Bahá’í World/Volume 23/The Bahá’í International Community 1994-95
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THEBAHA’i INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY:
Activities 1994—95
he Bahá’í International Community has a long history of
involvement with the United Nations in its capacity as a non-governmental organization (NGO).1 With 172 national affiliates around the world, offices in New York, Paris, and Geneva, and representations to Regional United Nations Offices in Addis Ababa, Bangkok, Nairobi, Rome, Santiago, and Vienna, the Bahá’í International Community is one of the most diverse and global NGOS in the world. Addressing issues such as peace, human rights, the equality of women and men, the environment, health, education, and social and economic development, the Bahá’í International Community has in recent years established an Office of the Environment and an Office for the Advancement of Women in addition to its permanent United Nations Office. An Office of Public Information, based at the Bahá’í World Centre and With branches in Paris and London, disseminates
1. The history of the Bahá’í International Community’s work at the United Nations is described in The Bahá’í World, v01. 19 (1983—86), pp. 378—397. See also The Bahá’í World 1993—94, pp. 131—138.
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information about the Bahá’í Faith around the world and oversees the production of an award-winning quarterly newsletter, One Country.2
Highlights
During 1994—95, the Bahá’í International Community was involved in a wide variety of activities around the globe, but among all these several stand out as highlights.
The first, an international symposium sponsored by the Bahá’í International Community on “Strategies for Creating Violence—Free Families,” was held 23—25 May 1994 at UNICEF House, New York, as a contribution towards the observance of the International Year of the Family. The symposium was initiated by the Bahá’í International Community Office for the Advancement of Women, with the collaboration of both the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Bringing together 50 international experts in the area of family Violence, including senior NGO officers and those working in the legal, medical, psychological, and sociological fields, representing all regions of the world, the Office for the Advancement of Women sought to develop positive, coordinated, aetion—oriented solutions to what is now recognized as a global problem. The concrete objective of the gathering was to create a document and plan of action to be shared with governments, non-governmental agencies, and educational institutions worldwide. Keynote speaker for the event was Dr. H.B. Danesh, currently director of the Institute for International Education and Development in Wienacht, Switzerland, and author of The Violence-Free Society: A Giftfor Our Children and other works. Dr. Danesh, an international consultant with over 30 years of experience in the fields of psychiatry, community development, ethics, and world order studies, said:
Of all the forms of Violence that are committed by people against one another, two demand particular attention. First is
2. An article about One Country appears on pp. 305—3 10 of this volume.
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Violence against women, which is global, occurring across lines of culture, race, educational attainment, religion, and economic status, affecting the very foundations of human civilization. In this destructive drama, women of the world suffer levels of pain, humiliation, injustice, and misery that cannot be tolerated by any civilized community.
Second is the Violence against the children and youth of the world. Never in recorded history have so many children been reported Victims of direct or indirect Violence. In addition to millions of children caught in the war zones between nations and in the inner cities in all countries of the world, there are many times more children living in homes where abuse takes place routinely; where no parenting is done, no healthy example is set, no education except for the Violent input of television, radio, and other audiovisual productions is provided.
In addition to the principal Victims of Violence, there is yet a third group whose psyche and spirit are profoundly damaged by the prevalence of Violence in our world, yet who are almost totally unaware of it. To this group belong the perpetrators of Violence themselves.
Because family is the building block of the society and the first and main place for the upbringing and education of every new generation, it is therefore no exaggeration to state that the key to the establishment of a peaceful, prosperous, and civilized world is the Violence—free family.
