Cooperation and a Harmonious World: Advances for the Human
Rights
By Murilo Vieira Komniski1
It is an important challenge to outline some comments on the
theme of international cooperation and, in the extent of the
construction of a more harmonious world, the potential interactions
of both government and civil society, at a national and
international level, making ways for advances in the area of human
rights.
Undoubtedly, it is not possible, in this text, to properly
analyze the theory on the theme of international cooperation. But
two renowned thinkers on theory of international relations, Robert
Axelrod and Robert Keohane2, among others, would deserve the full
attention of readers interested in the theme. Authors that could be
included in the chain called "Neoliberal Institutionalism", Axelrod
and Keohane assume that, as the "Realists" would say, States are
rational actors, self-interested and looking for power in the
international scenario. Nevertheless, the perception on the part of
the decision-makers in foreign policy that the counterparts shall
engage in accomplishing the cooperation commitment, in other words,
under a political relationship ruled by trust, cooperation is
something that can be achieved in the global context. It does not
mean to say that cooperation will be an easy process. To reach
cooperation is something difficult in global politics. Cooperation
is not the same as harmony; rather, it is a built process that
concerns situations in which one can find a mixture of
complementary and conflicting interests.
We are living a kind of global dilemma3. On one hand, the United
States of America, like any other power that intends to be
hegemonic, should seek for recognition and legitimacy. On the other
hand, mainly since 2001, there are examples of actions with a
strong degree of unilateralism on the part of the USA: refusal of
adhering to the International Criminal Treaty; the denouncement of
the Anti-ballistic (ABM) Agreement, the refusal in ratifying the
Protocol of Kyoto on climatic changes, the declarations and that
the USA will act unilaterally and preventively whenever it figures
that there is some risk to its safety and interests. However, a
point calls attention. The USA has repeatedly affirmed that the war
in Iraq, since March of 2003, is of a "coalition." It would not be,
therefore, in the USA view, an isolated and unilateral action, in
an age where one could glimpse a space of political-diplomatic
action with some margin to maneuver.
The starting point of this analysis takes into account,
therefore, the perception that we live a moment that, despite the
global dilemma, is also marked by an effort of international
solidarity, the moment that points out a trend towards
international cooperation, above all in what regards strengthening
themes and proposals such as, among others, the Human Rights,
Millennium Development Goals; restructuring of the Organization of
the African Union, with the establishment, since 2001, of the
African Union (AU), having as a guideline, the New Partnership for
the Development of Africa (NEPAD); G-20 (in the field of commercial
negotiations, as well as in the clear impacts of these negotiations
for the sustainable development and a new geography of
international trade in a way to reduce the asymmetries of power);
the new momentum, seen as a window of opportunity, for the reform /
invigoration of the United Nations (with special attention to the
efforts for a ?Security Council which is more representative and
suitable to the current international reality and for the
recently-created UN Human Rights council); the communion of
interests are among several developed and developing countries
towards invigorating multilateral institutions and "standardizing"
international relationships (UN, WTO, International Criminal
Court); closer relationships among developing countries, like the
example of the recently assembled "Forum of Dialogue India, Brazil
and South Africa", (IBSA) in the political-diplomatic dialogue and
technical cooperation; the recently approved fund IBSA that Fight
Hunger and Poverty, in partnership with UNDP; the largest campaign
to Combat Hunger and Poverty (headed not only by Brazil ¨C a
Southern developing country - but by a large number of governments
and non-governmental organizations that transcend the South-south
axis and point out a possible interaction among developed
countries, such as France and Spain, and developing countries).
Therefore, the perspective of the South-south relationships and
cooperation takes place not as an excluding, combative axis, of
defying the rich nations of the North. It does not stand for a
division between the North and South, but as a cooperation movement
among developing nations that aims at strengthening the existing
links and maintaining and advancing the dialogue and, of course,
negotiations and diplomatic arrangements with the developed
countries. I would dare to say that we are going through times of
affirmation in the theory, or better still, of intellectuals'
manifest like Edward Said4, since it does not advocate for the
politics of South-south relationships as a mere denunciation
against the asymmetries of international relations, but as a
development strategy and of emancipation in the dialogue with the
North. For example, NEPAD5, recognizing that the African countries
should, for themselves, set their priority areas for development in
projects in partnership with and the financial support of nations
of the North. In the same sense, the international engagement in
the Fight Against Hunger and Poverty: a campaign launched initially
in 2003 by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, initially supported
by Chile, France and Spain, and that, later, through the 59th UN
General Assembly, in September of 2004, started resting on the
support of several developing countries.
