Initiatives of ChangeConference CentreCaux, Switzerland

Report of the Fifth Annual

8-15 July 2012

‘The Caux Forum unapologetically seeks to inject an ethical dimension

into the public policy space.’Kevin Rudd MP

Prime Minister of Australia, 2007-2010

‘There is no chance of important political and social change without

change in our minds and hearts.' Senator Bogdan Klich

Minister of Defence, Poland, 2007-2011

‘Human Security policies place individuals, their rights and needs

at the centre of concern.' Micheline Calmy-Rey

President of Switzerland, 2007 & 2011

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Approach of the Caux ForumGovernments understandably take the view that the security of their citizens is best ensured by a robust economy and vigilant defense of the state. But this approach often does little to answer the insecurity in which many citizens live. Despotism, corruption, environmental stress, poverty are all causes of tension and con!ict, and security policy must take account of these.

Many NGOs, governments and individuals grapple with these challenges. But all too often their contribution to security is undervalued in the allocation of resources. One problem is that threats to national security make good politics. We need a critical mass of people who recognize that national security depends "nally on human security – on enabling every person to feel secure.

The Caux Forum aims to enable every participant to discover their unique contribution to this task. It does so by focusing the challenge under "ve themes – just governance, inclusive economics, healing memory, intercultural dialogue and living sustainably. Each of these o#ers opportunities for creative initiatives at every level from the individual up to government policy.

These initiatives call for many capacities; the Caux Forum focuses particularly on the attitudes and relationships that make collaborative approaches possible. It brings together people from a wide range of backgrounds, enabling participants to discover how to build trust and cooperation across cultural, religious, economic and philosophical divides. It thereby fosters e#ective action, and strengthens a culture of altruism in national and international a#airs.

The Caux Forum for Human Security envisions a worldwide coalition of conscience, committed to the transformation of attitudes, and to decision-making guided by a holistic understanding of human security, grounded in relationships of trust.

C A U X F O R U M A I M STo empower each individual to play their unique role in advancing human security

To model a values-based approach to security focused on meeting human need

To equip individuals for the essential task of building trust

To work for the healing of historical wounds, which rarely feature in international negotiations but often shape the outcome

Each year since 2008 the Caux Forum has brought together several hundred people working to advance human security. This year 300 participants from 56 countries met to develop ongoing initiatives and to plan new ones.From South Sudan came two deputy ministers, a state governor, chairs of parliamentary committees, members of parliament and senior officials. The delegation was co-hosted by the Political Affairs Division for Human Security of the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs and Initiatives of Change.

In partnership with the Euro-Burma Office, a delegation from Burma/Myanmar (pictured opposite) included the Secretary of the Chin National Party, the director of the Karen Women’s Action Group, and others emerging into political and civic leadership.

Ukrainians included members of the Nestor group of intellectuals and civic activists who are working to heighten civic responsibility in their country. Also a team from the nation-wide programme Ukrainian Action: Healing the Past.

From Francophone Africa came 21 people taking leadership in government, civil society and academia. Jointly invited by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) and Initiatives of Change, they came from Burundi, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Morocco, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo and Togo. Workshops for this group were facilitated by Mô Bleeker, Special Envoy to the FDFA on ‘Dealing with the Past’.

Rwandans, Burundians and Congolese met for the General Assembly of the new Initiatives of Change Great Lakes Association, set up to work for healing and reconciliation in the Great Lakes region of Africa.

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This report gives a !avour of the Forum. Many of the full speeches, plus video and podcasts, can be found at www.cauxforum.net

The Forum commemorated the !rst anniversary of

South Sudan's independence

People-centred security Micheline Calmy-Rey (above right) former President of Switzerland, was the main speaker at the O$cial Day of the Caux conference season. The Day coincided with the start of the "fth annual Caux Forum for Human Security.

Mme Calmy Rey spoke about Switzerland’s commitment both to Human Security policies and to dialogue as an e#ective means of international mediation and peacemaking. ‘Human Security policies place the individual, their rights and needs at the centre of concern,’ she said. These policies aimed to protect civilians and consolidate human rights, she went on, and used methods such as mediation, con!ict transformation and the "ght against landmines. ‘The politics of dialogue and the promotion of peace, which I regard as priorities for Switzerland, are part of this framework.’

She stressed the need to get out of a ‘black and white view of the world, where countries and peoples can only be friends or foes’. Swiss history and experience had shown the sterility of a refusal to dialogue, she said, and e#orts to resolve certain con!icts needed to include organizations which resort to terrorist methods. ‘Switzerland does not have all the keys,’ she concluded, ‘but we have expertise in dialogue, and an ability to take reasonable risks. These strengths are our contribution to international a#airs.’

