THE RIGHT LIVELIHOOD AWARDS 2004
Speech by
Jakob von Uexkull
December 9th, 2004
Mr Speaker,
Dear Award Recipients,
Your Excellencies,
Members of Parliament,
Dear Friends,
Munir was one of our youngest award recipients, a courageous Indonesian human rights lawyer, who was here four years ago. To the military he was a threat, revealing their crimes to the world. He fell ill a few months ago on a plane to Europe, then fell asleep and never woke up. An autopsy has now revealed that he had been poisoned!
We call on the Indonesian government to leave no stone unturned to find and punish those responsible for this vile murder.
Please join me in a minute of silence in gratitude for the life and work of Munir.
...
Today these awards are 25 years old. For the 20th time we have the honour of presenting them here in the Swedish Parliament. What has changed during these years? After I announced the first awards, I am told there was a discussion on the editorial board of a major Swedish newspaper whether this was a CIA or a KGB plot to discredit the Nobel prizes... Tomorrow Wangari Maathai receives her Nobel Peace Prize, twenty years after her Right Livelihood Award... According to one (Latin American) observer with a wide experience of international awards, this is now "the world's most important award in recognition of both personal commitment and practical contributions to social transformation." These awards have protected threatened lives and opened prison doors - as well as the door to ministerial office. They give resources, access, hope and trust. Indeed, they are trusted to such an extent that, after we awarded George Vithoulkas, other homeopaths in several countries reported a sudden, market increase in their number of patients...
Trust is a rare commodity today. The institutions of our societies face increasing cynicism and distrust, especially from the young. Trust confers legitimacy and makes it possible to push through even unpopular changes. Studies show that even our happiness is determined by how much we trust each other and our institutions. Without trust, democracy dies and almost nothing can be done. This is not new. Confucius thought that a successful ruler needed three things: an army, bread to distribute and the trust of the people - and that trust was the most important. Machiavelli wrote: "If it is fated that the people do not trust anyone, because they have been deceived, then they fall inexorably into ruin."
Today we face a vicious global circle of a growing credibility gap causing a growing implementation gap. The chasm between global needs, global words and global actions is widening.
Concluding his monumental study on "The Passion of the Western Mind", Richard Tarnas writes: "So much is at stake and so much depends on the psychological constitution of modern man... If ever boldness, depth and clarity of vision were called for, from many, it is now."
Yet the reality is still different. The gap between our intellectual achievements and the primitive advances of our moral consciousness is growing. Our attitude to our natural environment is the clearest indicator. For whether you regard ecological degradation as the unravelling of God's creation or a crime against our children - or both - this is clearly the most important human, moral and political issue of our time. Yet listen to one of the key insiders in environmental politics during the past decades, who has held top positions both in the UN system and as head of the World Resources Institute, James Gustave Speth. "My generation" - he writes - "is a generation, I fear, of great talkers, overly fond of conferences. On action, however, we have fallen far short.... The current system of international efforts to help the environment simply isn't working. The design makes sure it won't work... We need a new design, and to make that happen, civil society must take the helm".
The same could be said regarding other major challenges facing us. Such statements often raise the question of civil society's democratic mandate and legitimacy. But to act successfully you above all need a moral mandate and moral legitimacy - you need trust. The fact that civil society organisations are today much more trusted than democratic political institutions is a dangerous development. For the public is increasingly dissatisfied with what the political class is offering. Unless politicians intend to follow Bert Brecht's sarcastic advice to his government to elect a new people, they need to change course.