The organizers and participants all deemed the symposium a valuable contribution to dialogue on this subject. A Videotape of the plenary sessions was produced, and UNICEF published a symposium summary report that has been widely distributed at national and international conferences such as the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo and at regional preparatory meetings for the Fourth World Conference on Women (FWCW) in Argentina, Jordan, and Austria. Copies were also circulated at a maj or international conference on family Violence sponsored by the International Council of Women in the Netherlands. The report and Dr. Danesh’s keynote speech were published as a booklet, entitled The Violence—Free F amily: Building Block of a Peaceful Civilization, in the spring of 1995 by the Association for Bahá’í Studies in collaboration with the Office for the Advancement of Women. The Bahá’í International
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Community’s role in initiating the symposium demonstrated the Faith’s clear Vision of family life that eliminates the need for Violent communication, and showed how this Vision is grounded in spirituality. Participants were not hesitant to acknowledge the spiritual dimension of the solution to the problems of Violence and the relationship between healing the family and eventual world peace. Further collaboration among the Bahá’í International Community, UNICEF, and International Women’s Rights Action Watch resulted in the sponsorship of a workshop on family Violence at the regional preparatory meeting of the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) in Vienna, entitled “Bringing Human Rights Home: Creating Violence-Free Families and Communities.” Collaborative workshops also took place at various prepcoms for the FWCW.
A second highlight of the year occurred in London on 28 July 1994, with the holding of the World Forestry Charter Gathering at St. J ames’s Palace. This initiative of the Bahá’í International Community Offices of the Environment and Public Information brought together diverse personalities representing aristocratic, business, environmental, and religious sectors of society in order to give stimulus to the issue of a legally binding agreement on forestry for all countries. The effort arose from the non-binding set of Forestry Principles formulated at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. It was hoped that the coming together of representatives from various sectors would lay the groundwork for a binding Convention as well as contribute to discussions of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, which was to take up the issue of forests in 1995. His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who is president of the World Wide Fund for Nature, addressed the gathering, as did Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khanum, leading dignitary in the Bahá’í Faith.
The World Forestry Charter Gatherings were originally instituted by early environmentalist Richard St. Barbe Baker in 1945. Continuing through the 19505 and 1960s, they inspired a number of efforts at global cooperation in environmental matters. The Gatherings were revived by the Bahá’í International Community Office of Public Information in 1989, the 100th anniversary of St. Barbe Baker’s birth, to honor their fellow
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HRH The Prince Philip, Duke ofEdinburgh, welcomes Amatu ’l-Bahd Rdhz’yyih Khdnum to St. James 19 Palace, London, venue for the 1994 World Forestry Charter Gathering. Looking 011 are MS. Guilda Walker, left, who organized the event for the Bahd ’z’International Community, and Mrs. Violette Nakhjavání’, extreme right.
Bahá’í’s commitment to the environment. Some 200 ambassadors, businesspeople, and NGO representatives attended the diplomatic luncheon, representing more than 30 countries. In addition, some seventeen governments sent official messages to the Gathering, including eight heads of state or government.
A third highlight of the year was the Bahá’í International Community’s participation in the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen in March 1995. Activities undertaken during this event were so numerous that a separate article has been devoted to them.3
Aside from highlights such as these, the Bahá’í International Community was involved in many other activities, a brief survey of which follows.
M eetin gs
I
During 1994—95, Bahá’í International Community representatives Chaired two important meetings on Human Rights at the
3. See pp. 37—46.
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United Nations. The first was the International Non—Governmental Organizations Committee on Human Rights, held 18 May 1994 on the theme “An Overview of the 50th Session of the Commission on Human Rights” and including over 50 NGOs and representatives of twelve UN missions. The second was a conference organized by the UN Commission on Human Rights, entitled “Women’s issues in the UN human rights machinerylatest developments.” It was held 15 June, with speakers from the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations, a representative of the UN Division on the Advancement of Women in New York, and an expert who is a consultant to UNICEF. The Bahá’í International Community also attended as observer the extraordinary session of the UN Commission on Human Rights held 24—25 May 1994 in Geneva to consider the situation in Rwanda. 4
Other meetings and UN sessions monitored by the Bahá’í International Community included the World Health Assembly in Geneva, 2—12 May 1994; the Commission on Sustainable Development in New York, 16—27 May 1994; and the 1994 Substantive Meeting of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), 27 June—29 July 1994. A Bahá’í International Community representative currently holds the Chair of the United Nations NGO Committee on the Family.
