THE WEST AND ISLAM

The scourge of global terrorism is calling into question what remains of the world order, writes Mario Soares, ex-president and ex-prime minister of Portugal. In this article, Soares writes that because of its unpredictability, no one knows when or where it will strike next. The fight against terrorism is therefore a moral and ethical imperative of the first order and must not be neglected by responsible governments. The fight against terrorism must not be seen as a \'\'war\'\' --and certainly not a \'\'preventive war-- between the West and Islam. Because the simplification of the concepts of West and Islam is reductive, dangerous, and ultimately false to the extent that it fails to take into account the complexity of the values they represent, it induces us to commit gross errors (many have already occurred) and would gradually drag us unwittingly into a religious war, which would be a colossal setback for civilization and the worst possible outcome.

GLOBAL FEAR

Never before in human history has fear been so concrete and endemic, affecting so many people in so many places at once, writes Leonardo Padura Fuentes, a Cuban journalist and writer whose novels have been translated into a dozen languages. In this article, the author writes that violence, as an expression of social, political, and even personal relations, has developed into the habitual response of not only individuals but also social groups and nations, with the result that fear extends into every level of society. There are types of fear that are stoked and manipulated by the powerful: fear of change, of difference, in people as well, like immigrants, fear of that which diverges from the interests or dominion of power. It is clear that not all violence is irrational and gratuitous but almost always has economic, social, or political roots related to marginalisation, poverty, or, at the other extreme, the arrogance of the powerful. Our lives today are fenced in by terrorism and antiterrorism, preventive wars, cold wars. There are no safe places left, there is no margin for innocent attitudes; almost no one can escape from fear, starting with the most powerful, who are in need of more and more bodyguards.

SAVE THE AMAZON, SAVE THE EARTH

Brazil today is being pulled between the need for economic growth and the need to preserve its natural resources, which is especially critical with regard to the Amazon, writes Leonardo Boff, a Brazilian theologian and writer. In this article, Boff writes that the Amazon contains the majority of the world\'s rain forests, fresh water reserves, and the richest trove of biodiversity. The ecological future of the earth and life upon it depends largely on how the Amazon is treated. When he took office in 2003, President Lula named as minister of the environment Marina da Silva, a former rubber tapper and collaborator of Chico Mendes, martyr to the preservation of the Amazon. Da Silva walked into a grim situation. In the 2000/2001 period, the area deforested was 18,165 square kilometres, increasing to 23,143 the following year. To address this situation the government approved in 2004 the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Amazon Deforestation, which affects the action of 13 ministries. The results have been positive. In 2004/2005, the rate of deforestation was reduced by 31 percent, and even better results are expected for 2006. The Lula government is generating awareness of the strategic importance of the Amazon for Brazil and for the world. This is happening in a muddle of contradictions left from a past of neglect, but the course is clear. If it can be maintained, this patrimony can be saved for humanity.

PARTNERSHIP, NOT DOMINANCE: VOICE OF ANOTHER AMERICA

It is time that US foreign policy be based on the principles upon which the US claims it was founded: democracy, equality, fairness, and the rule of law, not the rule of men, write Johan Galtung, professor of peace studies and founder and co- director of TRANSCEND: A Network for Peace and Development (www.transcend.org), and Marilyn Langlois, chair of TRANSCEND-USA. In this article, the authors write that the basic principle should be equality, We should ask ourselves whether we would want other countries to do to us what we do to them. This would rule out military occupation, unequal trade-- exchanging processed goods for raw materials-- and any form of dominance, threats, or bullying. It would include all measures that protect the four basic human needs for survival, economic well-being, freedom, and identity US policy goals for Iraq should include: acknowledging that the US role in the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq, resulting in suffering and destruction; abiding by the expressed wishes of the Iraqi people to remove the US military presence; asking Iraqis at all levels of society what they want the US to do to support their own efforts to rebuild their country; engaging in equitable trade and support constructive dialogue and cooperation among Iraq and its neighbours

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: AN END IN SIGHT

Violence against women during conflict has become an international scandal, writes Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director of the United Nations Fund for Women (UNIFEM), on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, November 25. In this article, the author writes that violence against women is not limited to conflict and post-conflict situations; it is a daily reality for millions of women, in all ranks of life, in every country in the world. This violence, because it is so ordinary, does not provoke the same response--either at the international, the national or the local level. To make matters worse, in many cases, women no longer trust the courts and police to help deal with this violence because their experience with legal and law enforcement institutions has shown them that the gender bias and indifference which gives rise to such violence simply runs too deep. What women have learned in almost two decades of work to end violence against women is that change is possible. It requires engaging men in transforming power relationships and working at multiple levels and across sectors to address the social and economic causes of gender violence and the links between violence, poverty, and conflict.