People are not unreasonable. They recognize - as they did in Eastern Europe - when they are fed ideological nonsense about "economic realities" making it impossible to build a just, sustainable and humane world. They know that the growing wealth gap is not a natural law. (The historian Arnold Toynbee found that this - and the inability to reform - were the key reasons for the collapse of 21 civilisations he studied). They know that GNP "measures everything except that which makes life worthwhile." (R.F. Kennedy). They know that "jobless, ruthless, voiceless, rootless and futureless growth" (Richard Jolly) does not enhance the quality and security of their lives and livelihoods. They know that demands to "unshackle internal demand by loosening domestic labour markets" means the imposition of a US-UK model which has had many more human, social and ecological costs than economic gains. In the UK, for example, one half of children under 16 now report feeling "stressed out" and disoriented by disruptive change, while illiteracy levels are higher than in 1912. Neo-liberalism has disempowered and depoliticised the population, and promoted an immature culture of sound bites and sensations, devaluing experience and skill.
Present policies run counter to our higher values, to history and to our best traditions. In a world with massive over-production capacities and where - according to the ILO - one third of those willing to work are un- or under-employed, a global economic system which demands that people constantly compete by working more for less is obviously wrongly designed. For a start, local and regional economies, which can provide jobs at a fraction of the cost of the global market, need to be prioritised and protected. The insidious effects of global advertising - forcing the poorest into debt because their children now need a pair of Nike instead of a pair of (local) shoes in order not to be bullied - need to be curbed.
We must de-trivialize the global debate before events do it for us. This may not take long as the evidence is mounting that global oil reserves have been massively over-estimated...
In the interests of the poor and of future generations we need to build an economic model of sharing and respect, following E.F. Schumacher's conclusion that, "since consumption is merely a means to human well-being, the aim should be to obtain the maximum of well-being with the minimum of consumption".
The cost-benefit-analysis currently ruling us is morally the economics of genocide, valuing the lives of the poor at a fraction of those of the rich. Current climate policies of far too little far too late amount to terrorism against future generations. The funding of renewable energy by the World Bank and others is still a small fraction of the money poured into fossile energy projects. For how much longer?
Scientists now believe we are entering a new "anthropocene" age, with humanity rapidly changing the physics, chemistry and biology of our planet. This unprecedented development cannot be mastered by the ethics, economics and institutions of the past.
We need to develop an ethics of human and environmental flourishing, worthy of our responsibilities as planetary citizens. We need institutions speaking up for - and working to implement - this ethics, like the proposed World Future Council of wise elders, pioneers and youth leaders which many of our award recipients support. We need development models reflecting the vision of the small country of Bhutan which recently decided to put "the individual's self-cultivation at the centre of the nation's development goals".
We need an economic model which responds to the question of Alfredo Sfeir-Younis, the World Bank's long-time representative in Geneva, "whether the economics we practise today will be the economics of tomorrow and whether it will remain possible to formulate economic policies and programmes which are empty (or at least indifferent) regarding the spiritual dimension of human life."
These awards cover a wide ground, aiming to provide the concepts and concrete examples of how to proceed. Individually, recipients offer remarkable profiles of courage and hope. Together, they represent a different cultural paradigm, a true third way beyond the disastrous choices now on offer. The respected German daily "Frankfurter Allgemeine" earlier this year carried a full-page report on Osama Bin Laden with the headline: "The Winner". I quote: "Bin Laden is the second-most powerful man in the world. And if there were world-wide one man - one vote elections today, he would beat the US president and probably every other Western statesman easily!"
Well, I am sure most people would want another choice! But the fact that it has come to this, in the opinion of respected commentators, should make us pause before continuing with more of the same. As Prof. Robert Solow, recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, has noted, even "well-functioning markets ... offer no resistance to forces making for a descent into cultural barbarity or moral depravity."
Clearly, markets and money must again become the servants and not the masters of our vision and values. Some will of course dismiss all this as "anti-globalization". That is not surprising: the Soviet system also had its apologists until the day of its demise. What is remarkable, however, is how many "insiders" among the political and economic elites agree with this analysis, but are fearful of the extent of the transformation required - although clearly this process also offers vast entrepreneurial challenges and opportunities.
