.

7.  Help children and young people to discover sustainable ways of thinking and acting of their own.

8. Urge your government to establish a peaceful relation and cooperative environment with other nations and cultures, recognizing the legitimate aspirations for a better life and a life-supporting environment of all the peoples, countries, and cultures of the world.

9. Patronize business that produce goods and offer services that satisfy your needs and the needs of other people without impairing the environment and widening the gap between rich and poor in your community, and in the world at large.

10. Give preference to newspapers and magazines, television and radio programs and Internet sites that provide regular and reliable information on the trends and events that affect your life, and help you and others around you make informed decisions on crucial issues affecting your future.

   Conclusion

1.  The change has appear! It has made the world becomes small; a global village has brought new problems, challenges and struggles for peace and a better future.

2. Our unsustainable development should manage through moral, ethical and spiritual dimension of social progress!

3. We should promote values and principles provided in the United Nation Millennium Declaration, (September 2000). These include; values of Freedom, Equality, Solidarity, Tolerance, Respect for Nature, and Shared Responsibility!

4. It is about time for every one of us to Think Responsibly and Act Responsibly by giving more portion on “human responsibility” within our focus of interests and strategic thinking, where in the past are dominated only on “human rights”

5. Since we are living in a democratic world, we should promote solidarity and tolerance, amidst our differences. Therefore, we should uphold the principle of Unity in Diversity, not Uniformity! 

The Spirit of Our Time

• Two decades ago the former UN Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar in his report to UN General Assembly, already gave us hint.  He said “Today when no corner of the earth is hidden from the eye of satellite, science and the demands of human solidarity have brought us to the stage when the world must be seen as a single whole”.

•  As written in the UNESCO Charter; “Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that we have to erect the ramparts of peace.”

• The spirit is still there! The political will is already here in our mind and in the mind of the world’s political leaders! We should rally to it! May peace be with us, may peace prevail on Earth?

Addis Ababa, 16 April 2005

Main Sources / Suggestion for further studies:

•    “Unity in Diversity; Indonesian Philosophy of life”

•  “Cultural Forces in World Politics”, Ali M. Mazrui, Professor of Political Science in State University of New York, University of Michigan and Cornell University, Published by James Currey, London, Heinemann, Kenya Nairobi, Heinemann Portsmouth (N.H.). 1990.

•  “The Clash of Civilizations?” Samuel P. Huntington, Director of the John M. Olin, Institute for Strategic Studies, Professor at Harvard University, Foreign Affairs, Volume 72, No. 3, Summer 1993.

•  “Why should Civilizations Clash?” A paper by Dr. Dan Smith, Director of Peace Research Institute, Oslo, at the Seminar on “Clashes between Civilizations”, Organized by the Korean Peace Foundation for Asia Pacific, Seoul, 1994.

• “Changing Development: The Cultural Contract, Peace and Democracy”, Javier Perez de Cullar, Published by Diplomacy, Volume XXI, No. 6, 1995, Seoul, South Korea.

•   “Restoration of Morality and Humanity”, Edited by Jae Shik Sohn. The Institute of International Peace Studies, Kyung Hee University Seoul 1995.

•  “The Clash of Civilization and the Remaking of World Order”, Samuel Huntington.  Professor of Harvard University, Published by Simon & Schuster, Rockefeller Center, New York, 1996.

•  “Praxis of Oughtopia” Pedro B. Bernaldez, The Institute of International Peace Studies Kyung Hee University Seoul, November 1996.

•  “United Nations Millennium Declaration” New York, September 2000.

• “Executive Summary of Assembly 2000, Renewing the United Nations and Building a Culture of Peace”  New York , August  2000.

•  “Managing the Crisis through Moral, Ethical and Spiritual Dimensions of Social Progress”, January 2002.

• “You Can Change The World”, by Ervin Laszlo, Published by Select Book Inc. 2003, New York (First Edition).

• The Power of Culture The Hidden Agenda of World Politics”, by Alwis Azizat Murad Paper presented to the Senior Leader Seminar Organized and Sponsored by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS) of the USA, Sheraton Hotel, Addis Ababa, 24 February – 7 March 2003.

•  “The Islamic Perspective on Human Solidarity and Tolerance”, by Alwis Azizat Murad Paper presented to The Indonesian and Muslim Brothers in Ethiopia on the Occasion of the Sacred Month of Ramadan and  Eid  Fitr,  1  Syawal  1425  H, Addis Ababa, November 2004.

•  “Dilemma of Modern Man, A Need for a New Philosophy to the Changing World”, by Alwis Azizat Murad Paper presented to “ The International Conference on African Conflict ” Organized by the Organization of Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA) at United Nation Conference Center (UNCC) Addis  Ababa,  29 November–1 December 2004.

POPULATION  POLICY

Speech on population policy by the Ambassador of the Netherlands, Mr. Rob Vermaas The Speech was delivered in the City Hall of Dire Dawa Tuesday March 22, 2005 on the occasion of a visit of the activities of the Family Guidance Association of Ethiopia

First of all I would like to thank the City Administration of Dire Dawa and the Family Guidance Association of Ethiopia for their invitation to come to Dire Dawa and to give a speech on population policy.  

In my speech today I would like to underline the importance of Sexual Reproductive Health, HIV/AIDS and population and the relationship between the three issues.  

In the almost four years that I have been in Ethiopia, I have had the chance to travel around the country from time to time.  With the Family Guidance Association I went to Dessie where we opened a new clinic and visited a Sexual Reproductive Health project in the area of Hayk.  With Care Ethiopia I went to Borena to see a similar activity.  In these two quite different parts of the country I have seen how Sexual and Reproductive Health activities, can lead to successful improvements in the field of Health, Aids and Population and that these improvements are interrelated.  