Responding to her talk, Omnia Marzouk drew attention to Mme Calmy-Rey’s description of seven errors in mediation — ignorance, arrogance, false promises, partiality, impatience, rigidity and impotence — and eight qualities needed for e#ective mediation — knowledge, connection, empathy, impartiality, patience, realism, subtlety and con"dence. ‘While this describes a wonderful approach to foreign policy,’ Dr Marzouk said, ‘it also describes a wonderful way for individuals to approach mediation and dialogue. Initiatives of Change focuses on this link between the personal and the global.’

Community and serviceEver since 1946, when Caux welcomed French and Germans to come and help to rebuild a shattered Europe, this conference centre has brought together people from situations of con!ict and tension. It o#ers everyone the chance to heal the wounds, and to develop the personal qualities and the strategies which can establish sustainable peace and development. Caux recognises that this is a matter of the heart as much as the head, that healing hatred is as important as establishing sound governance structures, that learning to serve is a necessary preparation for public o$ce.

These considerations shaped the Forum programme. Small community groups provided an opportunity both for deep

discussion and to work together in preparing and serving meals. Many participants described these communities as a high point of the Forum.

For those who wished, each morning began with a time of re!ection, when speakers from a variety of worldviews gave a short talk, followed by half an hour of silence together. Among the

speakers was Omnia Marzouk President of Initiatives of Change International (above inset), who drew on her experience as a doctor in the Emergency Department of a major children's hospital. ‘A time of silent re!ection each day allows connection with something deep inside me, my inner conscience,’ she said, ‘which in my Muslim tradition is the link with the divine. It is a time to focus less on what others have said and done to me, focus more on my own actions and reactions, and see what I need to correct and put right with others.’

A distinctive approach of the Caux Forum is the concept of a ‘coalition of conscience’ as a viable approach which can bring together people of integrity and compassion in partnership to overcome the corrupting impact of greed and the struggle for power. We can all play a part in this. We discover the richness of a di#erent culture when we recognise our common humanity and acknowledge our common responsibility to protect it. We strengthen good governance at the top by sustaining it all the way down to its roots in the family, in parenting skills, in local communities. We can challenge our governments to adopt sustainable policies if we "rst take a hard look at our own lifestyles.

Ambassador Mohamed Sahnoun Algeria (Below right) Chair, Caux Forum for Human SecurityFormer Special Advisor to UN Secretary-General Ko" Annan

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Luc Gnacadja Executive Secretary, UNCCD, pointed out that we are losing 1% of the world’s agricultural land each year, and land degradation a#ects 1.5 billion people. Yet by 2030, he said, we will need to increase food production by 50% and that will require at least 120 million hectares more crop land. He saw only one possible solution: ‘We need to increase restoration and reduce degradation to achieve zero net land degradation. Over two billion hectares of degraded land can be restored. We know how to do that cost-e#ectively. Now we must share the knowledge and invest in people.’ He was grateful Rio+20 had ‘yielded the paradigm shift. Para 206 of the conference declaration says, “We will strive to achieve a land degradation neutral world in the context of sustainable development”.’This will only be achieved, he went on, through a ‘complete change in the way we relate to land and soil. We need to see them as a businessman sees capital. The soil is our natural capital, and restoring it is a good investment.’

‘If this is to happen,’ said Kevin Rudd a member of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Sustainable Development, ‘we must be able to measure the value of clean water, air and soil. Then natural capital can become mainstreamed into the decisions of "nance ministries across the world.’ The calls for action at Rio+20, he said, ‘were very sparse indeed’, and civil society had a vital role in putting pressure on governments and corporations to act.

Elizabeth Thompson Executive Coordinator of the Rio+20 Conference, said that the involvement of civil society and the business community was one of the major outcomes of the conference. ‘Rio+20 was the largest multilateral conference ever held,’ she went on. ‘It's 60,000 participants reached across the globe, bringing an understanding of issues and a willingness to do things differently.’

Rio +20 – a challenge to civil societyEnvironmental sustainability is a huge subject, and the day’s discussion focused particularly on one urgent but overlooked aspect of the challenge – the restoration of degraded land. Co-organised by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and Initiatives of Change, it began with a frank discussion of the international response at the Rio+20 UN conference the previous month.

What could inspire people, industries and governments to give sustainable land management the attention it deserves?

