Vigorous Defense of Human Rights Is Urged by Pope in U.N. Address

Pope Benedict XVI addressing the U.N.’s General Assembly on Friday. “Failure to intervene” in other nations’ human-rights violations, the pope said, is what does “the real damage.” Credit Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Pope Benedict XVI arrived in New York on Friday, turning his attention beyond the challenges faced by the Roman Catholic Church: He addressed the United Nations, stressing the importance of human rights; offered Passover greetings at an Upper East Side synagogue; and met with other Christian leaders.

Touring a city defined by its diversity, the pope shook hands with its former mayor, Edward I. Koch, and rubbed the fuzz on several babies’ heads.

Benedict, a man who has shunned the spotlight for most of his life, was greeted like a rock star.

The pope flew to New York on the Alitalia papal plane, called “Shepherd One,” from Washington, where he had largely devoted his efforts to addressing the issue of sexual abuse by priests. On Thursday afternoon, he held a surprise meeting there with five victims from Boston, the city where the scandal unfolded with particular anger and division.

But for the first day since he arrived in America, the pope did not address the scandal on Friday.

After being greeted at Kennedy Airport by Cardinal Edward C. Egan, head of the New York archdiocese, Benedict flew by helicopter directly to the United Nations.

The 81-year-old pope, who was a young German prisoner in the war that forged the United Nations, insisted that human rights — more than force or pragmatic politics — must be the basis for ending war and poverty.

The Pope's Visit to New York APRIL 18, 2008

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• Pope Benedict XVI’s Remarks at the Church of St. Joseph in Yorkville, Manhattan APRIL 19, 2008

“The promotion of human rights remains the most effective strategy for eliminating inequalities between countries and social groups, and for increasing security,” Benedict told the United Nations General Assembly.

“Indeed, the victims of hardship and despair, whose human dignity is violated with impunity, become easy prey to the call to violence, and they can then become violators of peace,” he said.

He made no explicit reference to a nation or conflict in particular, and he laid no specific blame in the half-hour speech, which was densely packed with philosophy and theology. But he did mention briefly some specific priorities for the Vatican, like protecting the environment, and making sure that poor nations, especially in Africa, also reap the benefits of globalization.

And in a passage that will have particular resonance for the current United Nations leadership, which is trying to establish the right of the outside world to intervene in situations where nations fail to shield their own citizens from atrocities, the pope said that “every state has the primary duty to protect its own population from grave and sustained violations of human rights.”

The concept, known as “responsibility to protect,” is one that Ban Ki-moon, the secretary general, has backed as a way for international institutions to take action in regions like Darfur.

Pope Benedict XVI leaves St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church on the Upper East Side on Friday night after presiding over an ecumenical prayer service. Credit Todd Heisler/The New York Times

“If states are unable to guarantee such protection,” the pope said, “the international community must intervene with the juridical means provided in the United Nations charter and in other international instruments.” In an apparent allusion to countries that claim such international actions constitute intervention in their national affairs, he said they “should never be interpreted as an unwarranted imposition or a limitation of sovereignty.”

He added, “On the contrary, it is indifference or failure to intervene that do the real damage.”

In his speech, Benedict touched on themes important both to his three-year-old papacy and his decades of writing as a cardinal and one of the church’s leading intellectuals.

At base, the pope presented the idea that there are universal values that transcend the diversity — cultural, ethnic or ideological — embodied in an institution like the United Nations, founded to help prevent the ruin of another world war. Those values are at the base of human rights, he said, as they are for religion. Thus religion, he said, cannot be shut out of a body like the United Nations, which he said aims at “a social order respectful of the dignity and rights of the person.”

“A vision of life firmly anchored in the religious dimension can help achieve this,” he said. “Recognition of the transcendent value of every man and woman favors conversion of heart, which then leads to a commitment to resist violence, terrorism, war and to promote justice and peace.

Benedict was introduced to the thronged General Assembly hall by Mr. Ban, who called the United Nations a secular institution but is “home to all men and women of faith around the world.”

The speech to the General Assembly is a papal tradition: Pope Paul VI made an appearance in 1965, and Pope John Paul II in 1979 and 1995.

On Friday afternoon, Benedict met with local Jewish clergy at the Park East Synagogue, an Orthodox congregation on the Upper East Side founded in 1890. It was the first papal visit to a synagogue in this country; only two other visits have ever been recorded, both in Europe.

Rabbi Arthur Schneier, a Holocaust survivor who has led the synagogue since 1962, greeted Benedict and told him that his visit was “a reaffirmation of your outreach, good will, and commitment to enhancing Jewish-Catholic relations.” He presented Benedict with a silver Seder plate and a box of matzo, just in time for Passover, which begins on Saturday evening.

