Mercy Global Concern - 2002
Societies Emerging From Conflict: A Shared Responsibility
The 55th Annual Conference " Societies Emerging
from Conflict: A Shared Responsibility", was held in New
York from September 9-11, 2002.
Two thousand and seven hundred people from over 650 organizations
and 85 countries attended the conference.
Eleven people participated from Mercy International Association
and these included 7 Mercy women and 4 associates. Mercies participating
were: Catherine Boyle (Ireland), Hortensia Diaz (USA), Tess Flaherty
(Papua New Guinea), Wendy Flannery (Mercy Global Concern Staff/
Australia), Joan Mc Keon (USA), Deirdre Mullan (Mercy Global Concern
Staff/ Ireland), and Carol Rittner (USA) who was the moderator
for the session. The 4 associates were Carmen Tocon (Peru), Dave
Young (USA), Janet Young (USA) and William Rittner (USA).
'Against the Odds: The process of Reconciliation'.
Also participating was Kevin Dance a member of the Passionist
community form Australia, William Rittner (USA), Janet Young (USA),
and Carmen Tocon from Peru.
The keynote address for the opening session was by Mary Robinson,
the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights. Addressing delegates
Mrs. Robinson said:
" The theme of the conference- rebuilding societies emerging
from conflict-could not be more relevant. You place emphasis on
partnership and in particular on the role of civil society - local
and international. This is appropriate. Building modern, democratic,
and accountable institutions of government cannot be done without
the full participation of civil society. During conflict, countries
are often drained of brainpower. Even after the conflict ends,
the society remains divided along ethnic and political lines;
moreover countries that underwent protracted conflicts frequently
lack the tradition of ensuring the participation of all members
of society in decision-making processes.
As I have witnessed over the past five years, societies emerging
from conflict face many difficulties and needs. In societies that
have experienced conflicts, human rights NGOs have played an indispensable
role in identifying the most vulnerable, in monitoring the human
rights situation before, during and after the conflict, in pinpointing
weaknesses in the previous system of government, in showing how
these weaknesses could be overcome, and in supporting, encouraging
and nourishing local human rights initiatives. Mrs. Robinson went
on to pay a special tribute to women's groups- both international
and local women's groups in peace making. It is not before time
that the "security council and the General Assembly afforded
proper recognition to the leading role of women as actors for
peace. As the Irish poet, Eavan Boland, put it: Women who have
been "outside history" have been written back into history-
finding a voice where they found a vision". The High Commissioner
for human rights reminded delegates that
" Frequently a conflict has its origins in patterns of
discrimination. It would be far better, therefore, if we could
learn how to prevent conflict rather than pick up the pieces.
The Secretary General has pledged to move the UN from a culture
of reaction to a culture of prevention. Prevention must be a priority
for all. How much suffering could have been prevented, how many
lives would have been saved, how much development advanced, had
even a fraction of the funding needed to bring an end to deadly
conflicts been used in their prevention?"
Mrs. Robinson paid tribute to the work of Human rights NGOs
and urged that emphasis is placed on helping developing countries
to build their own national protection systems for human rights.
"Such a system must be country - led, requiring both the
political will of the government and the involvement of civil
society. Help from outside must be offered in support, so that
the approach is truly sustainable. I admire the
" Light footprint" which Lakdar Brahimi insists on
in Afghanistan!"
Sisters of Mercy : Carol Rittner RSM (USA)
Seven sisters of Mercy participated at the conference and one
of our members was chair of the plenary session " Against
the Odds: The Process of Reconciliation."
Sr. Carol Rittner is a member of the Dallas regional community.
In her introduction to the session Dr. Rittner told the audience
that she had participated in a conference recently in Northern
Ireland called "Peace is Tough".
"As everybody knows, war is difficult (but) we have an
expectation that when the difficulty of war is over, life will
be much easier than when it was during the conflict. It has to
be admitted that while war is tough, peace after war has its own
set of difficulties. Why?"
"Peace is particularly difficult for those who have lost
loved ones during a conflict; it is tough for those who have been
left maimed: it is tough for those who have given many years of
their lives in pursuit of the many sides of the conflict and who
now question the worth of that sacrifice. It is difficult for
those who believe the issues remain unresolved and feel it is
necessary to continue to fight. It is also tough for most 'ordinary'
people who just want to get on with the business of their lives
and are frustrated by the continuing arguments and wrangling and
uncertainties of peace - building."