Restoring Land, Restoring LivesFULL DAY SPECIAL EVENT: 9 JULY

Elizabeth Thompson Executive Coordinator

UNCSD Rio + 20

Imam Muhammad Ashafa Interfaith

Mediation Centre, Kaduna

Anne-Kristin Treiber UN Peace and

Development Advisor, Chad

'Land degradation is life degradation. So land restoration is also about life restoration.' Luc Gnacadja Executive Secretary, UNCCD

Yukie Hori Coordinator, Awareness Raising, Communication and Education, UNCCD

Film-maker John D Liu documents environmental restoration wherever in the world he "nds it and,

with IUCN Netherlands, has created a web "lm project, www.whatifwechange.org, with a wealth of evidence

from communities restoring damaged ecosystems. 4

When is enough enough? ‘Since 1.4 billion people still need to be lifted out of poverty, we cannot say that consumption has reached its apogee. But in the collective West, consumption needs to become a matter of public discourse. Recent publications have argued that unless this discourse grows, and includes a moral dimension, consumption will increase among the limited few. That will have consequences in terms of equity. Once equity fractures, which is occurring in the West, democracies become increasingly unmanageable. We need sustainable development so that living standards can rise across the planet. But there is a !nite end to the good life, otherwise it becomes an ever-diminishing consumption-based whirlpool. The Caux Forum unapologetically seeks to inject an ethical dimension into the public policy space. As such, it has a unique value-add in providing a moral voice to a critique of the in!nite consumption model.’

Kevin Rudd MP Prime Minister of Australia, 2007-20104

Nigerian Pastor James Wuye of the Interfaith Mediation Centre in Kaduna noted, ‘We Nigerians may not be very godly, but we are religious. Several years ago I went to preach in an area near Kaduna. I found people cutting down trees indiscriminately, and the land was roasting. I told the people, “God wants us to make a covenant with him. Every man here plant an orange tree. Every woman plant a mango tree.” Now they are selling oranges and mangoes to their community.’

Sowmya Somnath Grampari/Watershed Management Group

Hanspeter Liniger WOCAT (World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies)

George Kamau Kiiru Kenyan farmer, known as

'Miti Mingi' (Many Trees)

Restoring Land, Restoring Lives in Baringo, KenyaLife is harsh in Kenya’s drylands. Conflicts over access to water and grazing are common. Hostility between semi-nomadic communities hampers development. Community leaders in Baringo County are pioneering new ways of dealing

with these challenges. They are simultaneously fostering conflict resolution and sustainable pasture management, using a combination of indigenous and introduced approaches. This breakthrough is illustrated in an 8-minute film, Restoring Land, Restoring Lives in Baringo, Kenya, which premiered at the Caux Forum. Directed by Alan Channer, it can be viewed in the UNCCD video gallery and on the FLTfilms YouTube channel. Further projects, building on the initiative depicted in the film, are being developed in Kenya, with a view to expansion in neighbouring countries.

Gina Torry Gender Expert, UN DPA

Adam Koniuszewski Chief Operating Officer, Green Cross

UNITED NATIONS DECADE FOR DESERTS AND THE FIGHT AGAINST DESERTIFICATION

2010

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Pastor James Wuye

Where do we go from here?We cannot wait for global consensus at government level on measures to combat global warming and environmental degradation, though we must work for it. Much can be done at other levels. In many places, land restoration can be a viable business opportunity. At the Rio+20 conference global development banks promised to invest $175 billion in sustainable transportation systems in the coming decade. The European Community committed itself to bringing clean energy to 500 million people by 2020. Citizens can help ensure that these commitments stick.

The Forum heard from NGOs which are restoring water to drought-stricken villages in India, cleaning up pollution in Russia, improving crop yields in East Timor, feeding famine victims in Sudan. Ugandan farmers told of a growing movement to plant trees. All this work is crucial. Global warming will not be answered by technology alone. It calls for change in everyone, especially in the rich nations, and among the rich in poor nations. The more we live to create an equitable and sustainable world by our individual decisions, the more our leaders will be emboldened to take the big decisions.

Summary pointsZero net land degradation is a feasible target, and would be a major contribution to food • production, to reducing conflict in arid regions, and to combating global warming.The economy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the environment. Investment in the green • economy offers an effective way to emerge from economic crisis. The inability of governments to agree on international action to limit climate change means • that non-governmental organizations need to take leadership.

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What strategies will move the world towards economic policies that meet everyone’s basic needs, and offer all a real chance to prosper?

Inclusive Economics

Verity OutramJosef Winter

Ekuru AukotChol Tong Mayay, Governor of Lakes State, South

Sudan, with Caux Scholar Johannes Langer from Austria

Transformation at SiemensIn 2006 Siemens had experienced ‘a huge shock’, said Siemens manager Josef Winter when 400 police o$cers raided their o$ces. His niece was ashamed to admit at school that her uncle worked for the company. At the end of 2008 a settlement with the US and the German authorities was reached, which cost Siemens approximately US$ 1.5 billion.