“The Jewish community make a valuable contribution to the life of the city,” the pope told the Jewish leaders, “and I encourage all of you to continue building bridges of friendship with all the many different ethnic and religious groups present in your neighborhood.”

The pope then posed for photographs with several prominent Jewish New Yorkers, including Mr. Koch, the former mayor. Later in the evening, the pope met with the ministers of various denominations, including the Rev. Bernice King, daughter of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Ms. King declined to say what they discussed, saying only, “He blessed me.”

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At the U.N., Pope Condemns Greed and Thirst for Power

Pope Francis addresses the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Tony Gentile/Reuters

In his first address to the United Nations, Pope Francis denounced greed and hunger for power that he said fueled poverty and contributed to the destruction of the environment.

“A selfish and boundless thirst for power and material prosperity leads both to the misuse of available natural resources and to the exclusion of the weak and disadvantaged,” the pope said in a speech that focused on the moral duty to help the most vulnerable of the world’s people. 

“The ecological crisis, and the large-scale destruction of biodiversity, can threaten the very existence of the human species,” he said, condemning what he called “The baneful consequences of an irresponsible mismanagement of the global economy, guided only by ambition for wealth and power.”

“Economic and social exclusion is a complete denial of human fraternity and a very grave offence against human rights and the environment,” Pope Francis said during his speech. “The poorest are the ones who suffer the most... They are cast off by society, forced to live off what is discarded and suffer unjustly from the consequences of the abuse of the environment.”

“Any harm done to the environment, therefore, is harm done to humanity,” he said.

The pope said he was confident that the U.N.’s climate conference in December in Paris would result in “fundamental and effective agreements,” but added that commitments were not enough to create concrete change.

The 78-year-old pope also talked about war during his speech, urging the international community “to prevent further systematic violence against ethnic and religious minorities” in places like Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Libya, South Sudan and the Great Lakes region in Africa.

Pope Francis addresses the United Nations General Assembly in New York. "Justice is an essential condition for achieving the ideal of universal fraternity," the pope said. "The limitation of power is an idea implicit in the idea of law itself." Tony Gentile/Reuters

“I must renew my repeated appeals regarding to the painful situation of the entire Middle East, North Africa and other African countries, where Christians, together with other cultural or ethnic groups, and even members of the majority religion who have no desire to be caught up in hatred and folly, have been forced to witness the destruction of their places of worship, their cultural and religious heritage, their houses and property, and have faced the alternative either of fleeing or of paying for their adhesion to good and to peace by their own lives, or by enslavement,” the pope said.

During his remarks, which lasted about 30 minutes and received a standing ovation, Pope Francis called the drug trade a “conflict, not so open, but silently killing millions of people.” He also said there is an “urgent need” to rid the world of nuclear weapons, and referred obliquely to the recent agreement between Iran and world powers to curb Tehran’s nuclear program, saying it was “proof of the potential of political good will and of law, exercised with sincerity, patience and constancy.”

Following his speech, the U.N. adopted the Sustainable Development Goals, a set of benchmarks for countries to achieve in the next 15 years and a continuation of the Millennium Development Goals, which expired this year.

Among the world leaders and international figures watching Pope Francis's speech were philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates and Nobel prize winner Malala Yousafzai. After Pope Francis left the General Assembly hall for the September 11 memorial in Lower Manhattan, singer Shakira serenaded the remaining audience with a rendition of John Lennon's “Imagine.”

Before his speech, the Pope spoke to elated U.N. staff members, who shouted “Papa!" and cheered, in the lobby of the General Assembly building.

Standing in the security line for the visitors entrance on First Avenue and 46th Street, Rasika Rijal, who works in human resources for the U.N.'s Department of Peacekeeping, said she was lucky to nab a ticket to see the pope address U.N. staff.

Despite being a Hindu from India, Rijal said she was excited to see the pope in person. Apart from seeming like “a nice human being,” his interest in helping the homeless is something she supports and admires. “That makes him my hero," said Rijal, clutching a camera. “I'm here to support his cause.”

The pope’s speech was covered by journalists from the BBC to the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation, and from many countries, including Turkmenistan and Canada. One of the journalists setting up was Sherif Barakat, a senior news anchor with Egyptian satellite TV channel Alhayat. He was excited about covering the pope's visit, a story “all the Western channels are speaking about.” Asked to compare covering the pope to another major news event, Barakat said: “It's like the man visiting the moon.”

http://www.newsweek.com/un-pope-condemns-greed-and-lust-power-376776

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Pope Calls for a New World Order

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Pope John Paul II: The need for a New International Order

• Friday 2 January 2004 00:00 GMT
• The Independent
  

Since peace is possible, it is also right and proper. Confronted by situations of injustice and violence that burden various parts of the world, it has become ever more necessary to construct together ways for peace; it has become indispensable to educate people towards peace.