PROMISES ARE NO SUBSTITUTE FOR FOOD

Persistent hunger in countries like Niger reflects the failure of the international community to understand the root causes of hunger, write Anuradha Mittal, Executive Director of the Oakland Institute, and Frederic Mousseau, a food security consultant who works with international humanitarian agencies. In this article, the authors argue that the delayed response in providing aid and the insistence of donor countries like the US on providing in-kind food aid do little to strengthen national economies and tackle hunger. The dumping of cheap subsidised food aid only benefits large agribusinesses while destroying markets and livelihoods of small farmers in recipient countries. Development policies that promote economic liberalisation and encourage specialisation, commercialisation of agriculture, and withdrawal of the state from regulating the market, are eroding ability of nations to feed their populations. Niger\'s experience shows that relying on the market to solve food shortages leaves the poorest people hungrier and drives small farmers into further poverty while large food traders gain monopoly power. The fight against hunger needs to shift away from the free-market ideology. No industrialised country has been capable of developing its agriculture without protective barriers, yet the poorest farmers and consumers in the developing world have been deprived of such protection. It is time to implement an unconditional and non-paternalistic \'\'Marshall Plan for Africa\'\', including 100 percent debt relief and a boost in Western assistance.

MAKING TRADE HELP DEVELOPMENT

The link between export growth and poverty reduction is not automatic, writes Benjamin W. Mkapa, former President of Tanzania (1995-2005) and President of the South Center, an Inter-Governmental Organization based in Geneva, Switzerland. In this analysis, Mkapa writes that making international trade a more effective mechanism of poverty reduction for poor countries requires a development approach with three pillars: better national development strategies, improvements in the international trade regime, and increased and effective international financial and technical assistance for developing production and trade capacities. For the developing countries, the potential of Doha has turned into a broken dream and an unkept promise. Once again, the world has allowed the worst impulse of humanity --to take as much as possible while giving as little as possible-- to triumph over the common sense of the wealth that comes from giving. Once again, our generation of leadership has allowed another opportunity to slip through our fingers. How much longer do we have to suffer civil strife and violence before accepting the reality that at the end of the day, peace can only be sustained when we allow all to share in the wealth that is being created?

COMMUNICATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT: PLANTING THE SEEDS OF KNOWLEDGE

We have always said, \"Give people fish and they will eat. Teach them how to fish and they will always eat.\" Today, we also say, \"Help people to communicate and you will change their lives\", writes Jacques Diouf, Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Between October 25-27, 500 delegates from across the world met in Rome at the First World Congress on Communication for Development, organized by the World Bank, FAO and the Communication Initiative, and hosted by the Government of Italy to examine how to share knowledge and information through social dialogue. This is underlined by the participation of many eminent policy and decision-makers, scholars, not to mention communications professionals. One of the most tangible contributions of the United Nations family of organizations, of which we are part, has been to help build the infrastructure for social dialogue within and between all the countries of the world. This has been a good investment, it turns out, because social science now tells us that communication lies at the heart of sustainable development. We are not talking about simply governments talking to citizens, an important responsibility though that is, but a horizontal, two-way process that allows governments to listen to people. A dialogue, not a monologue. It implies all participants in society having a voice, not just the powerful. In the past ten years, an entirely new economy worth over two trillion dollars in terms of goods and services has materialized. Information and communications technologies or ICTs have helped a number of emerging nations achieve phenomenal economic growth rates. But the pace at which the new frontiers are advancing also risks widening the gap between those who have access to the new communications technologies and the one billion of the world\'s population who don\'t. And by extension the danger is to further widen the rich-poor divide.

