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                   Turning Point for All Nations

                           A Statement of 
                 the Baha'i International Community's
                     Office of Public Information
                     
                         on the Occasion of 
               the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations 

    "Unification of the whole of mankind is the hall-mark of the stage 
    which human society is now approaching. Unity of family, of tribe, 
    of city-state, and nation have been successively attempted and 
    fully established.  World unity is the goal towards which a 
    harassed humanity is striving. Nation-building has come to an end. 
    The anarchy inherent in state sovereignty is moving towards a 
    climax. A world, growing to maturity, must abandon this fetish, 
    recognize the oneness and wholeness of human relationships, and 
    establish once for all the machinery that can best incarnate this 
    fundamental principle of its life." 
                                           -Shoghi Effendi, 1936 


I. Overview: An Opportunity For Reflection
   
   The 20th Century, one of the most tumultuous periods in human 
   history, has been marked by numerous upheavals, revolutions and 
   radical departures from the past. Ranging from the collapse of the 
   colonial system and the great nineteenth century empires to the 
   rise and fall of broad and disastrous experiments with 
   totalitarianism, fascism and communism, some of these upheavals 
   have been extremely destructive, involving the deaths of millions, 
   the eradication of old lifestyles and traditions, and the collapse 
   of time-honored institutions. 

   Other movements and trends have been more obviously positive.
   Scientific discoveries and new social insights have spurred many
   progressive social, economic and cultural transformations. The way has
   been cleared for new definitions of human rights and affirmations of
   personal dignity, expanded opportunities for individual and collective
   achievement, and bold new avenues for the advancement of human
   knowledge and consciousness. 

   These twin processes -- the collapse of old institutions on the one
   hand and the blossoming of new ways of thinking on the other -- are
   evidence of a single trend which has been gaining momentum during the
   last hundred years: the trend toward ever-increasing interdependence
   and integration of humanity. 

   This trend is observable in wide-ranging phenomena, from the fusion of
   world financial markets, which in turn reflect humanity's reliance on
   diverse and interdependent sources of energy, food, raw materials,
   technology and knowledge, to the construction of globe-girdling
   systems of communications and transportation. It is reflected in the
   scientific understanding of the earth's interconnected biosphere,
   which has in turn given a new urgency to the need for global
   coordination. It is manifest, albeit in a destructive way, in the
   capacities of modern weapons systems, which have gradually increased
   in power to the point where it is now possible for a handful of men to
   bring an end to human civilization itself. It is the universal
   consciousness of this trend -- in both its constructive and
   destructive expressions -- that lends such poignancy to the familiar
   photograph of the earth as a swirling sphere of blue and white against
   the infinite blackness of space, an image crystallizing the
   realization that we are a single people, rich in diversity, living in
   a common homeland. 

   This trend is reflected, too, in steady efforts by the nations of the
   world to forge a world political system that can secure for humanity
   the possibility of peace, justice and prosperity. Twice in this
   century humanity has attempted to bring about a new international
   order. Each attempt sought to address the emergent recognition of
   global interdependence, while nevertheless preserving intact a system
   which put the sovereignty of the state above all else. In the
   perspective of the century now ending, the League of Nations, a
   breakthrough in the concept of collective security, marked a first
   decisive step toward world order. 

   The second effort, born from the cataclysm of World War II and based
   on a Charter drawn up principally by the victors of that
   conflagration, has for fifty years provided an international forum of
   last resort, a unique institution standing as a noble symbol for the
   collective interests of humanity as a whole. 