It is for the Christian to proclaim peace and declare that Christ is our peace; and to declare his Evangelist who is the Evangelist of peace; and to call all to the bliss of being authors of peace.

Every year, at this Christmas season, we turn to Bethlehem to worship the baby cradled in the manger. The land in which Jesus was born continues sadly to live in dramatic conditions.

In other parts of the world, too, the infections of violence and conflict refuse to die down. But it is necessary to persevere without yielding to the temptations of giving up. An effort is demanded from all of us. To that end, it is necessary to transcend the logic of simple justice and become open to that of forgiveness. Indeed, without forgiveness there is no peace!

One feels more than ever the need for a new international order, that brings to fruition the experience and the results achieved in these years by the United Nations.

This is an order that is capable of giving adequate solutions to the problems of today, founded on the dignity of the human person, on an integral development of society, on solidarity between rich countries and poor ones, on the sharing of resources and the extraordinary results of scientific and technical progress.

Love is the highest and most noble form of relationship between human beings. This conviction has guided me in sending out a message on this World Day of Peace.

God helps us to construct all together the "civilisation of love". Only a humanity in which love conquers will be capable of enjoying an authentic and lasting peace.

This gift we obtain from Mary. It is she who sustains and accompanies us on the hard and exalted journey to the building of peace.

For this we pray with faith, without stinting: Mary, queen of peace, pray for us!

United Nations
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A/RES/S-6/3201 



