Firstly, I should like to express my sincere gratitude for the invitation from the Secretary General Dr. Amr Moussa, enabling me to address you all to share some of the ideas set out in the initiative entitled the Alliance of Civilizations, presented during the most recent General Assembly of the United Nations by the President of the Spanish Government.
For many years the world lived under the threat of the Cold War and confrontation between East and West, which made it very difficult, if not impossible, for there to exist joint initiatives to solve some of the global problems afflicting us, such as under-development, inequalities, armed conflicts and the absence of freedom. The end of the Cold War opened the gates to hope, by removing an important source of mistrust and providing an auspicious opportunity to progress towards a new world order, one of greater fairness and solidarity.
However, the world we are living in today remains far from this ideal. In the last few years, as well as the perennial conflicts in the Mediterranean region, new ones have arisen in the Balkans and in Asia, America and Africa. Extremist groups have sprung up, justifying themselves by new pretexts put forward by false prophets who preach hatred and the cult of difference based on criteria of race, ethnic group or religion.
Fortunately, on some occasions we have been able to react in time and to reach solutions by means of dialogue, agreement and international cooperation, as was the case with the Balkans and also with certain conflicts in Ibero-America and in Africa. These cases confirm the importance of the fact that the international community should have a coherent, resolute attitude. Such coherence and resolution is needed to reinforce the role of the United Nations and regional organizations in ensuring peace and security, within the limits of international law, to channel solutions to problems via dialogue and the political will to reach such solutions and to ensure the protection of minority groups and the weak against arbitrariness, injustice, prejudice and the abuse of power.
Nevertheless, the international community has not always been capable of resolving problems. This is all the more critical when, as often happens, the values of tolerance, equality, justice and the peaceful settlement of differences have been ignored and replaced by calls for intolerance, privilege, imposition and confrontation. These calls have been made by Academies, literary media and institutions of civil society, for instance, in defining the theory of the inevitable manifest destiny of a clash of civilizations. They have been made from government offices and political standpoints, proclaiming unconscionable political goals, which only take into account short-sighted national interest, and they have been made from places of worship.
And, what is worse, these messages have been transmitted to the young, in the guise of education, at schools and universities. And they have reached the general public via the mass media, the press, radio and television.
The time has come, therefore, to react. If we do not stop and reverse these tendencies, our world will become an unwelcoming, violent place. In an age defined by globalization, we cannot allow those who preach incompatibility and difference to dominate the debate; on the contrary, we must get to know each other better. This is particularly so with regard to the relations between the West and the Arab world.
It is true that the crimes of 11 September 2001 represented a turning point in international relations. Never before had a terrorist attack on such a scale been perpetrated. It awoke the world’s conscience to the urgent necessity to join forces to prevent terrible attacks of this kind. But, apart from the welcome collective resolution, no far-reaching international consensus has been reached on the best way of preventing and combating global terrorism. Moreover, this crime also encouraged the propagation of evil theories such as the one proclaiming a causal link between terrorism and Islam. We know there are terrorist groups that seek to justify their crimes on the basis of religion, citing the precepts of Islam.
This false reasoning is as old as humanity. There is no religion on earth that has not at some time been abused and twisted to justify violence. Nobody in their right mind would believe that all Moslems, just because they are Moslems, are potentially dangerous. If we have learned anything at all from history, it is indeed that religions are bearers of messages of peace, solidarity and sympathy among people. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that in the West there exist those who wish to erect a wall of incomprehension before the Arab and Islamic world, a barrier of rejection of their values, which are proclaimed to be intransigent and to threaten the Western way of life.
If we look at what is happening from the perspective of the Arab and Islamic world, we are forced to recognize that here, too, while they are vigorously defending their own symbols of identity, which is a legitimate attitude, they are transmitting a distorted view of a Western world, of one that is aggressive and discriminatory, insensitive to their justified claims. This image, also, is unacceptable and should be fought against. It is true that there remain open wounds that should be healed, as is the case of the interminable Arab-Israeli conflict, but it is absurd and
unfair for Western values in themselves to be seen as negative and prejudicial to the Arab and Islamic world.
Beyond a doubt, we must react and open the eyes of our peoples and institutions to the harm done by these ill-focused viewpoints, by these emerging extremisms. We must proclaim a new paradigm and open channels of communication between the different peoples of the world, so that diversity is seen, not as a threat to security, but as a positive value that promotes knowledge and sharing, through dialogue and cooperation.