Yes, peace is tough. It is tough for the reasons I have just
mentioned, but it is tough for many other reasons as well, including
the fact that in societies emerging from conflict, people are
vulnerable- vulnerable because of the need to challenge their
own certainties, and vulnerable because reconciliation is not
easy.
Reconciliation takes time and hard work. It requires people from
different ethnicities, political persuasions and economic standing
to move toward one another on a common commitment to a future
characterized by inclusivity, tolerance, and co-opeartion. This
is not easy, given past memories, present realities, and future
fears that undermine the kind of trust building, risk-taking,
and creative partnership that is required for viable reconciliation
to be possible. As the South African Nobel Peace Laureate, Archbishop
Desmond Tutu has more than once said, "Reconciliation is
not about being cozy; it is not about pretending that things were
other than they were." What is it then?
This is not an easy question to answer, but this much I can say:
" Reconciliation is more than coexistence of formerly hostile
groups living near each other. It is more than formerly hostile
groups interacting and working together... Reconciliation means
coming to accept one another, developing mutual trust... Reconciliation
requires that victims and perpetrators come to accept the past
and not see it so much as defining the future as simply a continuation
of the past. (but) that they come to see the humanity of one another
accept each other, and see the possibility of a constructive relationship".
Sr. Carol spoke of a woman, Ester Mujawayo (Keiner) who survived
the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. " Everyone is gone. My husband
was killed, my father, my mother, my sister with her family- everybody.
I was left. But that is not the worst of it. The people who killed
my family were not foreigners. They were neighbors. They were
people with whom I had been to school, people with whom I had
always been living. And the way they killed people - it was a
blessing if you were shot. As for the others, they were killed
in the most atrocious way, as if people were competing with each
other to do the worst they could do. It was not only the family
I lost. That was difficult enough. It was trust in human beings"
People like Ester Mujawayo are victims of a new warfare that
targets civilian populations. What are the social issues facing
societies emerging from conflict? How can we help people traumatized
by unspeakable violence, people like Ester Mujawayo? Are there
therapies that can be devised to treat whole communities? How
is terror and destruction overcome- not abstractly, in "society",
but concretely, in real, live, hurting, angry, confused, revenge-seeking
human beings? What about forgiveness?
If Peace is tough, and reconciliation is tough, what about forgiving?
The very idea can be offensive to victims after horrible events
like the Holocaust, the genocide in Rwanda, or the conflicts in
Northern Ireland and Israel-Palestine, not to mention a whole
host of other places around the world. Even to people outside
the victim group, the idea of forgiveness can be an affront, inconceivable
and incomprensible. How can anyone forgive the perpetrators of
such horrors? Still, forgiving is necessary and desirable. "It
paves the way for reconciliation and future healing, thereby making
a better future possible".
In forgiving, people are not being asked to forget. On the contrary,
it is important to remember so that we should not let such atrocities
happen again. Forgiveness means abandoning your right to pay back
the perpetrator in his or her own coin, but it is a loss that
liberates the victim. Forgiveness lifts the burden of anger and
desire for revenge. To again quote Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a
man who speaks with the authority of experience, " there
is no future without forgiveness"-and make no mistake: reconciliation
is about the future. (Dr. Carol Rittner RSM, Distinguished Professor
of Holocaust and Genocide Studies)
Catherine Boyle RSM (Ireland)
"After the conference I had an opportunity to visit the
Space Show at the Natural History museum, NY which is an illumination
of the magnitude, majesty and mystery of the cosmos and our planet
Earth.
I saw this as an apt parallel and analogy of my three-day experience
at the NGO conference at the United Nations. Coming from this
little scrap of earth with its intrigues, power struggles and
post-conflict traumas, I am only now beginning to appreciate and
absorb what I have been part of in New York In the day to day
narrowness and ''begrudging ness' that surrounds us here, it is
so easy to give way to hopelessness and lack of faith in our fellow
humans' desire to change and to feel so alone and abandoned by
the political and other 'powers that be'.
However, just as our Earth is not alone and there are life giving
processes outside our solar system so there is life beyond and
surrounding us in Northern Ireland to inspire, nourish and guide
us towards healing.
As the UN charter reminds us, We the peoples....
