Speech of José Manuel de Sousa Rodrigues

Ladies and Gentleman:

 

Thank you for the kind and honourable invitation to be at this International Meeting for Peace once again, a space for meeting, giving, sharing, building bridges between people and institutions to make this world of ours a more harmonious place to live.

The Community of Sant'Egidio deserves our most heartfelt recognition for its efforts towards peace and concord, wherever there is a conflict or a sign of violence, setting an example of perseverance, of tenacity in building bonds of cooperation between people and between peoples.

Behind every people there is a culture, a memory, a history and an identity that we must all respect. This is the basic principle if we are to have a relationship of rapprochement between peoples. We all know that there are substantial differences in people's behaviour, attitudes and way of being, depending on their origins, their learning, their relationship with other people from other geographies and other cultures.

We understand that even today, despite globalisation, there is a clash of mentalities between peoples and cultures, especially when the relationship is sporadic or non-existent, because when this relationship is frequent, dialogue and tolerance pave the way for peaceful coexistence.

Closeness between peoples and respect for their cultures is the secret to PEACE.

When we get to know each other and accept our differences, it's easier to live together in a healthy and productive way and, regardless of religions and political systems, it's possible to dialogue, talk and reach consensus and understanding on the great issues facing humanity.

 

 

 

I come from Portugal, in particular from an archipelago called Madeira, the first discovery of the Portuguese in their adventure to bring new worlds into the world, a place where, since the 15th century, those who crossed the Atlantic in search of the Americas, Africa and Europe have coexisted. This geographical matrix was also marked by the economy, since, despite Madeira being a very small archipelago, it had two agricultural export crops that are still a factor in connecting it to the world today, such as sugar cane and wine production.

This openness to the world, based on the fact that Madeira was the first of all Portugal's discoveries and the platform for what historians today call the first globalisation, gave us a worldview and an openness to other civilisations and other cultures, an attitude that continues to this day. Tourism, our main economic activity, has extended this openness to the world and this economic and social interdependence with other regions, other peoples and cultures.

When we get to know each other, even in our disagreements and differences, we don't clash, we don't violate each other, we don't conflict and we tend to find bridges and points of dialogue, convergence and understanding that foster concord and peace.

The great enemies of peace are ignorance and a lack of empathy between peoples. But there is an individual in every member of every nation, and Peace, like freedom, always begins with each one of us.

If each of us is not willing to build peace, the will of the various powers of each nation is of little or no use. Each of us can and must be an agent of peace, whether in religion, academia, politics or society. 

Unfortunately, recent years have been prodigal in the emergence of new conflicts, new wars that test our ability to respond to these situations, which are motivated by multiple factors.

I'm sure that religions, with respect for their beliefs and tolerance for their practices, have been establishing dialogues and convergences to seek paths of peace and concord. Most of their leaders have been the agents of peace that the world so desperately needs, especially in these times of uncertainty, mistrust and violence.

 

 

 

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

If, in the 20th century, we had two major wars and a series of struggles for the independence of peoples against colonising countries, today, after a period of relative peace on several continents, partly brought about by the end of the cold war, the truth is that dangerous conflicts are now re-emerging which call into question the established international order and which summon us all to the mission of Peace.

While globalisation has brought a sign of hope in the interdependence between countries and peoples, in a cooperation that, despite often being unequal and unjust, has enabled millions of people to be lifted out of misery and poverty, today the trumpets of war are once again sounding in many parts of the world; weapons are once again killing on a large scale and there are worrying signs that we could be heading for a third major world conflict, if it hasn't already started and we're not noticing.

After a period of peace and prosperity, with the invasion of Ukraine, Europe, the continent we walk on and where the bloodiest wars have taken place, is once again putting the rearmament of the countries of the European Union on the agenda of its priorities. But while the balance of defence between states often has a deterrent effect, it is equally true that the escalation of weapons poses a huge threat to human existence, especially when it comes to nuclear weapons.

Some even claim that we are living through the most delicate phase in Human History.

When we hear that states are preparing to spend more money, much more money, on defence, diverting funds that could be channelled into improving the welfare state, economic growth, development, health and education, there is reason to be concerned and attentive; but more than that, there must be motivation to strengthen our positions as fighters for peace, wherever we are and wherever we do our work.

And there can be no doubt: poverty and social inequalities are the origin and reason for many insurmountable conflicts. We must take seriously the possibility of cancelling the debt of the poorest countries, since the burden of paying their debts is a major obstacle to their sustainable development.

 

We must not forget that climate change knows no borders and cannot be stopped by the financial power or weapons of individual states. The fight against climate change can only be fought through co-operation between states and environmental disasters can only be tackled through healthy co-existence between peoples.

 

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

The best demonstration that the international order we have built since the middle of the last century is outdated is the failure of the United Nations Organisation to mediate the recent conflicts that have broken out in various parts of the world. Today, this institution is not respected by states, its decisions are not respected, its mediation space has become a dialogue of the deaf and nobody seems to be interested in reforming this organisation and giving it a new impetus to pursue the objectives for which it was created.

We are grateful for the actions of its men and women who, on a humanitarian level, are doing their best, even at the risk of their lives, to help populations affected by war, violence and hunger.

It's time for the disunited nations to reflect on what they want to do with the UN and whether they want it to be, as it has been in the past, the great world organisation capable of anticipating and stopping conflicts, decisive and effective in mediating between countries to prevent wars, influential and respected by all those who have signed its Fundamental Charter.

The truth is that the United Nations no longer reflects in its powers and balances the evolution of the world, the development of the various continents, the growth of the various states, the weight of each country in the economy and in international politics, the importance of each nation in the geopolitical context, and this is the root of its disconnection from the reality of our times and its marked loss of importance as a major body where the best interests of humanity should converge.

The migration crisis and the lack of global policies to tackle this serious problem are perhaps the most glaring of the failings of the states that are truly in charge of the United Nations.

What is happening in the Mediterranean, in the Atlantic, on the borders of the United States or in so many other areas of the globe is proof that we are not being able to respond to the needs of our fellow human beings who are understandably fleeing wars, political and religious persecution, hunger and poverty, and who are simply looking for an opportunity that they can't find in their countries of origin.

And when we respond by welcoming them, reconciling their ambition to seek a better life with the contribution they can make to host countries in need of labour, both sides must be able to respect their diversity, their cultures, their religious confessions, in short, their way of being in life, so that there can be full integration and healthy social coexistence in harmony.

Humanity's great wealth is its diversity, its different cultures, their respective religions, their immense languages, their countless memories, their rich identities, which can and must live together harmoniously, all working for the Common Good.

Only by fully respecting these worlds of the world can we imagine and believe that peace is possible, that peace is not an illusion or a utopia. I am convinced that imagining is the first way to build, and that is why today, here in Paris, I am joining you in this exercise of firmly building a world and worlds where we can once again proclaim the Values of Freedom, Equality and Fraternity, to Imagine the Peace that we want and desire and that, I am sure, we can achieve.