BRAZIL: THE MAIN ISSUES OF THE ELECTION

Beyond the usual acrobatics of political debate, certain basic issues have been introduced into Brazil\'s current general election campaign. One of these is the size of the budget, where we see a clear distinction between the liberal platform of centre-right opposition candidate Geraldo Alckmin, current governor of Sao Paulo, who supports shrinking government and reining in public spending, and the current president\'s position of better spending without a commitment to its reduction, writes Emir Sader, a philosopher and co-ordinator of the Public Policy Laboratory of the University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, executive secretary of the Latin American Council on Social Sciences. In this article for IPS, Sader writes that another fundamental issue is Lula\'s making a top priority of regional integration policy, whereas Alckmin focuses on the FTAA and free-trade treaties, above all with the US. But Alckmin, who began his campaign promising a \'\'management shake-up\'\' if he came to power with sharp cuts in public spending, inspired by the privatisation process he began in Sao Paulo, then agreed to sign a document committing himself to do no more privatisations, a direct contradiction of the repeated declarations of his primary economic advisors, backed by ex-President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, that he would go ahead with the privatisation of the state oil giant Petrobras. What changed his mind? The evidence that all of the successes of the Lula government are tied to policies and programmes that strengthen the government\'s presence in the public sphere, like social welfare, health, and culture policies, among others.

DEATH PENALTY: A FAILURE OF JUSTICE

A man is in court on trial for murder. He does not understand the language in which he is being tried. He has no defence lawyer. Because he does not know what is being said, he is unaware that he has been sentenced to death, writes Piers Bannister, a researcher on the death penalty at Amnesty International Secretariat. Some time goes by in prison. He speaks to his brother by phone and tells him that everything is all right and he is doing fine. A few hours later, he is led from his cell, taken to a public square and beheaded. This is not a fictional story, it happened to a Somalian man in Saudi Arabia in 2005. It is yet another example of the unacceptable use of the death penalty. In the few countries that continue to execute people, the death penalty is arbitrary; used disproportionately against ethnic minorities or other disadvantaged sections of society. It is administered after unfair trials, inflicted upon the innocent, the mentally ill and child-offenders. In short, the manner in which the death penalty is deployed is a failure of justice.

GATES HUNGER PLAN IN AFRICA IS WRONG APPROACH

The Gates-Rockefeller initiative to bring a \'new\' Green Revolution to Africa ignores the lessons of the failures of the first Green Revolution, which caused worse hunger and environmental degradation, writes Peter Rosset, author of World Hunger: Twelve Myths, Food is Different, and A New Green Revolution for Africa? (forthcoming), and Visiting Scholar in Environmental Science, Policy & Management at the University of California at Berkeley. In this article, Rosset writes that free-trade agreements have made it easier for private traders to import subsidised food from the US and the EU than to negotiate with local farmers, driving local farm prices below the cost of production and farmers into urban slums in search of low wage jobs. African farmers could easily produce far more food than they do at present but don\'t because they cannot get credit to cover production costs, obtain fair prices that would give them a minimum profit margin, or find buyers. Under such circumstances, what difference could a new \'\'technology package\'\' make? They still could neither afford the inputs, sell what they grow, nor make a living as farmers. Not to mention the severe environmental and human health risks of genetic engineering technology.

HAS THE EU REACHED ITS LIMIT?

In the wake of the announcement that Rumania and Bulgaria will be admitted into the European Union, the new anti-enlargement code words --\'\'indigestion\'\' and \'\'capacity of absorption\'\'-- are echoing across Europe, writes Joaquin Roy, Jean Monnet professor and Director of the European Centre at the University of Miami, and currently Visiting Professor at the University of Barcelona. In this analysis, Roy writes that the true mandate for this enlargement is not a recent decision, nor the Nice Treaty of 2003, but rather the offer made on May 9, 1950 by French foreign minister Robert Schuman, drafted by his associate Jean Monnet. It proposed \'\'that Franco-German production of coal and steel as a whole be placed under a common High Authority\'\'. But, immediately after, it adds that this entity should be placed \'\'within the framework of an organisation\'\', and finally, and most important, that the latter should be \'\'open to the participation of the other countries of Europe.\'\' That is the original \'\'contract\'\': the EU at its birth was the property of all European countries that comply with the essential conditions of \'\'membership\'\'. As for the voices that today claim that \'\'indigestion\'\' was caused by enlargement of 2004 and will be made worse by future additions, it\'s simply too late.

