Monday Nov 25, 2024
Monday Nov 25, 2024
Tuesday, 12 November 2013 00:05 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Focus on what matters most
While the world runs its last laps in the race to 2015, Mahmoud called on all nations to focus on what matters most, which is to see the people affected to be liberated from the clutches of poverty, conflict, human rights abuses, poor health, gender discrimination and the lack of power to achieve their true potentials.
“We must capitalise on the wisdom and experiences of the elderly, the energy and passion of the youth, and recognise the importance of the contribution of differently-abled people. I also call on all of us to re-examine how we make our assumptions and plans, and to be mindful that we see things as experts and develop our own blind spots as we approach the problem of the peoples we work with,” she told the audience.
Clash of ideologies
When looking around the world today, she said it must be admitted that many of the challenges it faces are leading to the erosion of development gains that stem from a clash of ideologies surrounding faith and religion. This, according to Mahmoud, has resulted in extremely negative consequences, unrest and fractured social fabric to outright conflict and genocide.
“I challenge the notion that these perpetrators understand faith and spirituality and denounce their use of religion as a tool of conflict. As we gather in the comfort of Hikkaduwa today, countries like Syria have rapidly declined to a near-failed state. Syria, a nation once known for its rich history and diversity, and once lived in peace, is now torn apart by sectarian violence. Look East from here, we witness the brutality against Muslims ongoing in Myanmar, a nation poised for democracy and rapid development and economic growth. It is all around us, it has to stop,” she emphasised.
Building better platforms
Questioning how better platforms for dialogues and rebuilding of trust and tolerance can be created, she said: “We need to collectively think this through together and urgently. I believe we need to reconnect restoration of spirituality and basic humanity. You must respect the right to live without discrimination and exclusion. We must respect that. Colour, gender, sexual orientation, whatever our personal beliefs are, on the very basis of humanity, every person has his or her own values and rights.”
With regard to sexual and reproductive health rights, she encouraged those in the audience to continue to push hard for issues that are difficult to deal with and too painful for some Governments to accept.
“Especially for sexual and reproductive health rights for all women and adolescents, dialogue with stakeholders that bring to life the real-life stories of the struggles women and young people must take place so they are able to choose what is right for their health and wellbeing.”
Engaging with opponents
Nations will need to engage with even their greatest opponents in a way that respects their cultures and values, she said. “To build trust 
and mutual respect we must innovate in an inclusive and impartial manner and never lose courage in patience and find those hidden champions within the toughest groups of stakeholders we have to deal with. We all have to keep and replay our own experiences in our minds; we must remember the faces and names we have encountered and keep then in our sight so we continue to do what is right in whatever areas that we work in.”
Reality over lofty goals
Mahmoud elaborated there is a need to come down from lofty global goals and be grounded on the realities of the communities and the people.
The renewal of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the World Humanitarian Summit plan for early 2016, and the Hyogo Framework for Action, Disaster and Risk reduction, she said, provide many opportunities to bring together the different conversations and discussions about sustainable development, risk reduction, humanitarian crisis, poverty and injustice.
For this, civil society actors need to engage actively with all the different consultations providing not only inputs, but to clearly carve out the important role of civil society. “If we can do that effectively, we would have laid the foundations for transformative actions,” she said.
Quoting the statements of Founder of the Sujaakai Buddhist Gai Daisaku Ikeda, where he said when there is an absence of international political leadership, civil societies should step in to fill the gap and must provide the energy and vision needed to move the world in a new and better direction, Mahmoud concluded her address by stressing on the need to go beyond accepting a step change and should aim for a quantum leap.