A/RES/S-6/3201
General Assembly

Distr: General
1 May 1974

	Sixth Special session Agenda item 7 Resolution adopted by the General Assembly 3201 (S-VI). Declaration on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order
		The General Assembly Adopts the following Declaration: Declaration on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order We, the Members of the United Nations, Having convened a special session of the General Assembly to study for the first time the problems of raw materials and development, devoted to the consideration of the most important economic problems facing the world community, Bearing in mind the spirit, purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations to promote the economic advancement and social progress of all peoples, Solemnly proclaim our united determination to work urgently for the Establishment of a New International Economic Order based on equity, sovereign equality, interdependence, common interest and cooperation among all States, irrespective of their economic and social systems which shall correct inequalities and redress existing injustices, make it possible to eliminate the widening gap between the developed and the developing countries and ensure steadily accelerating economic and social development and peace and justice for present and future generations, and, to that end, declare: 1.The greatest and most significant achievement during the last decades has been the independence from colonial and alien domination of a large number of peoples and nations which has enabled them to become members of the community of free peoples. Technological progress has also been made in all spheres of economic activities in the last three decades, thus providing a solid potential for improving the well-being of all peoples. However, the remaining vestiges of alien and colonial domination, foreign occupation, racial discrimination, apartheid and neo-colonialism in all its forms continue to be among the greatest obstacles to the full emancipation and progress of the developing countries and all the peoples involved. The benefits of technological progress are not shared equitably by all members of the international community. The developing countries, which constitute 70 per cent of the world's population, account for only 30 per cent of the worlds income. It has proved impossible to achieve an even and balanced development of the international community under the existing international economic order. The gap between the developed and the developing countries continues to widen in a system which was established at a time when most of the developing countries did not even exist as independent States and which perpetuates inequality. 2.The present international economic order is in direct conflict with current developments in international political and economic relations. Since 1970 the world economy has experienced a series of grave crises which have had severe repercussions, especially on the developing countries because of their generally greater vulnerability to external economic impulses. The developing world has become a powerful factor that makes its influence felt in all fields of international activity. These irreversible changes in the relationship of forces in the world necessitate the active, full and equal participation of the developing countries in the formulation and application of all decisions that concern the international community. 3.All these changes have thrust into prominence the reality of interdependence of all the members of the world community. Current events have brought into sharp focus the realization that the interests of the developed countries and those of the developing countries can no longer be isolated from each other, that there is a close interrelationship between the prosperity of the developed countries and the growth and development of the developing countries, and that the prosperity of the international community as a whole depends upon the prosperity of its constituent parts. International co-operation for development is the shared goal and common duty of all countries. Thus the political, economic and social well-being of present and future generations depends more than ever on co-operation between all the members of the international community on the basis of sovereign equality and the removal of the disequilibrium that exists between them. 4.The new international economic order should be founded on full respect for the following principles: Sovereign equality of States, self-determination of all peoples, inadmissibility of the acquisition of territories by force, territorial integrity and non-interference in the internal affairs of other States; The broadest co-operation of all the States members of the international community, based on equity, whereby the prevailing disparities in the world may be banished and prosperity secured for all; Full and effective participation on the basis of equality of all countries in the solving of world economic problems in the common interest of all countries, bearing in mind the necessity to ensure the accelerated development of all the developing countries, while devoting particular attention to the adoption of special measures in favour of the least developed land-locked and island developing countries as well as those developing countries most seriously affected by economic crises and natural calamities, without losing sight of the interests of other developing countries; The right of every country to adopt the economic and social system that it deems the most appropriate for its own development and not to be subjected to discrimination of any kind as a result; Full permanent sovereignty of every State over its natural resources and all economic activities. In order to safeguard these resources, each State is entitled to exercise effective control over them and their exploitation with means suitable to its own situation, including the right to nationalization or transfer of ownership to its nationals, this right being an expression of the full permanent sovereignty of the State. No State may be subjected to economic, political or any other type of coercion to prevent the free and full exercise of this inalienable right; The right of all States, territories and peoples under foreign occupation, alien and colonial domination or apartheid to restitution and full compensation for the exploitation arid depletion of, and damages to, the natural resources and all other resources of those States, territories and peoples; Regulation and supervision of the activities of transnational corporations by taking measures in the interest of the national economies of the countries where such transnational corporations operate on the basis of the full sovereignty of those countries; The right of the developing countries and the peoples of territories under colonial and racial domination and foreign occupation to achieve their liberation and to regain effective control over their natural resources and economic activities; The extending of assistance to developing countries, peoples and territories which are under colonial and alien domination, foreign occupation, racial discrimination or apartheid or are subjected to economic, political or any other type of coercive measures to obtain from them the subordination of the exercise of their sovereign rights and to secure from them advantages of any kind, and to neo colonialism in all its forms, and which have established or are endeavouring to establish effective control over their natural resources and economic activities that have been or are still under foreign control; Just and equitable relationship between the prices of raw materials, primary commodities, manufactured and semi-manufactured goods exported by developing countries and the prices of raw materials, primary commodities, manufactures, capital goods and equipment imported by them with the aim of bringing about sustained improvement in their unsatisfactory terms of trade and the expansion of the world economy; Extension of active assistance to developing countries by the whole international community, free of any political or military conditions; Ensuring that one of the main aims of the reformed international monetary system shall be the promotion of the development of the developing countries and the adequate flow of real resources to them; Improving the competitiveness of natural materials facing competition from synthetic substitutes; Preferential and non-reciprocal treatment for developing countries, wherever feasible, in all fields of international economic co-operation whenever possible; Securing favourable conditions for the transfer of financial resources to developing countries. Giving to the developing countries access to the achievements of modern science and technology, and promoting the transfer of technology and the creation of indigenous technology for the benefit of the developing countries in forms and in accordance with procedures which are suited to their economies; The need for all States to put an end to the waste of natural resources, including food products; The need for developing countries to concentrate all their resources for the cause of development; The strengthening, through individual and collective actions, of mutual economic, trade, financial and technical co-operation among the developing countries, mainly on a preferential basis; Facilitating the role which producers' associations may play within the framework of international co-operation and, in pursuance of their aims, inter alia assisting in the promotion of sustained growth of the world economy and accelerating the development of developing countries. 5.The unanimous adoption of the International Development Strategy for the Second United Nations Development Decade (Resolution 2626 (XXV)) was an important step in the promotion of international economic co-operation on a just and equitable basis. The accelerated implementation of obligations and commitments assumed by the international community within the framework of the Strategy, particularly those concerning imperative development needs of developing countries, would contribute significantly to the fulfilment of the aims and objectives of the present Declaration. 6.The United Nations as a universal organization should be capable of dealing with problems of international economic co-operation in a comprehensive manner and ensuring equally the interests of all countries. It must have an even greater role in the establishment of a new international economic order. The Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States, for the preparation of which the present Declaration will provide an additional source of inspiration, will constitute a significant contribution in this respect. All the States Members of the United Nations are therefore called upon to exert maximum efforts with a view to securing the implementation of the present Declaration, which is one of the principal guarantees for the creation of better conditions for all peoples to reach a life worthy of human dignity. 7.The present Declaration on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order shall be one of the most important bases of economic relations between all peoples and all nations. 2229th plenary meeting 1 May 1974

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The full text of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373 (2001) reads as follows:

