Speech made at International Press Institute
(IPI)
World Congress in Moscow
26-28 May, 1998
By Kalevi Sorsa
Let me first express my sincere gratitude to the
International Press Institute for having given me this
opportunity of explaining what the InterAction is, why it
is suggesting the adoption by UN of a Universal
Declaration of Human Responsibilities, what kind of
effects such declaration is hoped to have and how,
particularly, it would strengthen the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. We understand fully that the
support but also critical remarks and suggestions from the
international press will be vital for the success of our
undertaking.
The InterAction Council was founded 15 years ago at the
initiative of former prime minister Takeo Fukuda of Japan
and former bundeskanzler Helmut Schmidt of Germany. It is
composed of some 30 former heads of government or state
from all continents and from different political
orientations from conservatives to former communists,
Mikhail Gorbachev being the Russian member. But party
politics does not play any role at all in our
deliberations because these leaders do not any more
represent any political organisation nor are they any more
under the pressure of publicity. They are all steadfast
believers in democracy and in human rights and their
countries typically have a good human rights record.
The Council has devoted a great deal of time to economic
and social issues, above all to globalisation and to
problems of population and of the environment. This is
partly due to the fact that the Japanese government has
asked the Council always to meet shortly before the G7,
now G8, meetings in order to provide a commentary on
recent developments for the benefit of the G8
participants.
The most important task of the Council began in 1987 when
a group of its members, including our present chairman,
Malcolm Fraser of Australia, met with significant people
from the world's major religions - Buddhists, Muslims,
Methodists, Roman Catholics, Protestants, Hindus and the
Jewish faith were all represented.
This Rome meeting showed eager interest from all sides to
codify a universal ethic declaration acceptable to
everybody. In an era of globalisation such common code of
ethics would diminish the risk of wars and conflicts
between different cultures and ease the relations between
people of differing cultural background who in today's
open world are called to co-operate and to live together
intermingled more closely than ever before. But we are
equally persuaded that to have a code of responsibilities
alongside the Human Rights' Declaration would lead to more
harmonious national communities and be supportive to the
Human Rights' Declaration itself.
After ten years of tenacious work under the leadership of
Helmut Schmidt this group of former politicians, religious
leaders, moral philosophers and journalists finally
produced a 19 clause draft declaration which the
InterAction Council, for its part, adopted last year. Our
aim now is to have the proposed Universal Declaration of
Human Responsibilities introduced into the United Nations
for debate and in the light of that debate to further
elaboration by an appropriate UN body.
It should be remembered that IAC is far from being the
only organisation active in pursuit of a global code of
ethics. On the contrary, it would seem that after the end
of the cold war and the beginning of the era of
globalisation, large numbers of people are in search of a
new starting line for their communal life and think that
it should be built on moral grounds.
In fact, I come to your meeting more or less directly from
the Academy of Values, organized by the Church of Finland
where representatives of politics, religion, science,
administration, justice and arts discussed the new role of
ethics in our time. I learned there, among many other
things, that the Finnish parliamentarians had formed a
multi-party discussion group for global ethics. A similar
awakening in matters of morality is taking place in many
countries on a popular level. There is much talk about
responsibility towards your neighbours, towards your local
community and towards your nation. A feeling that rights
and freedoms cannot be a one way road but must be balanced
by self-responsibility and responsibility towards your own
community is expanding at an astounding pace.
Maybe the most significant sign of this was the adoption
in 1993 in Chicago by the Parliament of the World's
Religions of a Declaration Towards a Global Ethic. But
mention should be made also of the Trieste Declaration of
the Nobel prize winning scientists where the universal
code of ethics is interpreted into the area of scientific
research and education. Our Global Neighbourhood by the
Independent Commission on Global Governance as well as the
report, Our Creative Diversity by the World Commission on
Culture and Development should also be mentioned.
Personally I was especially delighted to find out that an
organizations of the youth, such as the AIESEC, the
international body of the students in economics and
business administration, are organising important
conferences on the theme.