In 2007 with a new board and a new CEO, Peter Löscher, a policy of zero tolerance on corruption was put in place and a strong compliance organization was established. In 2010 Winter was appointed Chief Compliance O$cer with responsibility to implement this policy among their 400,000 employees worldwide. , ‘We have proved that not paying bribes is good business, and I believe much better for business,’ he said. ‘We need to o#er the best solution at the best price, and then there’s no need to pay bribes. We have to foster a spirit of pride in our employees so that it is against their dignity to pay bribes.’ The "rm was now making record pro"ts – and Winter went to his niece’s school for a lively discussion.

‘In the competition for talent, we need the best engineers,’ he pointed out, ‘and who wants to work for a corrupt company? To stay clean is the only way to stay successful. We’ve seen this in the last 3 years. But it

only works if leadership comes from the top. We can hear nice speeches in the morning, but at the bar in the evening, the message needs to be the same.’

In India, Siemens has turned to Initiatives of Change to train their 18,000 employees there. Already 270 executives have received training in ethics, values and inclusive approaches to management. Among those who have developed this training is Sarosh Ghandy.

Ghandy was formerly Managing Director of one of Tata’s main divisions, and in this position he sent thousands of his employees for training at the Initiatives of Change conference centre in India. ‘This made a tremendous impact,’ he said. More recently the centre trained the 12,000 employees of the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company. This had resulted in increased involvement of employees in decision-making, an improved safety record, a reduction in absenteeism, and a better relationship with customers, he said. ‘A company cannot be satis"ed with rules alone,’ he insisted. ‘Everyone needs to feel valued, and that means focusing on values.’

Overcoming corruption: a challenge for allThe day began with a plenary on a vital but often overlooked aspect of this question – the challenge of overcoming corruption. Katherine Marshall of Georgetown University, a former Senior Advisor to the World Bank, noted that ‘in virtually every rising, including the Arab Spring, the first call is for jobs, the second is to address inequality and the third is to end corruption and the misuse of resources. This is an issue that comes up on every continent.’

'Our Government is serious about dealing with corruption. We have dismissed two Ministers of Finance, and recently we recovered over $60 million. But we need help. The stolen money goes to the First World. We ask assistance from those countries to retrieve the funds, but sometimes they don’t respond.' John Gatwich Lul Chair, Anti-Corruption Commission, Government of South Sudan

Reclaiming Africa's natural resources One of the scandals of our era is the exploitation of Africa’s natural resources by the developed world. Too often this does more harm than good to Africa’s development. The Forum brought together people working to overcome what has become known as ‘Africa’s resource curse’. They came on the initiative of Farai Maguwu from Zimbabwe (pictured at right), an NGO leader known for exposing corruption and violence in his country’s diamond mines. Other participants included Daniel Bekele, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch’s Africa division; and Kenyan constitutional lawyer Ekuru Aukot, who led the team which wrote Kenya’s new constitution, and is now working on the legal basis for the extraction of oil in northern Kenya. Discussion centred around the Natural Resource Charter, which expresses precepts vital to defeating corruption and enabling a country to manage its resources e"ectively. This was presented by Verity Outram, Coordinator of the Charter’s International Secretariat. Participants left with plans to work for the implementation of these precepts in their home countries.

Summary pointsIn both developed and developing worlds, overcoming corruption is a key step to an equitable society.• Integrity in business is key to employee morale, consumer satisfaction and overall profitability.• 6

Ratu Meli Vesikula

Nathalie Chavanne from France told of a Dialogue Initiative in the region of Paris, which brings together people from di#ering cultural backgrounds, and aims to overcome the fear and mistrust which endangers social cohesion. This begins, she pointed out, within the multicultural team which manages the Dialogue. ‘If we do not strengthen relationships among ourselves, if decisions are made unilaterally, if unspoken frustrations accumulate, our work becomes technical and cold, we lose the joy of working together and the dynamic creativity of partnership in meeting the needs of our society.'

Ratu Meli Vesikula of Fiji had been a leader of a movement which incited racial violence after a coup d’état in 1987. ‘Then it dawned upon me that whilst others were trying to move the country forward, here we were trying to break it asunder.’ His public apology made national headlines. Since then, he has been dedicated to bridging the gap between Fiji’s 60 ethnic communities through the work of the National Council for Building a Better Fiji, which aims at governance based on non-racial principles.

Athalia Zwartz is Executive Director of Sports Without Borders, an Australian initiative which fosters dialogue and understanding across cultural and ethnic divides through a sports programme featuring multi-ethnic teams. ‘The teenage boys we work with are angry, disengaged; many feel they don’t belong, but they don’t talk about these things. In a game, these feelings often emerge, and then we can talk about them, and re!ect on how that relates to life o# the "eld.’