HIGH ENERGY PRICES FUEL SOLAR BOOM

After decades of frustratingly slow growth, rising energy prices are hastening the dawn of a long-heralded solar renaissance, writes Mark Sommer, host of the internationally-syndicated radio programme, A World of Possibilities. Though still outdistanced by the rapid rise of wind power, silicon-based solar technologies are finally becoming sufficiently efficient to be competitive with conventional energy sources, Sommer writes in this article. Industry experts predict that based on recent advances, further improvements in efficiency will continue, but a real breakthrough to widespread use worldwide awaits development of a technology beyond the painstaking silicon-based manufacturing process. Solar advocates argue that in an era of permanent oil decline, if the photovoltaic industry sustains growth averaging 50 percent or more per year for the next two decades, it will contribute as much as 20 percent of the global energy budget. This is an ambitious, even unlikely rate of growth, but it also presumes no significant technological breakthroughs. And given that necessity is the mother of invention, solar energy may yet surprise us all.

NUCLEAR STATES IN VIOLATION OF NUKE TREATY

As the UN General Assembly in New York grapples yet again with the urgent question of nuclear disarmament, the world would do well to revisit the story of pioneer nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu, writes Fredrik S. Heffermehl, President of the Norwegian Peace Alliance, Vice President of the International Peace Bureau and editor at www.peaceispossible.info. In this analysis, Heffermehl writes that exactly twenty years have passed since a major news story using Vanunu as its source removed any doubt that Israel had a nuclear weapons programme. His dramatic abduction by Israel, followed by a secret trial in Jerusalem and 18 years in gaol under cruel conditions, made Vanunu world famous. Few cases more vividly dramatise the utter hypocrisy of nuclear policy. Ten years ago the ICJ in The Hague ruled the use of nuclear arms generally illegal under international law, finding that states have a legally binding obligation to enter into negotiations in good faith -- and reach a specific result-- on nuclear disarmament. There was, however, widespread disappointment with compliance with the ruling, and anti-nuclear and peace groups decided to request from the court more specific clarification of whether the nuclear weapon states have complied with the treaty in the past and what they are obliged to do in the future.

ECOLOGICAL ALARM – WE ARE DOOMED UNLESS WE CHANGE COURSE

It is already evident that the planet cannot support the violence and voraciousness of the current mode of production and consumption, writes Leonardo Boff, a Brazilian theologian and writer and member of the International Commission of the Earth Charter. In this analysis, the author argues that what is needed is a new paradigm of co-existence between nature, earth, and humanity which puts life at the centre and maintains natural and cultural diversity. The foundation of this new ethics has been set out in two documents: the Earth Charter, an international initiative adopted by UNESCO in 2000; and the Manifesto for Life, approved in 2002 by the environment ministers of Latin America. Both have much in common with the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The mission of the human being, as the bearer of consciousness, intelligence, will, and love, is to take care of the earth, to be the gardener of this splendid garden of Eden. This mission must be urgently undertaken, because the earth, life, and humanity are sick and threatened in their entirety.

THE PROBLEM WITH SOYA

Fifty years ago no culture in the world ate soya. Today it is in 60 percent of all processed foods, writes Vandana Shiva, author and international campaigner for women and the environment who received the Right Livelihood Award (Alternative Nobel Prize) in 1993. In this analysis, Shiva writes that the promotion of soya in food is a huge experiment promoted with USD 13 billion of subsidies from the US government between 1998 and 2004, and USD 80 million a year from the American Soya Industry. Agro-giants Cargill and ADM are now destroying the Amazon to grow this crop. This is in turn destroying the planet\'s climate. In depending on monocultures, the food system is being made increasingly dependent on fossil fuels -- for synthetic fertilisers, running the giant machinery, and long-distance transport. Monocultures lead to malnutrition for the underfed and overfed alike. One billion people are without food because industrial monocultures robbed them of their livelihoods in agriculture and their food entitlements. Another 1.7 billion are suffering from obesity and food-related diseases.

CHINA: THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN

Since its accession to the WTO five years ago, China has been the fastest-growing trading nation in the world and now the third- largest trading economy, after the EU and US, writes Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the Word Trade Organization (WTO) In this article, Lamy writes that a successful Doha Round can provide China with a stable and predictable global trading environment and offer the prospects for another 10-15 years period of peaceful economic development. In the Doha Round, we are negotiating the trade regime which will apply to all its members for the next 10 years. A trading system based on strong multilateral rules is the least expensive insurance policy against the risks of protectionism available to China and to the world economy. There are some signals that trade protectionism whether in developed or in developing countries could be on the rise. Given China\'s insertion into the world economy, multilateral trade opening and strong multilateral discipline are the best means to safeguard China\'s trade interests whether home or abroad. Without the Doha Round and without a well-functioning WTO, China could well be one of the biggest victims.