   As an international organization, the United Nations has demonstrated
   humanity's capacity for united action in health, agriculture,
   education, environmental protection, and the welfare of children. It
   has affirmed our collective moral will to build a better future,
   evinced in the widespread adoption of international human rights
   Covenants. It has revealed the human race's deep-seated compassion,
   evidenced by the devotion of financial and human resources to the
   assistance of people in distress. And in the all-important realms of
   peace-building, peace-making and peace-keeping, the United Nations has
   blazed a bold path toward a future without war. [1] 

   Yet the overall goals set out in the Charter of the United Nations
   have proved elusive. Despite the high hopes of its founders, the
   establishment of the United Nations some fifty years ago did not usher
   in an era of peace and prosperity for all. [2] Although the United
   Nations has surely played a role in preventing a third world war, the
   last half decade has nevertheless been marked by numerous local,
   national and regional conflicts costing millions of lives. No sooner
   had improved relations between the superpowers removed the ideological
   motivation for such conflicts, than long-smoldering ethnic and
   sectarian passions surfaced as a new source of conflagration. In
   addition, although the end of the Cold War has reduced the threat of a
   global, terminal war, there remain instruments and technologies -- and
   to some extent the underlying passions -- which could bring about
   planet-wide destruction. 

   With respect to social issues, likewise, grave problems persist. While
   new levels of consensus have been reached on global programs to
   promote health, sustainable development and human rights, the
   situation on the ground in many areas has deteriorated. The alarming
   spread of militant racialism and religious fanaticism, the cancerous
   growth of materialism, the epidemic rise of crime and organized
   criminality, the widespread increase in mindless violence, the
   ever-deepening disparity between rich and poor, the continuing
   inequities faced by women, the intergenerational damage caused by the
   pervasive break-down of family life, the immoral excesses of unbridled
   capitalism and the growth of political corruption -- all speak to this
   point. At least a billion live in abject poverty and more than a third
   of the world's people are illiterate. [3] 

   As the twin processes of collapse and renewal carry the world toward
   some sort of culmination, the 50th anniversary of the United Nations
   offers a timely opportunity to pause and reflect on how humanity may
   collectively face its future. Indeed, there has emerged of late a wide
   range of useful proposals for strengthening the United Nations and
   improving its capacity to coordinate the responses of nations to these
   challenges. 

   These proposals fall roughly into three categories. One group
   addresses primarily bureaucratic, administrative and financial
   problems within the United Nations system. Another group comprises
   those that suggest reconfiguring bodies like the Economic and Social
   Council, the Trusteeship Council and the Bretton Woods economic
   institutions. Still others propose to undertake changes in the United
   Nations political structure, calling, for example, for an expansion of
   the Security Council and/or a reconsideration of the United Nations
   Charter itself. [4] 

   Most of these works are constructive; some are also provocative. Among
   them, one of the most balanced and thoughtful is the report of the
   Commission on Global Governance, entitled, Our Global Neighborhood,
   which argues for the widespread adoption of new values, as well as
   structural reforms in the United Nations system. [5] 

   It is in the spirit of contributing to the ongoing discussion and
   consultation on this issue of paramount importance that the Baha'i
   International Community has been moved to share its views. Our
   perspective is based on three initial propositions. First, discussions
   about the future of the United Nations need to take place within the
   broad context of the evolution of the international order and its
   direction. The United Nations has co-evolved with other great
   institutions of the late twentieth century. It is in the aggregate
   that these institutions will define -- and themselves be shaped by --
   the evolution of the international order. Therefore, the mission,
   role, operating principles and even activities of the United Nations
   should be examined only in the light of how they fit within the
   broader objective of the international order. 

   Second, since the body of humankind is one and indivisible, each
   member of the human race is born into the world as a trust of the
   whole. This relationship between the individual and the collective
   constitutes the moral foundation of most of the human rights which the
   instruments of the United Nations are attempting to define. It also
   serves to define an overriding purpose for the international order in
   establishing and preserving the rights of the individual. 

   Third, the discussions about the future of the international order
   must involve and excite the generality of humankind. This discussion
   is so important that it cannot be confined to leaders -- be they in
   government, business, the academic community, religion, or
   organizations of civil society. On the contrary, this conversation
   must engage women and men at the grassroots level. Broad participation
   will make the process self-reinforcing by raising awareness of world
   citizenship and increase support for an expanded international order. 

   [....]

-------------------------------Endnotes-------------------------------

   1. Boutros-Ghali, Boutros. 1992. An Agenda for Peace: Peace-making
   and Peace-Keeping. (Report of the Secretary-General Pursuant to the
   Statement Adopted by the Summit Meeting of the Security Council,
   January 31, New York: United Nations.) 
   