Harambee Africa is an Initiatives of Change leadership programme, launched in Kenya in 2003, which trains young Africans to act with integrity, serve sel!essly and build a network of e#ective change agents. Each session brings together Africans from a wide range of countries and cultures, explained programme directors Nombulelo Khanyile from South Africa, Amina Dikedi-Ajakaiye from Nigeria and Mbindyo Kimanthi from Kenya. A Ugandan participant said, ‘I have learned through Harambee that it is possible to let our di#erences be a cause for celebration rather than con!ict. When we deny others because of such di#erences, we deny God and lose the true essence of humanity.’

Indonesia has a population of 240 million, 85% of whom are Muslim. One Muslim charitable organisation, Nahdalal Ulama (NU), has 30 million members.

Agus Mulyana a human rights commissioner with NU, outlined the approach which has enabled a large measure of harmony between Muslims, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists in Indonesia. After the 2001 attack on New York’s World Trade Centre, NU founded the International Conference of Islamic Scholars, which works for ‘mutual understanding between people of good will from every faith, culture and nation.’

Discovering the otherNational self-interest is proving inadequate to resolve the challenges of an increasingly globalised world. There is growing recognition that we are interdependent and, with that, an acceptance of new responsibilities. Promoting dialogue within and between communities is essential in dealing with the root causes of insecurity. The Forum heard many examples of intercultural understanding growing through dialogue.

How can space for dialogue be created that will heighten understanding and respect across cultures?

Intercultural Dialogue

Yahaya Ahmed Director of the Developmental Association for Renewable Energies (DARE)

Nigeria is an extremely multicultural society. DARE works to bridge ethnic, religious and age divides through environmental projects. We distribute fuel-efficient cooking stoves that reduce the use of

wood and heat loss in the cooking process. We also reuse plastic waste. Used plastic bottles are collected, filled with sand and used as bricks. These plastic bottles can build benches, pavilions or watertanks. We aim especially at young men with little family support, who might otherwise be targets for recruitment by militia groups. Africa Today wrote of this work (September

2012): 'In some parts of northern Nigeria, "Wonderbox", a low technology cooking stove, is proving to be a miracle

tool. It is not only combating desertification and bringing together the Muslim and Christian communities, it is also

saving lives.’

Summary pointsUnless dialogue addresses issues of justice and the wounds of the past, it remains superficial. • A practical community project can bring people together and start the dialogue.•

Nathalie Chavanne

Athalia Zwartz

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Steve Killelea founder of the Global Peace Index, focused a crucial issue. ‘Again and again we see a politician get up before an election and commit himself to a whole lot of concerns. Then when he gets into government, he does none of them.’ The Institute for Economics and Peace, which Killelea founded, is studying the likely outcomes of electing particular candidates by looking at their past actions and their psychological pro"le. He sees hope in the increasing participation of citizens in the political process. Sub-Saharan Africa, he pointed out, is undergoing profound and rapid change, with a rising middle class, and dramatic improvements in gender equality. Citizen participation in the political process is increasing, and in many places is now better than European participation. The Institute’s research suggests that this will fuel improvement in the areas in which the region rates poorly, particularly the functioning of governments.

Mustafa Barghouthi General Secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative, pointed to the development of social media which, he said, ‘has liberated people from the monopoly of the o$cial media which often prevented them expressing their views.... In this fast changing world, we have to appreciate how powerful an idea can be if it is adopted by the people.’

Polish Senator Bogdan Klich agreed. After World War II, he pointed out, Caux presented a powerful idea – that French and Germans could reconcile. ’This helped lay the foundations for what is now the European Union.’ He then outlined the courageous action of Poland’s church leaders who, in 1965, wrote to Germany’s church leaders saying: ‘We forgive and ask for forgiveness’ for the crimes of World War II. ‘This letter was a moral foundation for reconciliation between Poland and Germany, which now enables the two countries to collaborate in the European Union.’ He concluded, ‘There is no chance of important political and social change without change in our minds and hearts.’

Viktoriya Bryndza Head of pro.mova, a company skilled in strategy, research and sustainable development

In recent years democracy has gone backwards in Ukraine. Corruption extends from kindergartens to the Parliament. Our di#ering cultures are seen as a problem rather than a richness and opportunity. Some of us have initiated the Nestor Group, where we explore how to build trust in our country. We started by studying our society, to see what common values we can appeal to. We are developing a civic agenda, that we believe could be accepted widely. Already in one city where the only approach was mindless development, civic activists and intellectuals have created a better vision, and this has been implemented. In the past we saw ourselves as a bit crazy, but here at Caux we see that it is normal to think about change, starting from ourselves and going on to shape a vision for our society.