“The Security Council,

“Reaffirming its resolutions 1269 (1999) of 19 October 1999 and 1368 (2001) of 12 September 2001,

“Reaffirming also its unequivocal condemnation of the terrorist attacks which took place in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania on 11 September 2001, and expressing its determination to prevent all such acts,

“Reaffirming further that such acts, like any act of international terrorism, constitute a threat to international peace and security,

“Reaffirming the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence as recognized by the Charter of the United Nations as reiterated in resolution 1368 (2001),

“Reaffirming the need to combat by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts,

“Deeply concerned by the increase, in various regions of the world, of acts of terrorism motivated by intolerance or extremism,

“Calling on States to work together urgently to prevent and suppress terrorist acts, including through increased cooperation and full implementation of the relevant international conventions relating to terrorism,

“Recognizing the need for States to complement international cooperation by taking additional measures to prevent and suppress, in their territories through all lawful means, the financing and preparation of any acts of terrorism,

“Reaffirming the principle established by the General Assembly in its declaration of October 1970 (resolution 2625 (XXV)) and reiterated by the Security Council in its resolution 1189 (1998) of 13 August 1998, namely that every State has the duty to refrain from organizing, instigating, assisting or participating in terrorist acts in another State or acquiescing in organized activities within its territory directed towards the commission of such acts,

“Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,

“1.   Decides that all States shall:

“(a)  Prevent and suppress the financing of terrorist acts;

“(b)  Criminalize the wilful provision or collection, by any means, directly or indirectly, of funds by their nationals or in their territories with the intention that the funds should be used, or in the knowledge that they are to be used, in order to carry out terrorist acts;

“(c)  Freeze without delay funds and other financial assets or economic resources of persons who commit, or attempt to commit, terrorist acts or participate in or facilitate the commission of terrorist acts; of entities owned or controlled directly or indirectly by such persons; and of persons and entities acting on behalf of, or at the direction of such persons and entities, including funds derived or generated from property owned or controlled directly or indirectly by such persons and associated persons and entities;

“(d)  Prohibit their nationals or any persons and entities within their territories from making any funds, financial assets or economic resources or financial or other related services available, directly or indirectly, for the benefit of persons who commit or attempt to commit or facilitate or participate in the commission of terrorist acts, of entities owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by such persons and of persons and entities acting on behalf of or at the direction of such persons;

“2.   Decides also that all States shall:

“(a)  Refrain from providing any form of support, active or passive, to entities or persons involved in terrorist acts, including by suppressing recruitment of members of terrorist groups and eliminating the supply of weapons to terrorists;

“(b)  Take the necessary steps to prevent the commission of terrorist acts, including by provision of early warning to other States by exchange of information;

“(c)  Deny safe haven to those who finance, plan, support, or commit terrorist acts, or provide safe havens;

“(d)  Prevent those who finance, plan, facilitate or commit terrorist acts from using their respective territories for those purposes against other States or their citizens;

“(e)  Ensure that any person who participates in the financing, planning, preparation or perpetration of terrorist acts or in supporting terrorist acts is brought to justice and ensure that, in addition to any other measures against them, such terrorist acts are established as serious criminal offences in domestic laws and regulations and that the punishment duly reflects the seriousness of such terrorist acts;

“(f)  Afford one another the greatest measure of assistance in connection with criminal investigations or criminal proceedings relating to the financing or support of terrorist acts, including assistance in obtaining evidence in their possession necessary for the proceedings;

“(g)  Prevent the movement of terrorists or terrorist groups by effective border controls and controls on issuance of identity papers and travel documents, and through measures for preventing counterfeiting, forgery or fraudulent use of identity papers and travel documents;

“3.   Calls upon all States to:

“(a)  Find ways of intensifying and accelerating the exchange of operational information, especially regarding actions or movements of terrorist persons or networks; forged or falsified travel documents; traffic in arms, explosives or sensitive materials; use of communications technologies by terrorist groups; and the threat posed by the possession of weapons of mass destruction by terrorist groups;

“(b)  Exchange information in accordance with international and domestic law and cooperate on administrative and judicial matters to prevent the commission of terrorist acts;

“(c)  Cooperate, particularly through bilateral and multilateral arrangements and agreements, to prevent and suppress terrorist attacks and take action against perpetrators of such acts;

“(d)  Become parties as soon as possible to the relevant international conventions and protocols relating to terrorism, including the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism of 9 December 1999;

“(e)  Increase cooperation and fully implement the relevant international conventions and protocols relating to terrorism and Security Council resolutions 1269 (1999) and 1368 (2001);