A Special . n ° 620, July-August 2003. By Simone Bouilleu

Article published in the review UN Special, n ° 620, July-August 2003 , by Simone Bouilleu.

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On the occasion of the G8 summit, a few founders of the Collegium international éthique met in Geneva. Launched only a few months ago, this institution has many personalities who have assumed many responsibilities in their respective countries, in particular Ms. Ruth Dreifuss, former President of the Swiss Confederation, Messrs Helmut Schmidt, former Chancellor of the FRG, Michel Rocard, former Prime Minister of France; Milan Kucan, former President of Slovenia, Bacharuddin Jusuf Hazbibie, former President of Indonesia, Mr. Stéphane Hessel, Ambassador of France and a whole host of philosophers, political scientists; directors of international organizations, professors, writers, biophysicists, economists. All the members of the Collegium note, like the majority of us, that the world is globalizing, power is concentrated but that responsibility is diluted. They now wish to unite their skills in order to work on the future of humanity by raising a cry of alarm in front of the serious dangers which threaten the balance of the world, in front of the lack of orientations, visions or ethical practices in the world. 'exercise of political, economic, media and technological powers. Together, they want to counteract the growing impact on humans and ecosystems of the planet's physical, biological and atmospheric degradation, bridge the growing gap between the rich and the poor, stem the growing risks of war and terrorism, violence and barbarism.

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During the conference given at the Villa Pastorale in Geneva in front of many journalists, the members of the Collegium recalled their attachment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 10, 1948, reaffirmed during of the Vienna International Conference in 1993 as well as the Rio 1992 and Johannesburg Declarations in 2002. They deplore the fact that although the United Nations has determined the objectives to be achieved in order to meet the major challenges of the new century, its normative function is weakened by the fragmentation of competences between the various international organizations and by the absence of an integrated mechanism; even a world court of human rights which would control the effective and indivisible application of all fundamental rights; whether civil and political or economic, ecological, cultural and social. For them, interdependence is both an opportunity and a risk and they proclaim the principle of planetary intersolidarity, with diversity based on tolerance and pluralism. We must reinvent democracy on a global scale; identify and protect global public goods; build the conditions and indicators for sustainable development; build a universalism of values ​​and guarantee economic and social rights.

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A very heavy program for the Collegium which will soon send a Declaration to the Secretary General of the United Nations, giving priority to Ethics as the final arbiter of political agreements between States.