A great number of Heads of State and/or of Government attended
the Meeting of World Leaders for Action against Hunger and
Poverty6, held at the UN on September 20th, 2004. A broad range of
countries have supported the declaration of New York, among them,
South Africa, Germany, Brazil, China, Egypt, Spain, France, India
and the United Kingdom.
Opportunities for International Action
The IBSA fund (India, Brazil and South Africa) is outstanding.
It was established within the scope of the United Nations
Development Program (UNDP) with the objective of financing projects
that reproduce, in poorer countries, successful programs in the
social area. An unprecedented experience of South-south
cooperation, whose first project is being implemented in
Guinea-Bissau, the fund can benefit projects in other African
countries and other regions, as in the case of Haiti. In fact, the
action among IBSA, PNUD and NGO's with experience in social areas
will be very positive. Brazil wants to enlarge its cooperation
program with Haiti and, for that, sent 24 technicians to
Port-au-Prince. The European Union has 300 million euros to use in
Haiti, but there is lack of consistent projects. Most likely,
emphasis should be attached to familiar agriculture; constructing
hospitals and schools; and to projects of basic sanitation.
Not less important, these social themes, with emphasis on public
policies in the social area, have been in the agenda of the
integration / cooperation processes like that of Mercosul and of
the South American scenario, like the establishment of the South
American Community of Nations, to the Meeting of Presidents of
South America, in Cuzco, on December 8th, 2004. In the same sense,
they are in the agenda of the Community of Portuguese speaking
Countries. On December 17th, 2004, in Ouro Preto, in the Summit of
Mercosul, the Presidents, as expressed in the joint declaration,
"... support the contacts maintained with the countries relatively
less developed of the Community of Portuguese speaking Countries,
namely: Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Sao Tome and
Principe and Timor-east, with views to conclude a Trade Framework
Agreement, whose projects were already approved by MERCOSUL Member
Countries. They also support the initiative of providing technical
consultancy services and training to those countries, and UNCTAD
and the CPLP Secretariat have showed interest in
participating…"7.
In what regards Brazil, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, in
his inauguration speech in January of 20038, emphasized the
priority that his government would place, in the scenario of
foreign policy, to South-south relationships, be it getting closer
to South America, be it with Africa and with Asia. This
approximation is not only at State level. The networking is also
expanded among non-governmental organizations, companies, academic
centers, research centers and cultural means in such regions. In
fact, this strengthening of relationship is not a day-to-night
process, but some effects can already be perceived and, if the
foreign policy trends remain the same, it would nourish a virtuous
circle. An example of this would be the significant increase and
diversification of commercial relationships with developing
countries (average growth of 100% between 2003 and 2004, with
African countries9).
We are now living a moment of great debate in the Brazilian
society, whose redemocratization process has been following the
historical tendency in the last 20 years of the Latin America as a
whole, as well as in Africa and in Asia where, despite chronic
budgetary constraints, the human rights-related themes in general,
as a transversal theme to several ministries and to the Millennium
Goals10 (Eradication of Extreme Poverty and of Hunger; Universal
education; Equality of Gender; Reduction of Child Mortality;
Maternal health: Combat of Aids, Malaria and other Diseases;
Sustainable Environmental Development; Global partnership for
Development) are present as much in the national agenda as in the
international agenda of public policies.
In these years of redemocratization, a fundamental
characteristic of the consolidation of the Democratic State of
Right has been the intensive dialogue with civil society. One could
say that there has been an increasing structural change in
decision-making spheres of the Brazilian Government. Government
extracts its legitimacy, to a great extent, from its relationship
with social movements. A living example of the civil society's deep
articulation, the World Social Forum has been prioritizing
proposals as micro-credit, support to familiar agriculture, respect
to environment, disarmament, peace, local and sustainable
development, human rights. Moreover, it has actively participated
in the debates of this true case of resonance of social movements
all over the world.
More specifically in relation to the current Brazilian foreign
policy, a good example of successful interaction between the State
and civil society was the "Forum Brazil-Africa: Policies,
Cooperation and Trade"11, held in Fortaleza, in June 2003. It would
not be an exaggeration to affirm that the Brazil-Africa Forum stood
for a moment of confluence between government and society, applied
to the relationships with Africa. Open to the Brazilian and African
countries?ˉ civil society, it aimed at updating the Brazilian
foreign policy, to gather elements for the formulation and
promotion of a contemporaneous foreign policy regarding Africa.