The best way to structure this proposal is within a universal framework. It cannot belong to any single country. The most appropriate forum is the United Nations Organization, which has a unique mandate and legitimacy and has shown itself capable of responding to the great challenges of the future. Moreover, the UN has already taken steps in the right direction, in the context of the Dialogue of Civilizations, a praiseworthy initiative by President Khatami. By means of the Spanish proposal for an Alliance of Civilizations, we seek to go beyond dialogue to concentrate on shaping a large-scale international political consensus based on a number of specific actions. This emphasis on action is, indeed, the most novel aspect of the Alliance. It is not our intention to replace other laudable initiatives in this field, such as the aforementioned Dialogue of Civilizations, or Senegal’s proposals on Islam and Christianity, to mention just two.
As a clear, concrete goal, therefore, the President of the Spanish Government has proposed that the Secretary General of the UN should constitute a High Level Group, made up of distinguished figures such as former heads of governments and prominent members of international civil society, in order to reflect and to put forward concrete proposals. Kofi Annan has reacted very positively to the Spanish initiative and has resolved that two of his representatives should look into it further, in conjunction with the Spanish representatives, clarifying the issue with a view to activating the initiative within the UN.
Although the specific structuring of the proposed Alliance of Civilizations is open to various possibilities, the Spanish proposal is that the High Level Group should organize its work under two fundamental headings: politics and security, on the one hand, and culture and education, on the other.
Our efforts in the sphere of politics and security should be focused on the consolidation of a more stable, peaceful and fairer international order. Faced with global threats to world security, as is the case of terrorism, we must restate the need to act on two fronts: firstly, to achieve the eradication of terrorism by international cooperation among all the agencies involved. Secondly, and on the basis of the principle that violence can never be justified, to analyse the multiple factors that feed the radical visions responsible for encouraging the terrorists and to propose measures to remedy the problems at their root, that is, conflicts,
injustice and political and economic inequalities.
We believe that the best way to overcome these problems is by abandoning the illegitimate use of force to resolve conflicts, replacing it with effective multilateralism. In other words, providing means and executive power to our global institutions, such as the UN, whose legitimacy and capabilities could be reinforced by the reforms currently under way. We should also ensure the non-discriminatory application of UN resolutions and the use of all instruments in a non-selective way in our solutions to problems that are common to all. Finally, we should take on board the promotion of democratic, participatory values and the universal respect for human rights.
In short, we seek to make intelligent use of the political tools available in order to deprive those who sanction violence of any possible popular support.
In the educational and cultural sphere, the High Level Group should concentrate on promoting dialogue between cultures, advancing on the path of shared values and studying and dealing with threats that face us all. In this respect, especially important is the creation of an adequate response to migration movements and the prevention of discriminatory phenomena and racial or ethnic violence.
Given their importance in the modern world, we should also pay close attention to the mass media, so that these may serve to channel and promote better understanding and eliminate prejudices. In the area of schooling, we must promote educational policies aimed at preventing intolerance, conflict and prejudice. Perhaps it is in this sphere, above all, where the greatest effort needs to be made.
Nevertheless, all these ideas can be further perfected, complemented and, in a word, improved, via the contributions of the other parties interested in the success of the initiative. I have in mind, particularly, the priority that the Arab countries, through the Arab League, should participate from the outset in the elaboration of proposals to shape the initiative known as the Alliance of Civilizations. To this effect, I propose that the Arab League designate a contact group which, together with the Spanish experts, could meet to share ideas and possibly to forward joint proposals to the United Nations.
Thus, the Alliance of Civilizations will comprise an resolute commitment by all countries to work for a world guided by principles of tolerance, understanding and freedom. This is in the interest of all of us, because the alternative, as we all know, is conflict and permanent confrontation.
I should like to conclude by stating that the Spanish proposal is not Utopian. In our closest, common context, we have successfully created mechanisms based firmly on the principles of the Alliance. By this, I am referring to the Euro-Mediterranean Barcelona Process, which will celebrate its tenth anniversary next year. This is a joint, global initiative comprising the carefully-considered interaction of political, economic, cultural and social aspects of our relation, one that created an unprecedented wealth of instruments. It is a mechanism by which collective ideas, proposals and means are not imposed, but discussed and adopted by all. In itself it constitutes a magnificent channel for dialogue and information sharing between the two rims of the Mediterranean. We have shown ourselves capable of applying the principles of the Alliance of Civilizations in this part of the world. Let us join together with resolve to extend them all over the planet. I am convinced that the Arab League and the countries that make it up are well equipped to go down this road and that they will be the first and firmest supporters, as well as exemplary members of the Alliance of Civilizations.
Thank you very much for your attention.