What does it take to improve governance in societies undergoing radical changes? Can the elements of just governance be transmitted across cultures?

Just Governance

Steve Killelea Mustafa Bharghouthi Integrity in leadership strengthened by citizen action

Susanna Hla Hla Soe Executive Director, Karen Women’s Action Group, Burma/Myanmar‘I have been deeply involved in the peace negotiations between the Government and the Karen National Union. Interested parties approached me with offers of land and money. But we have to be strong and follow what we believe. Personal governance is vital for change and good governance. For me, this means simple decisions such as refusing to tell lies. We women have a very important role in reform. Only 4% of parliamentary seats are held by women. Now our network of women’s organisations is working to improve this situation. Our leader, Aung San Suu Ki, was under house arrest for more than 20 years. She is an inspiration, with much to share about freedom from fear. The military attempted to kill her, but she forgives. So we can also forgive what happened to us, to our ethnic group and to our country. And now we are trying to reconcile, to talk around the table with the regime and the different ethnic groups.’

Bogdan Klich

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Rama ManiOpen Space meeting timetable

Monica Serrano

Michelle Bachelet Executive Director of UN Women and former President of Chile,

addressed the Caux Forum in a video message: ‘If we are serious about advancing human security, we must build a world that is more in balance. We need a new model of government and development that is people-centred and sustainable. We simply cannot continue on our current path of rising inequality, unstable economies and environmental decline. How do we get there? First,

we need ethical leadership. Second, we need social protection and job creation.

Third, we need to place special focus on women and young people. Addressing their needs

and hopes is no longer an option, it is a necessity.’

A workshop on 'development amidst conflict' led by (l to r) Peter Rundell, former head of UK's

Department for International Development in Libya; Wolfgang Jamann, Robert Glasser

Non-Governmental ActionCitizen action is becoming increasingly significant as a force for change in many parts of the world. Timon Wallis CEO of the Nonviolent Peaceforce, said that the emphasis on human security in recent years had opened people’s eyes to new roles for civil society, such as averting or limiting conflict in situations of tension. As a result, the Peaceforce has enlisted many thousands of people in action which complements the work of UN peacekeepers. Other examples of non-government action came from Robert Glasser Secretary-General of CARE International, and Wolfgang Jamman Secretary-General of Welthungerhilfe, organisations which are delivering humanitarian aid and helping development in many countries.

Where to with the Responsibility to Protect?The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) is a global commitment to protect populations from mass atrocity, endorsed unanimously by the 2005 United Nations World Summit. R2P challenged traditional thinking by recasting sovereignty as a responsibility, rather than a right which could be abused. This took visionary thinking by the members of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty, convened in 2000, who introduced R2P and fought to change the status quo. ‘We did so,’ said Commission Co-Chair Mohamed Sahnoun , ‘because we could not allow another Rwanda, another Bosnia.’ Cornelio Sommaruga former President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, worked with him. ‘We were determined that the global community would no longer stand by when civilian populations were being massacred,’ Sommaruga said.

Yet atrocities continue, as the tragedies in Syria and the Democratic Republic of Congo show. Rama Mani a Councillor of the World Futures Council and R2P expert, appealed for a renewed focus on the preventative side of R2P. ‘We need to build peace from the bottom up by including cultural, spiritual and ethical approaches,’ she said. Monica Serrano former director of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, agreed. ‘We cannot wait until crisis explodes to open dialogue.’ She argued that R2P should widen its focus and work for agreement that ‘sovereignty is contingent on upholding human rights’.

Ian Ralby, security advisor to Bosnian Government

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Summary pointsWithout a focus on prevention that addresses the root causes of a conflict, cycles of atrocities will continue. • Thanks to social media, ordinary citizens are more able than ever before to shape the direction of their societies.•

Australia: the power of apology13 February 2008 was a historic day for Australia. The newly-elected Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and the whole Australian Parliament o#ered an apology for cruel and misguided policies towards Aboriginal Australians. At the Forum Mr Rudd spoke about that apology. To be e#ective, he said, an apology must be authentic, factually based and documented, coupled with meaningful action and sustained into the long-term future. ‘If it is genuine and is received with an open heart,’ he said, ‘an apology has a remarkable ability to transform the way people feel about themselves and about others with whom they have been in con!ict.’ Many things are still going wrong in Australia, he said, ‘but we have turned a corner’.

Speaking with Mr Rudd were two Aboriginal spokespeople.

Jackie Huggins served as Co-Chair of Reconciliation Australia. ‘For far too long the country has had a festering sore,’ she said. ‘The apology was one of the greatest acts of healing.’ But there is still much to be done, she went on, with Aboriginal life expectancy 11 years less than that of other Australians, lingering racism and unequal employment opportunities.