Publications
Aside from the numerous statements made by the Bahá’í International Community during the year, a number of publications by the Office of Public Information were released in various languages. The journalists’ handbook The Bahá’ís, already available in English and French, is now published in Spanish as well. The Prosperity ofHumankind, released by the Bahá’í International Community in late January 1995, was available in English, French, Spanish, and Danish at the World Summit for
4. For details on the Bahá’í International Community’s activities with regard to the human rights situation of the Bahá’í community in Iran, see pp. 133—138.
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Social Development5 and was subsequently translated into numerous other languages. The booklet The Bahci’t’ Question, prepared by the United Nations Office and detailing the persecution Of the Iranian Bahá’í community, was made available in French and Spanish. In collaboration with the International Council of Jewish Women and the World Federation of United Nations Associations, the Bahá’í International Community also produced a booklet entitled Education on the Convention on the Rights of the Child on behalf of the NGO Group for the Convention 0n the Rights of the Child. Published in English, French, and Spanish, the book is being distributed by UNICEF to all its regional branches throughout the world.
Activities of the Office for the Advancement of Women
In addition to the symposium on Violence in the family, the Office for the Advancement of Women engaged in a number of other projects and activities, some new and some ongoing.
The Video Two Wings, based on the Traditional Media as Change Agent project with UNIFEM and including an interview with Marjorie Thorpe, Deputy Director of UNIFEM, was released and has been extremely popular with a wide range of audiences. Much of the footage in the Video, which was filmed by the project participants themselves, documents this unique communication project that was designed to raise the status of women in three countries: Bolivia, Cameroon, and Malaysia. Employing traditional music, dance, and folktales to demonstrate the obstacles that women face every day, both women and men examined the spiritual, cultural, and social values that determine men’s and women’s status, in order to develop community action for change. They then began the first tentative steps towards making a deliberate change in their behavior and acquiring new values more in line with their Vision of their community.6 The Traditional Media as Change Agent project will continue, with
5. The full text of this statement appears on pp. 27 3—296. 6. For a full description of this project, see The Bahá’í World 1993—94, pp. 259—263.
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additional financial support from UNIFEM, and the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Cameroon has signed a contract with the UNDP for a grinding mill to be used in the Villages where the traditional media project took place.
The Office for the Advancement of Women undertook a survey of women’s participation in Bahá’í community life, producing a report on the survey for the FWCW in Beijing. In other preparations for the conference, the director of the Office for the Advancement of Women served as Chair of the New York Commission on the Status of Women and took a maj or role in the planning process for the NGO Forum, traveling a number of times to China in the course of the year. The Office also did a number of mailings to National Spiritual Assemblies around the world, informing them about the conference and the Bahá’í International Community’s role in it. Early in 1994, Bahá’í International Community representatives attended the Inter-session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the focus of which was to continue drafting the Platform of Action for the FWCW. In August 1994, a Bahá’í International Community representative to the NGO preparatory meeting in Turku, Finland, made presentations and did a workshop on the Traditional Media as Change Agent project. At the conclusion of the meeting, UNIFEM’S Marjorie Thorpe spoke for approximately ten minutes about the project during her address to the conference. ' Workshops on the project occurred at other Regional Preparatory Conferences around the world as well. A Bahá’í International
Lois Hainsworth (left), UK member of the Bahd ’z'Inter national Community delegation to the
E CE PrepCom for the F WC W, greets Queen Fabiola of Belgium, as Eleanore HauerRona offhe Austrian National Council of Women looks on.
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Community representative also attended the regional Youth Consultation of the European Regional Preparatory Conference for the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Vienna 13—17 October; other such Youth Consultations had previously taken place in the Asia—Pacific and Latin American regions, Where Bahá’ís were also present.
The Office for the Advancement of Women made a statement to the 39th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, 15 March—4 April 1995, on the promotion of literacy, education, and training, including technological skills, and a Bahá’í International Community representative attended as an observerparticipant the Budapest Symposium on “Families as Educators for Global Citizenship,” held 15—17 December 1994 and sponsored by the Institute of Family and Environmental Research. The Bahá’í Faith was the only religion represented at the event, which involved 30 experts in the field from over 20 countries.