That means that they are not only pursuing economic-commercial
relationships, but also trying to strengthen and improve the
articulation of political and cooperation links. That policy of
approximating to Africa and strengthening the South-south
relationships, in a general way, is in tune with the emphasis that
Brazil places on its social agenda: health, education, environment
and in human rights, with high potential of cooperation. Brazil's
knowledge in such fields is very pertinent, mainly because it can
be applied to the African conditions and needs, and is in
compliance to the international legal framework.
In fact, solidarity is present in Brazil's effort towards
approximating to the African countries. President Lula, when
decided to place priority on retaking relationships with Africa,
established a foreign policy that goes beyond the commercial
interest which is undoubtedly very important when associated to
solidarity-based policies that place emphasis on South-south
cooperation. In that sense, is remarkable the symbol of actively
retaking the cultural and historical inheritance of Brazil with
Africa, through affirmative actions: cooperation, humanitarian
action, emphasis on social agenda. In what concerns the Brazilian
foreign policy, the Brazil-Africa Forum scope is even broader,
inserted in a process of retaking the emphasis on South-south
relationships: the creation of the G-20; the initiative of the
India-Brazil-South Africa Dialogue Forum (IBSA) or even the
forthcoming Summit Conference among South American and Arabic
Countries, scheduled for May 2005, in Brazil. For the last case, we
should keep in mind that of the 22 Arabic countries that
participated, 10 are African ones. The Conference approached themes
of utmost relevance for that continent, as is the case of the water
resources and the semi-arid region issue. Certainly, the political
"bet" about the current moment of international relations points
out a rearrangement in the power correlation among negotiating
processes, as well as better access to markets and an international
scenario trending to a multi-pole power system.
An emphatic example of the current moment that Brazilian foreign
policy is living can be observed in the increasing consolidation of
an organization like the Community of Portuguese Speaking
Countries, whose works have greatly rested on the participation, at
different levels, of segments, whether governmental and
non-governmental ones. Particularly, the National Congress has been
lending extraordinary support to the action that, bilaterally or
through the CPLP, Brazil has been developing in terms of
cooperation with the Portuguese Speaking African Countries (PALOP):
the annual average initial budget allotted specifically to
cooperation actions with Portuguese Speaking countries is about R$
7 million. But, naturally, the Brazilian foreign policy of
approximation to the African countries is not restricted to PALOP.
It approaches, in a much broader way, the entire African
continent.
With headquarters in Lisbon, constituted on July 17th, 1996, the
Community of the Portuguese Speaking Countries12, in its Statute,
Article 3, defines as its objectives: (i) political-diplomatic
harmonization; (ii) cooperation, above all in the economic, social,
cultural, legal and technical-scientific fields; (iii) promotion
and diffusion of the Portuguese language. These objectives
constitute the "tripod" of the CPSC work.
South-south Cooperation
As for the theme of the South-south cooperation in a broader
sense, special attention should be placed to the High-Level
Conference of G-77 about South-South13 Cooperation, held in
Marrakech, 16-19 December, 2003, and that strengthened its
guidelines also in the XI UNCTAD Conference, in June 2004, in Sao
Paulo.
In the official opening of the High Level Conference of G-77
about South-South Cooperation, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of
Morocco emphasized the importance of promoting peace, deepening the
South-south relationships, establishing and consolidating regional
and sub-regional groups for the expansion of markets and the
invigoration of the developing countries' negotiation power. He
pointed out his Government's desire to foment the role of the
Magreb as a bridge between the European Union and Sub-Sahara
Africa. In the same sense, the UN Undersecretary-General for
Economical and Social Affairs, Jose Antnio Ocampo, representing Mr.
Kofi Annan, UN General Secretary, delivered a speech putting
emphasis on the South-south cooperation, especially in the areas of
technical cooperation, trade, external debt etc. In that context,
he mentioned G-20 as an important example of the union of the South
countries to advocate for their interests.