Daryle Rigney, Dean of Indigenous Strategy and Engagement at Flinders University, said that he hadn’t believed the apology could touch him, but it did. ‘As the apology unfolded, I cried. Sorry means that a society has acted outside the bounds of its own morality, and is committed not to go there again. Now we need to deal with the unresolved questions – sovereignty and self-determination, protection of cultural identity and the use of natural resources.’

French-Swiss national radio RTS La 1ère broadcast a half-hour report on the session.

Ukrainians seek a future togetherLetting Go (Vidpushchennia) is the title of the latest publication from a team of young Ukrainians working to heal the wounds of their country, still raw after the immense su#ering endured through most of the last century. The book comprises interviews with 29 people from 13 regions across Ukraine. ‘They are a small sample of the millions of Ukrainians whose experience must not be ignored,’ write the authors. ‘We cannot forget our past, but we can listen to each other and try to understand, forgive and ask forgiveness, and let the burdens of the past go, in order to build our future together. We hope this book will give impetus to such a process.’

How can the wounds of history be faced and healed, and trust between people and communities rebuilt?

Healing Memory

Daryle Rigney

Open Space session

Jackie Huggins with Xolani Dlwathi, South Africa Every country has unhealed wounds. Left unattended, they are a source of resentment and tension. In countries emerging from conflict, they can reignite the conflict. The Forum heard about healing initiatives in Eastern Europe, Africa and Australia, some of which are summarised here:

Photo from performance of ‘Speak Truth to Power’ by Ariel Dorfman

A group of 10 participants took part in a staged reading of Ariel Dorfman’s play Speak Truth to Power: Voices from Beyond the Dark, a powerful compilation of stories of human rights defenders from around the world: ‘The violence increased when they spoke out and they often suffered in their own bodies, for the first time or again, what had already been perpetrated on others. But when they spoke out and found others on the road with them, other voices, from near and far, they began to find ways of controlling that fear instead of letting the fear control them.’

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Viktoriya Bryndza, Ukraine

Doaa Gaafar, Egypt

Summary pointsAn apology can begin a healing process, but it is only the start of the process. • The healing of wounded memories calls both for acknowledgement of past wrongs, and an end • to the injustices which those wrongs have caused.Many have found healing themselves through helping others to heal. •

Searching for reconciliation in Africa’s Great LakesFor the past 20 years, Initiatives of Change and the Swiss Department of Human Security have cooperated in initiatives aimed at maintaining peace in Burundi. Conferences at Caux have brought together Burundian factional leaders, the latest taking place in June 2012. The International Crisis Group describes these meetings as offering ‘a window of opportunity’ to avert violence.

The Forum contributed to this work through sessions led by Angelo Barampama a Burundian Swiss lecturer at the University of Geneva and a contributor to the book Beyond Hate, Building Peace in the Great Lakes. This book features the stories of a wide range of peacemakers who have fought for reconciliation and healing in the region.

Barampana’s wife Daphrose Ntarataze had to flee Burundi after denouncing mass atrocities. In Switzerland she was able to become ‘a real citizen of the world, a real Burundian African getting going in life’. Later she went back to Burundi to introduce Creators of Peace Circles, and found this deeply healing herself. ‘In peace circles the community becomes a place of protection again,’ she said. ‘We overcome the fears which paralysed us. Men dare to cry, rape victims share their pain, killers admit their killing. Hutus and Tutsis come together, Muslims and Christians, people from opposing political parties. We become human again. And individual healing can turn into collective healing because we are helping each other.’

Also speaking was Laurien Ntezimana a Rwandan Hutu who was repeatedly jailed for protecting Tutsis during the 1994 genocide. 'I found myself in a war, and realised that we had to leave our enclosure which protected us but also imprisoned us. We had to move on from our history and culture, and welcome those who were different to us.' Rather than letting the death of his friends embitter him, he created an association in their honour to build bridges of trust between the two sides. In 1998, he received the Pax Christi International peace award..

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Creators of Peace Christine Garin Al-Azhari President of Creators of Peace, a programme active in 30 countries, spoke about the work of Creators of Peace Circles. They bring together a diverse range of women in small gatherings aimed at deepening their understanding of each other and discovering their role in peacemaking. ‘Peace Circles o#er an opportunity for each woman to tell her story, the story that determines the person she

is today,’ said Dr Garin Al-Azhari. ‘What story will we pass on to our children? Will we pass prejudice, hatred and bitterness? Or will deep listening and forgiveness lay the foundations of a di#erent story, a story which leads to lasting peace through reshaping the way we act and think? Many of us long to building this lasting peace, and through Peace Circles are discovering how to become artisans of peace in the world.’