As the East German dissident and philosopher Rudolf Bahro noted, "when an old culture is dying, the new is created by a few people who are not afraid to be insecure". Today we again honour such pioneers. And, as for globalization, this has been a global award since long before the term was invented!
One particularly brutal consequence of the imposition of a single development model on our diverse world has been the revival of communal conflicts, as unscrupulous politicians - unable to offer other alternatives - see the fomenting of fear and hatred as a way to votes and power. India has suffered seriously in recent years from such policies, and it is therefore very appropriate that we honour two outstanding men who have done and risked so much to rebuild communal trust.
Swami Agnivesh is a visionary and reformer, as well as a successful political and social activist engaged on many issues. As a politician working for "social spirituality", he was jailed during the state of emergency and held ministerial office when democracy was restored. As a social justice activist, he has conducted high-profile, successful campaigns against child and bonded labour. He has launched and led campaigns against sati and female infanticide, during which he was arrested but ultimately succeeded in getting these practises banned. He has campaigned on land, water, forests and fisheries issues, including with our recipients Narmada Bachao Andolan. He has written and spoken extensively against Western consumerism and materialism which he perceives to be undermining Indian culture.
In recent years, increasingly concerned about escalating religious fundamentalism and communal violence, he helped launch a multi-religious forum, Religions for Social Justice. He has led numerous marches for religious harmony. After the Gujarat massacre in 2002, he brought 72 eminent religious - social leaders to the violence-affected areas, denouncing the powerful Hindu fundamentalist organisations and their political backers responsible.
Asghar Ali Engineer is the rare combination of an academic who has published books on communal violence and an activist who works for communal harmony. He is the founder and chairman of the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism which undertakes research, organizes inter-faith dialogues, and conducts training and mass-awareness programmes, e.g. for the Indian Police. He edits 'The Indian Journal of Secularism' and 'Islam and the Modern Age'.
He aims to promote a better understanding of Islam and to critique some of its manifestations from the inside, for example in "Rethinking Issues in Islam" (1998). He has written widely on globalisation, terrorism and relations with Pakistan but most of his work remains focused on the communal situation in India.
The Jury honours Swami Agnivesh and Asghar Ali Engineer "for their strong and courageous commitment and co-operation over many years to promote the value of co-existence, tolerance and understanding in India and between the countries of South Asia"
It is with very great pleasure that I ask Swami Agnivesh and Asghar Ali Engineer to accept the Right Livelihood Honorary Award.
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Memorial's work in Russia and surrounding countries to document past human rights violations and protect civil liberties today is both unique and exemplary. The Jury honours Memorial, its members and staff "for showing, under very difficult conditions, and with great personal courage, that history must be recorded and understood, and human rights respected everywhere, if sustainable solutions to the legacy of the past are to be achieved".
Founded in the last years of the USSR, Memorial today works:
- to reveal the truth about past abuses and repression by building a huge and unique network of archives open to the public.
- to support the surviving victims through provision of care and medical help, and campaigns for compensation and rehabilitation.
- to prevent a return to totalitarianism by promoting civil society and democracy.
- to protect human rights today, with the main focus since 1994 being on Chechnya where Memorial has several offices, working under very dangerous conditions.
These areas of Memorial's work are closely connected, as the historical knowledge helps to understand present conflicts and sensitise against present and future abuses.
It is with very great pleasure that I present the Right Livelihood Award to Memorial, represented here by Elena Zhemkova, Arseny Roginsky and Oleg Orlov.
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The jury recognizes Bianca Jagger for "her long-standing commitment and dedicated campaigning in support of the exploited and disadvantaged over a wide range of issues of human rights, social justice and environmental protection, including the abolition of the death penalty, the prevention of child abuse, the rights of indigenous peoples to the environment that supports them and the prevention and healing of armed conflicts."
While growing up in Nicaragua, Bianca Jagger witnessed first-hand the terror and corruption of the Somoza dictatorship. These experiences moved her to become a passionate and effective campaigner for human rights.
