The Common Good Forum, November 10, 2010

 

 

International Solidarity and Human Rights

At a recent symposium in Geneva, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Holy See's Permanent Observer at the United Nations in Geneva, gave a thoughtful speech on the role of the common good in international affairs. We at CACG are grateful to the Archbishop for allowing us to republish his remarks which focus on issues that are so important and which were barely mentioned in the recent elections.

 

This parallel event [co-sponsored by New Humanity and Associazione Communita Papa Giovanni XXIII] on international solidarity builds on the excellent Report prepared by the independent expert on human rights and international solidarity, Rudi Muhammad Rizki, to whom we owe a debt of gratitude.

 

1. No doubt solidarity constitutes one of the key ideas in contemporary political concerns and public law. In modern history, progressively States have moved from democratic republics to social republics in their juridical structure by accepting the idea that human rights would be incomplete if they were limited to civil and political rights without including a minimum of social and economic rights. The modalities of the State in providing concrete forms of solidarity for the most vulnerable groups have been varied, but have steadily taken a greater significance, while civil society as well has continued to do its part of assistance.


On the international level, the principle of solidarity is quite explicitly present in the Charter of the United Nations, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (art.1, art.28, art. 29), in the 1966 Conventions on civil and political rights and on social and economic rights, in the Vienna Declaration and Program of Action of 1993, in the rationale for the Millennium Development Goals, in all the instruments relating to humanitarian law and human rights law. This principle is seen as an indispensable requirement in the solution of inequalities and for good international relations.


The 2010 Report on Human Rights and International Solidarity by the Special Rapporteur is an excellent and articulate presentation of today's complex situation and the place of solidarity in it. Interconnectedness and interdependence are increasing, but they can become a source of confrontation and even conflict unless there is a conscious commitment to lead this process of globalization toward a win-win solution through the strategy of solidarity.  Solidarity is born of the conviction that beyond borders, classes, and political systems, all persons share a common inalienable dignity. The root of this conviction is found both in ancient philosophers and in the si�e des Lumi�s as well as in the beginning of modern sociology as it sought to justify the coherence of society.


2. In the recognition of the essential role of solidarity in the local and global communities we find a convergence of views between the lay and religious traditions.  The concept of solidarity, for example, is expressed with a variety of terms in the social doctrine of the Church. A brief synthesis of the concept of solidarity in the Catholic tradition, to which I limit my short intervention, is given by Pope John Paul II in his encyclical Centesimus Annus (n.10), where he writes:


"Leo XIII is repeating an elementary principle of sound political organization, namely, the more that individuals are defenceless within a given society, the more they require the care and concern of others, and in particular the intervention of governmental authority.  In this way what we nowadays call the principle of solidarity, the validity of which both in the internal order of each nation and in the international order I have discussed in the Encyclical Sollicitudo rei socialis, is clearly seen to be one of the fundamental principles of the Christian view of social and political organization. This principle is frequently stated by Pope Leo XIII, who uses the term 'friendship', a concept already found in Greek philosophy. Pope Pius XI refers to it with the equally meaningful term 'social charity'. Pope Paul VI, expanding the concept to cover the many modern aspects of the social question, speaks of a 'civilization of love'."


Over the decades, there has been a continued deepening of the meaning and role of solidarity.  Pope John Paul II interprets solidarity as the totality of economic, cultural, political and religious links binding human beings together and prompting them to help each other to achieve the common good of society. Solidarity is not a feeling of vague compassion. "On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all." He calls "to change the spiritual attitudes which define each individual's relationship with self, with neighbour, with even the remotest human communities, and with nature itself, and all of this in view of...the full development 'of the whole individual and of all people'". From his socio-religious analysis, the Pope sees the obligation to solidarity coming from an absolutely binding ethic; therefore solidarity is not an option, but a duty.  He adds some other incisive points to his analysis:


� the growing awareness of the poor among themselves, a South-South solidarity, as a positive sign;
� interdependence must be transformed into solidarity, based upon the principle that the goods of creation are meant for all;
� a real international system must be established on the foundation of the equality of all peoples and on the necessary respect for their legitimate differences;
� solidarity helps us to see the "other" -- whether a person, people or nation -- not just as some kind of instrument, but as a partner;
� this solidarity is a path to peace and to development;
� finally, it is a virtue that expresses the relational dimension of the human person and leads to communion and not to confrontation and conflict.

 

3. The latest social encyclical, Caritas in veritate of Pope Benedict XVI, caries forward the reflection on solidarity even further.  In the current financial and economic crisis solidarity with developing countries is necessary in order to find equitable solutions. Solidarity cannot be merely delegated to the State. In a solidarity-based plan, international aid should go beyond economics, to building up a Sate of law. But international organizations might question the actual effectiveness of their bureaucratic and administrative machinery.  Indeed in connection with solidarity, a reform of the international system is called for. Pope Benedict XVI writes:

 

"In the face of the unrelenting growth of global interdependence, there is a strongly felt need, even in the midst of a global recession, for a reform of the United Nations Organization, and likewise of economic institutions and international finance, so that the concept of the family of nations can acquire real teeth. One also senses the urgent need to find innovative ways of implementing the principle of the responsibility to protect and of giving poorer nations an effective voice in shared decision-making. This seems necessary in order to arrive at a political, juridical and economic order which can increase and give direction to international cooperation for the development of all peoples in solidarity. To manage the global economy; to revive economies hit by the crisis; to avoid any deterioration of the present crisis and the greater imbalances that would result; to bring about integral and timely disarmament, food security and peace; to guarantee the protection of the environment and to regulate migration: for all this, there is urgent need of a true world political authority...Such an authority would need to be regulated by law, to observe consistently the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity, to seek to establish the common good, and to make a commitment to securing authentic integral human development inspired by the values of charity in truth." (n. 67)

 

4. Solidarity then appears like the common tissue that makes possible the linkages for development, for more equity, for the fight against marginalization, etc.. It is, even more importantly, a frame of mind, a cultural requirement to sustain humanitarian action, international collaboration, the process to reduce inequities in the world, a motor that propels people to act for justice and beyond justice for a gratuitous giving that complements the requirements of justice.  Thus solidarity practiced systematically prevents many disasters and promotes a better life for all.
Education, however, is needed to instil a way of thinking that takes solidarity into account as a strategy that really implements distributive and social justice, a never ending dynamic process since the social order requires constant improvement to make our world more humane.

 

5. Finally, the well articulate discussion on the necessity of solidarity has to be translated into action. The huge challenge is mustering the political will to implement solidarity through binding obligations, transforming a recognized moral duty into laws and into just behaviour.