Angelo Barampama

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Caux Forum for Human Security Secretariat c/o Initiatives of Change InternationalRue de Varembé 1, CH-1202 Geneva. Postal address: PO Box 3, CH-1211 Geneva 20, SwitzerlandPhone +41(0)22 749 16 20 Fax +41 (0)22 733 02 67 Email humansecurity@cauxforum.net

‘The Forum has been a reminder of our need to re!ect, for forgiveness, for apology if something’s wrong. Here we have been reminded of the linkages between peace-building initiatives among citizens and the institutions of government.’ Rebecca Ukwachi Deputy Minister of Education and Instruction, South Sudan

‘T he Caux community believes that trust and reconciliation begins from serving one another. That is the spirit we take back to our country.’ Delegation from Myanmar/Burma ‘I did not like Chadians. They caused many injuries in my country, Togo, in the 1990s. But the Chadians I have met here have changed my mind. They are genuinely men and women of peace. When I return home, I will tell people that there are people like that in Chad.’ Togolese lawyer ‘The focus was not principally on the arms race, overpopulation, or lack of food. These problems were understood as derived from other challenges, such as promoting respect for the individual, acknowledging wrongs,respecting the equality of all peoples and the need for cooperation. Human security comes through addressing catalysts for aggression such as human greed and pride.’ Bohdan Pankevych Ukraine

‘My encounters at Caux showed me that dialogue between Russians, Ukrainians and Poles is possible. We will do everything in our power that the hope doesn't remain just a hope.’ Viacheslav Igrunov Director, International Institute of Humanitarian-Political Studies, Moscow, Moscow, an initiator of dialogue across the Russia/North Caucasus divide With the growth of the network of people active in the work of the

Forum, it has become clear that each of the themes – just governance, healing history, environmental sustainability, inclusive economics and intercultural dialogue – needs more attention than is possible in one day. We are therefore expanding the time devoted to each of the "ve topics. In 2013 we will hold !ve conferences at the following dates:

Just GovernanceHealing History: overcoming racism, seeking equity, building communityCaux Dialogue on Land and SecurityTrust and Integrity in the Global EconomyLearning to Live in a Multicultural World

29 June – 3 July 3 – 7 July

7 – 11 July13 – 19 July

1 – 6 August

In the coming months Forum participants will be engaged in a wide range of initiatives. They include programmes in South Sudan to strengthen national reconciliation, peace building and just governance; in India where the demand for training of government and industry o#cials in practical ethics continues to grow; in the world’s drylands where there are urgent requests for programmes which can resolve con$ict and build the trust which underpins action to restore degraded land.

In Kenya, Nairobi lawyer Joseph Karanja has announced that he is suspending his legal practice in order to launch a Clean Election Campaign before the 2013 national elections. Karanja initiated such a campaign before the 1997 elections. Churches, mosques and NGOs took the call to the country, and hundreds of thousands of voters signed the campaign pledge to refuse bribes and choose candidates of integrity. Now he and his colleagues are doing the same again. ‘This campaign will encourage all Kenyans to take responsibility for our country,’ he says. ‘It will not bene"t anyone "nancially or politically. It will be a healing and reconciling process after the tragedies we saw

following our 2008 elections.’

This is the spirit at the heart of these initiatives. They focus on what is right, not who is wrong. They put people "rst, especially the vulnerable, as was expressed in a story told by Mosese Waqa who coordinates the Human Security work of Initiatives of Change in Australia and the Paci"c. ‘Some years ago my wife, children and I moved from Fiji to Melbourne,’ he said. ‘Our children were young, and afraid of the new environment. As an intellectual and activist, I was oblivious of their needs. But when my wife and I discussed the problem, we decided to put their emotional security ahead of "nancial security. We agreed that whoever got a job "rst would take it, and the other stay home. My wife received the "rst job o#er. Mine came the next day! Fiji is a male dominated society. It is hard for me to undo that attitude. But caring for our children taught me much that is crucial to the work I now do. I have learnt to listen and understand. I have discovered that everyone matters, everyone can "nd their role. And I have learnt that campaigning for a positive cause enlists more people, and is more e#ective, than attacking wrong-doers.’

Held in the picturesque Swiss mountain village of Caux, the Caux Forum is organized by Initiatives of Change International (www.iofc.org) and hosted in partnership with CAUX-Initiatives of Change.

We are grateful for the generous support the Forum has received from the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign A#airs, Initiatives of Change national bodies and many individuals. We are grateful too for the vast amount of pro bono work which makes the Forum possible.

Responses to the Everyone has a part – what is mine?

Joseph Karanja

Mosese Waqa

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