Her activities over the past two decades have spanned the globe and its crises. She has helped save the lives of abducted refugees in Honduras and the lives of sick children in the Bosnian war zone. She has documented abuses, worked to end them and to bring the perpetrators to justice. She has been a steadfast and eloquent advocate for the elimination of the death penalty and has worked extensively for the rights of indigenous populations to their environment, focusing on making multi-national corporations accountable for the damage they cause.
It is with very great pleasure that I present the Right Livelihood Award to Bianca Jagger.
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Raúl Montenegro has shown how much one committed scientist and activist can do to raise ecological awareness and prevent environmental degradation. The Jury honours Montenegro "for his outstanding and wide-ranging work with local communities and indigenous peoples to protect the environment and conserve natural resources in Latin America and elsewhere."
Raúl Montenegro has initiated an astonishing range and number of environmental campaigns, which have usually been successful - including closing a uranium mine, stopping the construction of nuclear plants, as well as blocking the privatization of existing ones. He has been instrumental in the establishment of six national parks, stopped plans to build several toxic waste incinerators and succeeded in having high-voltage lines located away from population settlements. He has blocked the deforestation of at least 500 000 hectares and helped provide ecologically sensitive and socially just water management.
As Cordoba's Under-secretary of the Environment, he promulgated Argentina's first requirement for Environmental Impact Assessments. He has launched more than 40 prosecutions for environmental destruction and joined indigenous groups in their struggles against logging and mining companies.
It is with very great pleasure that I present the Right Livelihood Award to Raúl Montenegro.
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In conclusion I would like first of all to express my deep appreciation to the Speaker and Members of Parliament who have made it possible for us to meet every year in these prestigious and beautiful surroundings.
I would like to thank the donors - and especially one lady here tonight - who have joined me in making it possible for this award to be maintained and to grow.
And I would like to thank our foundation staff - and especially Kerstin Bennett and Kajsa Raab - for their dedicated and magnificent work over many years, as well as the board and jury for helping to choose such worthy recipients!
Next June the State Government of Salzburg (Austria) represented here tonight by Prof. Alfred Winter, will host a symposium bringing together all the recipients of this award who are able to come. We very much hope that this will include Mordechai Vanunu still under house arrest in Israel after 18 years in jail! In Salzburg we will also have the opportunity to discuss how to make this award ever more effective in next 25 years.
Looking at the immediate future, I have to report that the problem which become public last year remains unsolved.
For several years now, our tax-exempt charitable ("for the common good") status has come under attack for reasons which remain obscure. Our position is clear: we have been recognized as charitable for almost twenty years - since our foundation moved to Sweden - and have presented the same kind of awards. We want to continue to do so.
If this is no longer possible, we may be forced to move the foundation abroad in order to survive. But this award is a messenger from the future - as the Nobel Prize to Wangari Maathai shows - so it would be very foolish to drive it away!
We have applied again for inclusion in the list ("the Catalogue") of organizations accepted as charitable in Sweden. We very much hope that the breadth and depth of support which this award enjoys throughout Swedish society will help solve this problem in the near future!
The award which first led to our "for the common good" status being challenged was the one to Uri and Rachel Avnery (Gush Shalom) in 2001. Their work is, we are told, too much campaigning and not sufficiently charitable.
A few weeks ago, the "International Herald Tribune" reported from Israel/Palestine that: "Smaller stories of peace and justice are also played out every day, and never more so than during the season of the Palestinian olive harvest. For days, busloads of Israelis have been pouring into the fields ... to join ... in protecting families from Israeli soldiers and settlers so they can pick the glossy blue-black fruit ... The importance of the Israelis' gesture cannot be overestimated ... (They) remind the Palestinians that not all Israelis are part of the occupation ... Uri Avnery ... is there, as agile as ever despite his 81 years, climbing trees and picking every single last olive."
I leave it to you to decide if his work is "for the common good" and to make your views known.
Thank you very much.