The General Secretary of UNCTAD14, Ambassador Rubens Ricupero,
pointed out the importance of commercial themes for development,
the eradication of poverty and the reaching of the Millennium
Development Goals. In what concerns Goal 8, regarding the developed
countries, it was observed that the only area that has negotiations
underway is that of trade. Ambassador Ricupero referred to the role
of G-77 as an important actor for retaking the indispensable spur
to redirect the commercial negotiations to a safer although longer
path. He mentioned, equally, the importance of initiatives by the
developing towards imposing their interests in the trade
negotiations, mentioning the G-20.
According to Mr. Ricupero the prosperity and the high rates of
economical growth in China and the Asian and Pacific countries have
allowed for increasing mutual investments and reduced the
vulnerability of those countries after the Asian Crisis. In this
context, he foresaw that an expanded growth of Africa and the Latin
America should double the trade and demand for imports and
investments among developing countries in the forthcoming
years.
Moreover, the representatives of Qatar, Algeria, United Arab
Emirates, El Salvador, Cape Verde, Mozambique, the UN
Sub-secretary-General for Countries of Less Relative Development,
Tunisia, Ghana, China, Bahrain, Cuba, Nicaragua, Kenya and Brazil,
Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Chile, Equatorial Guinea, Korea,
India, Indonesia, Madagascar, Venezuela, Argentina, Egypt,
Singapore, Tanzania, Namibia, Rwanda, Bangladesh, Cameroon, UNICEF,
UNITED, IAEA and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of G-77 have
also spoken.
During the Conference, was held a Special Meeting on the
"Experiences and Histories of Success in the South-south
cooperation." Several delegations, previously enrolled in New York,
could report the successful experiences of their countries in the
field of horizontal cooperation. Among them, China, Brazil,
Venezuela, Morocco and Costa Rica reported a wide portfolio of
initiatives and cooperation actions, in different sectors and
countries.
In his presentation, the representative of China approached the
priority his country places on the African continent, with special
emphasis on the Forum about China-Africa Cooperation. He mentioned
the relevant increase in the volume of resources allotted to
cooperation actions that reached about US$13 billion only in 2003.
That is an evidence not only of the Chinese potential in what
regards bilateral cooperation, but also the possibilities in terms
of triangular cooperation. In that aspect, Brazil, both at
governmental and non-governmental level, could benefit since it is
more capable of providing cooperation in regions like the
Portuguese Speaking Africa.
He also stressed that, during the second Inter-Ministerial
China-Africa Forum, held in the same month of December 2003, the
Chinese Government reaffirmed the commitment towards the African
development, and presented priority action areas: (i) reduction of
commercial tariffs by half to motivate exports of African countries
to China; (ii) increase of financial contribution for the "African
Fund of Human Resources Development", (iii) establishment of
cooperation in the field of tourism, with emphasis on the
destination of Chinese nationals to Mauritius Islands, Zimbabwe,
Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Seychelles, Tunisia and Zambia; (iv)
invigoration of links and exchange, for example the China-Africa's
Youth Meeting and the Cultural Meeting of Peking, both in 2004.
Still in the field of tourism, as well as in what concerns the
African countries' exports, the Chinese representative mentioned
the great potential of China's consuming market.
As for Brazil, are outstanding the ongoing cooperation
experiences with Africa in South America, Central America, the
Caribbean and Timor-east. Among others, I expressly refer to
projects of great impact, like those dealing with HIV / AIDS, in
the field of health; the Bolsa Escola program in the field of
education; programs developed in the field of professional
qualification, notably the Centers established jointly with SENAI,
in Angola, "Kasenga", Paraguay, Timor-east and San Tome and Prince.
On the other hand, generally speaking, the expectation is evident,
especially of the non-Portuguese Speaking African countries, that
Brazil can extend and diversify its cooperation beyond the already
traditional partners. Among these countries, Namibia, Nigeria,
Kenya and Togo expressed interest in counting with the Brazilian
cooperation.
In South America, Venezuela also reports cooperation experiences
as part of the solidarity ethics to the countries of the South. It
refers to the priority placed to actions it develops in the
Caribbean, where it maintains embassies in all capitals, besides
providing centers of Spanish language studies in several countries
in the region. The Venezuelan Government pays special attention to
the African countries within the scope of their South-south
cooperation policies. Two fields of Venezuelan cooperation, both
provided and receive, deserve special attention, mainly the
experiences concerning cooperation received from Brazil, Cuba and
China. The Venezuelan representation emphasized the existence of
the "Special Fund to the Caribbean" and of the "Special Fund for
Natural Catastrophes", oriented to develop actions for observation
and control of damages caused by natural disasters. The
representative also referred to San Jose's and Caracas' Agreements,
whereby Venezuela funds part of the petrol bill of the Caribbean
and Central America countries, in the medium and long runs and with
low interest rates.