For the Netherlands’ Development Co-operation, Sexual and Reproductive Health is a priority.  We believe it is a key to poverty reduction.  We believe it is the key to simultaneously improve the situation in Health, Aids and population.  We also believe that it makes sense to link the protection from HIV/AIDS with protection from unwanted pregnancies.  Ask any girl or women in Ethiopia and she will agree with you.  

There is a rather broad recognition in Ethiopia that activities in the field of Sexual and Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS can go hand in hand.  But the relation with population has been much less clear over the last years.  There seems to be something of a taboo on a public debate on population.  

This however does not seem to hold true for the so-called “ordinary people”.  The people I have met during my field trips have shown a lot of awareness on Population and Family Planning issues.  Some of them, usually the older ones, remarked:  “We are here with more and more people”.  They would then compare the situation of human beings with that of their domestic animals:

 “When you bring too may goats and cows together in one small area, not only the grass will die, so do the goats and cows.  The same goes for human beings.”

 Some ten to fifteen years ago, Ethiopia has formulated a generally well-accepted policy on population.  However little has been done with it.  Not much has been implemented.  Only recently the population issue is re-appearing on the agenda.  Slowly there is also the recognition that the rapid annual population growth is a real problem.  

Let me remind you of some facts:  -

In 1960, Ethiopia had a population of 25 million people.

In 1990, this figure was 50 million.

Today we are with over 70 mln people; according to some it is even closer to 80 million.

 Compare these numbers with the availability of agricultural land, and the picture is very bleak.  In 1960 a family of 7 persons still had about 2 hectares of land to cultivate.  In 1980, the farm size had decreased to just above one hectare and at present the majority of rural people only has half a hectare left to produce their food.

 My conclusion is that population and population growth matter.  Everyone can see the urgency of the situation.   

Where are we going?

If we continue this way, the population with double again in some 25 years.  Is this country heading for disaster? Or is it going to take action?

 Population covers a broad area.  It is related to fields like education and health, good governance and security, culture and gender, agriculture, food and income. In short it touches nearly all aspects of society and development as well as the relationship between all these areas.

 Some new initiatives have been taken.  That is the positive side. But merely updating the existing policy will not be enough.  It is imperative that the population issue is given priority on the political and development agenda.  There is a link between the rights of the individual and public interest and responsibility, as formulated 10 years ago in Cairo at the UN world conference on population.

 Policies should be translated into plans and actions.    With the formulation of the second Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (SDPRPII) the opportunity should be taken to set clear targets for the implementation of the population policy in which Government, Civil Society, Churches, UN, donors and especially the population should be involved!  

The so-called Cairo agenda on Reproductive Health and Gender contains many points for action.  The results of ten years

implementation of the Cairo agenda have been reviewed in 2004.  The conference noted a serious delay in implementation and urged for action to overcome major challenges world-wide.  I cite five of them:

 1.       The high level of maternal mortality and unsafe abortion;

2.       The still growing HIV/AIDS epidemic;

3.       The alarming shortfall in contraceptives;

4.       Gender inequality and injustice and violence against women;

5.       The weak public service on sexual and reproductive health, particularly for adolescents.

 In short the conference recommended:

More means, more practical actions, less rhetoric and more leadership. 

As far as these shortcomings are concerned SDPRPII offers an excellent opportunity to remedy the situation.  Chances should be grasped which already exist in order to make a jump ahead where progress lags behind.  

One area where insufficient progress has been made is in the field of gender equality.  There has been policy development and legislation.  However the implementation of these laws, particularly in rural areas still lags far behind.  As the Minister of Development Co-operation of the Netherlands has stated:  “World-wide, injustice and violence against women starts before they are born.  And it does not end before they are dead and buried.”

 I am also concerned about the control of HIV/AIDS in the coming years.  Very recently UNAIDS has launched a new document called “The three scenario’s in HIV/AIDS for Africa in 2025.”  One of these scenarios’s (called ‘Traps’); gives an image of what Africa might look like in 20 years, if things go wrong: 38 million adults will be living with the virus across Africa; the annual death toll amongst adults and children will be 3.5 million.  It is a very scaring and disturbing picture.

 The document contains a second warning, namely that the new treatment of AIDS – patients could lead to neglection of the importance of adequate of the importance of adequate prevention.   However the third scenario called ‘transition’ pictures a much brighter future, a situation which could occur if national and international solidarity increase and if real changes are made in the field of gender equality and in the prevention of HIV, on the basis of what happens in real life.  You all have heard about the ABC of HIV prevention:  Abstinence, Be faithful and Condoms.  Let me make it very clear: adequate prevention should include the C, the C of condoms.  And, realities of life include the existence and effects of illegal abortion, competition between young people as well as peer pressure, the existence of sex workers, of violence, rape, and insufficient access to adequate family planning. 

 This is a reality of life, also in Ethiopia.  That is why for the Netherlands adequate HIV prevention should include the use of condoms, involvement of young people and particular women.

 Let us be determined and work towards that third scenario.  A positive contribution to this could be the introduction of the Health Extension Package by the Ministry of Health, the progress made by the Ministry of Education in increasing the number of pupils, especially girls in primary education, the development of gender policies and the national and international efforts to reach the Millennium Goals.  Let us-nationally and internally- work towards that third scenario.

 The Netherlands highly appreciates the work of the Family Guidance Association of Ethiopia.  The Association supplies realistic and qualitative assistance to the Sexual and Reproductive health situation of many Ethiopians be it young or old.  From the start FGAE has been a pioneer in this field in Ethiopia.

 I also would like to praise your intensive co-operation with the City of Dire Dawa.  And I would like to express appreciation to the City of Dire Dawa for creating the enabling environment for the work of organizations like the family Guidance Association Ethiopia.

 I wish you all a bright future. 

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