Finding a fast moral ground for a liberated and globalised
world would seem to me the theme of the years to come. It
is extremely important to foster vivid dialogue on the
theme now and also to understand that such universal code
would not compete with but complement and strengthen the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
"You should not ask what your country can give to you but
also what you can give to your country" expressed in an
unforgettable way the healthy interaction between the
individual and the communities to which she belongs,
between the rights and the responsibilities, indeed.
After having adopted the draft Declaration on Human
Responsibilities last September, IAC has been satisfied to
receive a wealth of comments. The declaration has received
strong support from a wide ranging group of prominent
individuals, organizations and several governments. But
some reservations have been expressed that the document
may undermine the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
or encourage controls on the freedom of the press.
Let me therefore give our views on these criticisms.
It is important to note, firstly, that the InterAction
Council is prepared further to elaborate the proposed text
where the present wording leads to misunderstandings. The
country which sponsors the draft declaration to the UN
debate will naturally also have a right to edit it, if it
deems it necessary. Finally, it is up to the United
Nations to formulate the final text. There will be
therefore plenty of occasions to influence the ultimate UN
declaration.
As to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it is
important to understand that it addresses itself to the
inalienable rights of humanity and to the protection of
all people against abusive power by governments or
institutions of government. The aim is to guarantee to the
citizen certain rights, freedoms and services from the
government.
The Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities
addresses itself mainly to the individual citizen and his
responsibilities toward his family, neighbourhood and
larger communities to which he belongs. But the
declaration also addresses pleas on ethical behaviour to
the governmental power.
But there is a bridge between the two declarations which
relates the proposed one to the existing. While most of
the articles in the Human Rights' Declaration concern
civil and political rights, article 29 states: "Everyone
has duties to the community in which alone the free and
full development of his personality is possible." This
opens a window toward the responsibilities of the
individual to the community. What the proposed new
declaration attempts to do, is more concretely to
enumerate the responsibilities mentioned in the Human
Rights' Declaration. This makes the proposed declaration
subordinate to the Human Rights' document.
In the InterAction Council, we actually believe that the
constant demand for rights alone, without better
recognition of duties mentioned in article 29, would not
achieve the purpose of the original authors, which
certainly was a harmonious national society and a
peaceful, co-operative world.
Other than western cultures and religions do place more
reliance on responsibilities than we do but surely, in our
own societies, we are seeing problems, grave and serious
deficiencies, where people demand rights without the
acceptance of a responsibility to family, to community or
to country. There is a clearly felt and timely need for
the international community to give an authoritative
expression to these responsibilities.
Finally, I wish once more to emphasize that in the
InterAction Council we are opposed to an attempt to change
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and believe that
our proposed declaration would not only provide a balance
but would also mean that the Human Rights' Declaration
would remain inviolate and intact. We also believe that,
if responsibilities come to be recognized, greater
progress will be made in advancing human rights themselves
where there are still serious deficiencies. Rights and
responsibilities must go hand-in-hand. We follow with
admiration the activity of the High Commissioner and offer
to support it where need be.
As to the freedom of the press, the Council strongly
believes that no outside authority should control the
media who must be self-regulating.
The freedom of the press or of a journalist is guaranteed
in a modern constitutional state. There is the right to
report freely. The state must support this right and, if
necessary, act to enforce it. The state and the citizen
have the responsibility to respect that right. However,
the right to report freely does not impinge on the
responsibility of being truthful and fair of the
journalist or of the media.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I remember when I, in my youth, learnt through the
newspapers about the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. It made such an impression that I learnt it by
heart of my own and it was certainly one of the most
important signposts of my youth and later in political
life.
The grand old lady of journalism, Flora Lewis, has given
all through the long preparation process her active
contribution to the editing work of the Universal
Declaration of Human Responsibilities, joined at later
stages of the work by other prominent representatives of
the profession.
She feels, which we all share, that the era opening under
our eyes will need the same kind of idealism and faith
that the world received from its leaders 50 years ago when
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was created.
The best we could get from you in furthering our new
declaration would be to disseminate information on it, to
comment it on your editorial columns and to give space for
people's comments. This is an issue which warrants
widespread public debate and dialogue, especially within
civil society.
Mrs./Mr. Chairperson,
Thank you for your attention.