Tanzania called the attention for the issue of opening markets,
growth in regional trade and technology transfer among developing
countries, as form of balancing the trade among developing
countries. The delegation mentioned that the Sub-Sahara Africa is
the region more intensively affected by HIV/AIDS all over the
world, and urged the developing countries that produce
antiretroviral generic drugs to provide assistance to the others,
by furnishing medications at affordable prices and establishing, in
the affected countries, units of production of those products.
Egypt, Chile and Argentina talked about their respective
experiences regarding triangular cooperation, mainly in what
concerns Japan and Spain. Finally, in pronouncements made in the
closing of the Conference General Debate, Venezuela, Qatar and
South Africa presented documents about their respective regional
meetings. In Presiding Officer's opinion, the interventions were of
utmost relevance to the Conference objectives, and should result in
the approval of a Declaration of political nature and an Action
Plan, with goals to be achieved in the forthcoming years.
Likely paths for a New Consensus
It is important to pay attention to the guidelines set forth in
the Report "A safer world: our ?common responsibility" (December of
2004) of the "High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change"
summoned by the United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan,
composed of sixteen experts, including Ambassador Joao Clemente
Baena Soares, from Brazil15.
In the search for a new possible consensus on safety, the report
provides three fundamental contributions: (i) a diagnosis of the
main contemporaneous threats to safety; (ii) proposals for updating
the collective safety's system to face those threats and (iii)
proposal of institutional changes, mainly concerning the UN reform,
to support a new system of collective safety. In total, the report
contains 101 recommendations. The diagnosis of threats is based on
the principle that international safety is threatened not just by
wars among States (the classic threat that motivated the UN
foundation), but also by a series of complex processes, both
transnational and internal to each State. The new threats cannot be
controlled by any State isolated but, even more than in 1945, they
require for a collective response.
Finally, the Panel recognizes the existence of divergent
perceptions regarding the threats, particularly between North and
South, ensuing from differences in power, wealth and geography.
Therefore, it suggests a mutual recognition among developed and
developing countries and different civilizations, of the threats
that each of them deem as crucial. Certainly the strengthened
South-South relationships and cooperation play a crucial role in
that context.
In short, in spite of the risks of retreat in the last few
years, the path of multilateralism, South-south cooperation, as
well as of intensifying regional integration processes, points out
a promising way to promote human rights and constructing a world
more harmonious, based on solidarity.
1 International Advisor to the Special Secretariat of Human
Rights, Presidency of the Republic, Federative Republic of Brazil.
Diplomat and M.Phil. in Diplomacy at the Rio Branco Institute. The
opinions state herein are exclusively the author's personal
opinions.
2 Axelrod, Robert. and Keohane, Robert, "Achieving Cooperation
Under Anarchy: strategies and institutions", in Baldwin, D.A.
(ed.), Neorealism and Neoliberalism - The Contemporary Debate,
Columbia University Press, New York, 1993.
3 Bandeira, Luiz Alberto Moniz, Brasil, Argentina e Estados
Unidos - Conflito e integracao na America do Sul (Da Triplice
Alianca ao Mercosul 1870 - 2003), Rio de Janeiro, Revan, 2nd
edition, September 2003. Forewords by Samuel Pinheiro
Guimaraes.
4 Said, Edward. Orientalismo. Sao Paulo, Cia das Letras, 1990.
Representations of the intellectual. New York, Vindagebo Books,
1994.
5 www.nepad.org
6 www.mre.gov.br (Temas da Agenda Internacional - Acao contra a
Fome e a Pobreza)
7 www.mre.gov.br/portugues/imprensa - Note # 603 - 17/12/2004 ¨C
Distribution 22 and 23 - Comunicado Conjunto dos Presidentes dos
Estados Partes do Mercosul
8 www.mre.gov.br/portugues/politica_externa/discursos
9 Data from the Trade Department of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Brazil.
10 http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/index.html
11 www2.mre.gov.br/deaf
12 www.cplp.org
13 http://www.g77.org/marrakech/
14 www.unctad.org
15 The Panel met six times during 2004 and the report, called "A
safer world: our ?common responsibility" was published on December
2, 2004: http://www.un.org/secureworld
(China.org.cn)