INFALLIBILITY AND THE POPE

Pope Benedict XVI\'s unfortunate citation of the statement of a 14th Century Byzantine emperor is a cause of scandal and shame for Christians as well as Muslims, writes Leonardo Boff, a Brazilian theologian and writer. In this article, Boff writes that the Pope knows that there is a confrontation underway between Muslims and the West, which has brought war to Afghanistan and Iraq and openly backs the Israeli cause against the Palestinians. Thus Benedict XVI\'s quotation has created an association between the papacy and the military strategies of the West. How could this not give rise to irritation? It must be pointed out that this is not an isolated incident for this Pope. As Cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger opposed letting Turkey join the European Union because it is has a Muslim majority. Not long ago, he suppressed an initiative in the Vatican to promote dialogue between Christianity and Islam. For him dialogue with other religions makes no sense given that \'\'it is contrary to the Catholic faith to consider the Church as one way of salvation equal to others\'\'.

WHAT HOPE FOR GLOBAL ACTION ON MIGRATION?

Governments are beginning to acknowledge the urgent need for international policies that address the root causes of migration, like poverty and the demand for migrant labour, writes Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and currently President of Realising Rights: The Ethical Globalisation Initiative. In this analysis, Robinson writes that protecting migrants\' rights is central to any effective migration management. One important way to ensure that human rights issues are firmly on the agenda is to involve civil society and migrants themselves. Robinson observes that migrants with opportunities for decent and legal work contribute more to development than those who are exploited, and that policies which promote human rights like legalisation of status and access to health and housing build the capacity of diaspora communities and help their integration, even while maintaining close ties to their countries of origin.

US CUBA POLICY CONFUSED, AS USUAL

On September 15, at the annual Miami Herald Americas conference, US Secretary of Commerce, Cuban-American Carlos Gutierrez, sent up a trial balloon for a referendum for the Cuban people on whether to keep the current government led by Raul Castro, writes Joaquin Roy is Jean Monnet Professor and Director of the European Union Centre at the University of Miami. In this article, Roy writes that Gutierrez\'s idea is interesting because, it satisfies the requirement of making the Bush administration look tough on Cuba, is acceptable for domestic consumption in Florida, but it also implies that the US would accept a government with Raul Castro if the vote went his way. It is important to point out, however, that this scenario would violate Title II of the Helms-Burton Act, which establishes the conditions for normalising relations with Cuba. Lifting the embargo would be barred as long as either of the Castro brothers remained in the government. But most parties agree that Helms-Burton is a nuisance, and many today regret endorsing it in the tragic aftermath of the criminal downing of the Brothers to the Rescue planes in 1996. In conclusion, it might be wise to do follow the suggestion of John Kavulich, head of the US-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, an organisation of US companies trying to do business with Cuba: in the event of Castro\'s death, say nothing.

NEPAL: KING WITHOUT A KINGDOM

It has been five months since Nepal\'s Rhododendron Revolution forced autocratic King Gyanendra to restore parliament and hand power back to an alliance of parliamentary parties. Since then, a restored parliament has carried out one of the most dramatic transformations of state structure ever realised without violence or bloodshed, writes Kunda Dixit, Publisher and Editor of the Kathmandu-based newspaper, Nepali Times. In this article, Dixit writes that Nepal still faces the larger challenge of resolving the insurgency. A ceasefire has been in force since April, and negotiations are underway between the government and the Maoist rebels. In the past month, the peace process has been stuck over disagreement on the issue of what to do with Maoist weapons. The rebels are under pressure from their rank and file who don\'t want to give up their guns, and the government is under pressure from the United States and India not to bring the Maoists into an interim administration until their weapons are laid down. There is a good chance that Nepal can come out of this having resolved not just the conflict but also the social injustices that are at the root of it. But it needs all parties to look beyond immediate strategic gain to ensure peace and stability so that Nepal\'s long-suffering people can finally hope for economic progress.