Activities of the Office of the Environment
Among the activities undertaken by the Office of the Environment was the addition of soil from thirteen countries to the peace monument in Rio de J aneiro on World Environment Day in June 1994. The peace monument is a joint, ongoing project of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Brazil and the Bahá’í International Community Office of the Environment, with the support of the Mayor’s Office of Rio de Janeiro. The monument was originally created as an enduring symbol of the new spirit of global cooperation that characterized the Earth Summit and the ’92 Global Forum. Soil from 40 countries was deposited in the hourglass—shaped monument during the official Closing ceremonies of those twin events, and soil from a further 15 nations was added the following year. With the contributions this year, the total stands at 68. Soil from other countries will be added each year until the time when all the world’s countries will have contributed to the monument.7
7. For a more detailed look at the inaugural ceremonies and the Bahá’í International Community’s activities during the Earth Summit and NGO Forum in Rio de J aneiro, see The Bahá’í World 1992—93, pp. 177—189.
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The Bahá’í International Community’s statement World Citizenship: A Global Ethic for Sustainable Development continued to receive strong positive feedback from around the world during the year.8 The executive director of the US Coalition of Education for All requested 500 copies which were sent out to all Coalition members with a cover letter stating that the ideas in the statement should be promoted worldwide in the Education for All movement. An NGO in Cameroon showed interest in further exploring the concepts set forth in the statement, while the international relations department at the University of Pittsburgh reproduced the statement for use in a seminar on equipping cities with essential knowledge and attitudes in preparation for an interdependent world.
The Office of the Environment worked with the National Spiritual Assembly of the United Kingdom on its involvement in the “Global Forum ’94: Cities and Sustainable Development” held in Manchester, United Kingdom, 24 June—3 July 1994, and advised the National Spiritual Assembly of Barbados, which was involved in organizing the parallel NGO Forum to the United Nations Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, held in Barbados 25 April—6 May 1994. Bahá’í International Community representatives also took part in the NGO Forum occurring in conjunction with the United Nations Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in September 1994, conducting workshops at the event.
On the other side of the globe the following spring, Counsellor Kimiko Schwerin and Mr. Lawrence Arturo, director of the Office of the Environment, represented the Bahá’í Faith at the first session of the Summit on Religions and Conservation in J apan. Other participants included Buddhist leader and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Somdech Preah Mah Ghosananda; His All Holiness The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Head of the world’s four million Orthodox Christians; J ain representative and Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom His Excellency Dr. L.M. Singhvi; Rabbi Professor Nahum Rakover
8. For the full text of this statement, see The Bahá’í World 1993—94, pp. 295304.
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The giantpuppets ”Hope ” and ”Horror” greetedparticipants at the entrance to the N GO display area at the United Nations Conference on the Sustainable Development omeall Island Developing States, held in Barbados in the spring Of1994. “Hope, ” made ofsailcloth and natural materials, symbolized nature and the human spirit. “ orror, ” made ofdiscarded auto parts, a braken television, and other refuse, symbolized greed, suspicion, and selfishness. The puppets were contributed to the Conference by members of the Bahá’í' community.
of the J ewish community, who is the Associate Director General of the Israel Justice Ministry; and Taoist representative Mr. Zhang J i Yu, Vice Secretary of the People’s Republic of China Taoist Association. One of the three sponsoring organizations, MOA International (Mokichi Okada Association), seeks to promote a new global Civilization based on a harmonious balance between the spiritual and the material realities. The Bahá’í delegation shared various Bahá’í presentations during the working sessions, was represented during the official opening and closing ceremonies, and interacted extensively with conference participants, members of MOA International, and members of the Japanese Diet, discussing Bahá’í theology, administration, development efforts, and external affairs
activities.
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Conclusion
The Bahá’í International Community, working with National Spiritual Assemblies around the world, undertook numerous and varied activities during 1994—95, mainly focusing on women, the environment, and human rights. This was done through publications, sponsorship of symposia, collaboration with other organizations, ongoing projects, and diplomatic work. Certain highlights, such as the World Forestry Charter Gathering in London, the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen, and the symposium on family violence in New York, marked the year, but numerous other endeavors, enacted on a smaller scale in various parts of the globe, also helped the Bahá’í International Community pursue its cherished goals of promoting the establishment of a peaceful planetary civilization.
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