"Are part of a
supernatural sphere of social and political participation in
which we dialogue, debate, confront and negotiate with each
other and with various government actors-international, national
and local".
So while Heads of State jet around the world playing BRINKMANSHIP
AND GLOBAL POLITICS, at grassroots level around the world, the
real action and interaction is ongoing with individuals, groups
and networks- as evidences by many of the platform speakers during
the conference.
So what have I learned, how have I benefited from the conference?
Apart from being warmed and spiritually renewed by, to use a
cliché, the milk of human kindness, (Helen, Catherine,
Elizabeth, Carol and Deirdre) I come home with a new optimism
that we in Northern Ireland are not struggling alone in a moral
vacuum- we are part of a living, vital, essential positive part
of civil society, in which we have a duty to play our part to
it's fullest at whatever level.
Congratulations to each and all concerned in the organisation
of a smooth flowing, action packed and challenging conference.
Carmen Tocon (Peru)
When I was invited to attend the 55th annual conference
" Societies Emerging From Conflict: A shared Responsibility",
I decided to come and to listen and learn as much as I could.
I was able to get an overview about the challenges facing countries
emerging form conflict. I also learned that there is not enough
coordination among civil societies or governments. Rebuilding
Societies Emerging from Conflict takes time and money. It is very
important to raise consciousness. I was also aware of the concern
re the war with Iraq, but it seemed to me that there was a preference
to avoid anything that could be a criticism of the USA government.
The information given was concentrated in Africa and Eastern Europe.
Countries from the Pacific were rarely mentioned and only one
country from Central America gave a presentation.
Overall the experience of attending a UN conference was a good
experience. I had difficulty with language as not all of the interpreters
were as good as needed, I feel I have learned a lot.
Joan Mc Keon (USA)
I feel empowered by the people we met and heard at the annual
DPI/NGO conference.
2700 people from all around the world who are liked minded in
seeking a peaceful planet. All of the sessions and workshops were
informative. I was especially moved by Mary Robinson's recollection
about her visit to East Timor where she witnessed a reconciliation
process in one of the villages that was like a story straight
from the gospel.
Two workshops that I attended were exceptional. One was "making
Peace Last: Teaching Peace, Human Rights and Gender Equality,
sponsored by the Hague Appeal for Peace", and the other was
" Breaking the Cycle of Violence: Training in Non-Violence
and the Culture of Peace", sponsored by The Art of Living
Foundation.
Of course one of the highlights was meeting other Mercy's from
all points of the globe including Ireland and Papua New Guinea.
I thought it was a great honor for the Mercy's to have one of
the main sessions facilitated by Carol Rittner RSM. Another highlight
was participating in the Prayer Service on September 11, led by
Kofi Annan. The world seemed together with the ringing of Church
bells in New York City.
Again, a most sincere THANKYOU!
Deirdre Mullan RSM (Ireland / Mercy Global Concern)
As a member of the conference planning committee, it was a great
learning experience to see how a world conference is put together.
Every project requires teamwork, and we could not have carried
this conference out without the assistance of many people. The
topic was fitting, given the state of our world today and I found
all of the plenary sessions informative, balanced and very challenging.
Coming as I do from Northern Ireland, I have lived with hatred
and sectarianism for over 30 years. Hatred and sectarianism are
harsh words, expressing a harsh reality and are often hurled as
a condemning weapon. It is easy to fall prey to helplessness in
such an environment. The problems facing us seem out of control.
We talk, we involve ourselves intellectually, but we do not commit
ourselves to action, to addressing the terrible actions we human
beings have done to one another. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel,
used to ask, " What constitutes being human, personhood?"
This conference partly answered that question for me. I met people
from around the globe who believe passionately that it is not
enough to be compassionate, that we must act!
As Rabbi Heschel reminds us: " Being human is both a fact
and a demand, a condition and an expectation. Our being human
is always on trial, full of risk, precarious; we are always in
danger of forfeiting our humanity..."
The Conference " Societies Emerging from Conflict: A shared
Responsibility" gave me an opportunity to meet with people
who had terrible things done to them and yet they were able to
see their oppressors as real persons, to recognize their humanity,
without necessarily trusting them or even liking them. The conference
challenged me to continue to be a bridge-builder, to reach out
and to continue to work for peace with justice.
Deirdre Mullan RSM, Associate Director
Mercy Global Concern, New York
September 24, 2002
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