   2. Surely the preamble to The Charter of the United Nations is among
   the most inspired passages in the history of human governance: 
   
   "WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED 
   
   "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice
   in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and 
   
   "to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and
   worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of
   nations large and small, and 
   
   "to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the
   obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international
   law can be maintained, and 
   
   "to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger
   freedom, 
   
   "AND FOR THESE ENDS 
   
   "to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as
   good neighbors, and 
   
   "to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security,
   and 
   
   "to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institutions of
   methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common
   interest, and 
   
   "to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic
   and social advancement of all peoples, 
   
   "HAVE RESOLVED TO COMBINE OUR EFFORTS TO ACCOMPLISH THESE AIMS. 
   
   "Accordingly, our respective Governments, through representatives
   assembled in the city of San Francisco, who have exhibited their full
   powers found to be in good and due form, have agreed to the present
   Charter of the United Nations and do hereby establish an international
   organization to be known as the United Nations." 
   
   United Nations. 1994. Charter of the United Nations and Statute of the
   International Court of Justice. United Nations Department of Public
   Information. DPI/511 - 93243 - April 1994 - 40M. 
   
   3. The World Bank. 1994. World Development Report. 
   (Oxford: Oxford University Press.) pp. 162 - 163. 
   
   4. There have been a number of recent proposals which discuss the
   need for reforms in the United Nations system within a particular
   issue area. Our Common Future, the report of The World Commission on
   Environment and Development, for example, suggested a number of
   changes, such as the creation of a special UN "Board for Sustainable
   Development" to coordinate UN action in promoting development while
   protecting the environment. 
   The World Commission on Environment and Development, Our Common
   Future. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987.) 
   
   Likewise, the report of The Brandt Commission, Common Crisis
   North-South: Co-operation for World Recovery, makes suggestions for
   reform in the critical area of finance, trade and energy, as they
   affect North-South imbalances. 
   The Brandt Commission, Common Crisis North-South: Co-operation for
   World Recovery. (London: Pan Books, 1983.) 
   
   The literature proposing widespread changes in the United Nations is
   also voluminous and continues to grow, especially in anticipation of
   the 50th anniversary of the United Nations. The first major and
   serious reassessments of the United Nations began in the 1950s, in
   anticipation of the 10th anniversary of the Charter. In this regard
   the publication in 1958 of World Peace Through World Law by Louis B.
   Sohn and Grenville Clark, which was among the first solid proposals to
   suggest eliminating the veto power, must be considered a milestone. 
   Grenville Clark, and Louis B. Sohn, World Peace Through World Law.
   (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1966.) 
   
   More recent proposals range from The Stockholm Initiative, which
   offers a generalist vision of what might be done to strengthen the
   United Nations, to Harold Stassen's recent United Nations: a Working
   Paper for Restructuring, which gives an article-by-article proposal
   for rewriting the UN Charter. Benjamin Ferencz's latest book, New
   Legal Foundations for Global Survival, offers a series of hard-headed
   and legal-minded suggestions for reform based on the premise that
   nations, peoples and individuals must be free to pursue their
   destinies in whatever way they may see fit - providing it does not
   jeopardize or destroy the fundamental human rights of others to live
   in peace and dignity. 
   The Stockholm Initiative on Global Security and Governance 1991.
   Common Responsibility in the 1990's. 
   (Stockholm: Prime Minister's Office, Stockholm, Sweden.) 
   Harold Stassen, United Nations: A Working Paper for Restructuring.
   (Minneapolis: Learner Publications Company, 1994.) 
   Benjamin Ferencz, New Legal Foundations for Global Survival. 
   (Oceana Publications, 1994) 
   
   5. The Commission on Global Governance, Our Global Neighborhood. 
   (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.) 
   
   [....]


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*****************************************************************
Mesbah Javid                   * One planet, one people please!
mjavid@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca  * Baha'i Faith unites the world
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