Uniya Newsletter: Autumn 1995, p 5.

                      Seeds of All Our Tomorrows
                                   
   James E. Hug introduces the World Summit for Social Development.
                                   
(James E. Hug SJ is Director of the Centre of Concern, Washington
D.C.)

It is difficult to get excited about a United Nations meeting half the
planet away - such as the World Summit for Social Development in
Copenhagen, from 3 to 12 March 1995. That is, unless you care about
jobs, the anxieties and tragedies of living in poverty, and the way
our communities fall prey to violence, discrimination and
disintegration.

  One unique feature of the Social Summit process is its ability to
engage more than 100 heads of state, 180 government delegations and
thousands of non-governmental organisation [NGO] representatives in a
new dialogue. The conversation is not between those with the answers
and the resources and those with the problems and the outstretched
hands. It is a dialogue about problems confronting both wealthy and
poor nations. The summit is a first fumbling effort in a global arena
to grapple honestly with common issues resulting from the
restructuring of economies everywhere into a single world system.

  What vision of our common future is emerging? The Declaration and
Programme of Action reflect a great deal of seemingly naive confidence
in free market capitalism. The Declaration calls for more open
markets, freer trade and provision of basic education and health care
to enable everyone to participate in the market - and for an end to
discrimination. But the economic growth developed in this fashion
fails to create jobs, fails to distribute wealth, and therefore
contributes to growing social inequality and stress, and indeed
threatens the long-term well-being of the earth. The summit program
passes over, virtually in silence, such major players as the
transnational actors in finance and trade.

  Yet planted throughout the summit documents are a substantial
number of "seeds of transformation", indicators offering significant
hope for a new and better tomorrow.

  First, there is explicit acknowledgment that governments bear
responsibility for regulating markets so that social development
concerns are integrated with economic concerns. Second, there is a
strong call to develop new social impact indicators to evaluate trade
and economic policies, and new ways of measuring social development.
These will provide hard data to guide governments in their
responsibility to protect and foster social development - and criteria
of accountability. Third, there is a strong recommitment to
fundamental human rights and basic freedoms. There is, in addition, a
pervasive emphasis on empowering civil society - especially women and
their organisations - to participate fully at all stages of the
development process, from identifying and defining problems to
analysing their causes, program design, implementation, monitoring and
evaluation.

  To take advantage of their human rights and participate actively in
their communities, people must first see their basic needs met. The
summit commits the world's nations to eliminate absolute poverty and
alleviate extreme poverty wherever they exist. It calls for economic
restructuring programs to be redesigned to guarantee steady progress
in providing adequate nutrition, clean water, basic health care and
education. The summit urges protection for the social spending needed
to achieve these goals. And it calls for an increase in the percentage
of official development assistance from donor countries to be
dedicated to these basic needs, in exchange for an increased budgetary
commitment from recipient countries to the same social development
basics - i.e. the 20:20 proposal put forward by UNICEF and UNDP.

  The summit also inches toward further debt relief for the poorest
nations. And it acknowledges that the arms trade and overconsumption
are key barriers to equitable, sustainable social development
globally.

  Among participants in the summit process, there are further signs
of hope. The Australians, with strong leadership from Richard Butler
and John Langmore, deserve credit for creative mediation efforts and
for dogged service of a more progressive and socially just vision.

  The NGOs are the most exciting new political force on the scene.
Worldwide networks representing thousands of people are beginning to
form, coordinate their efforts, monitor and influence their
governments, and generally help to create a new culture of political
honesty at national and international levels.

  Seeds these are - like the mustard seed. They are not yet full-
grown trees providing home, shelter and community life for all God's
people. But they are significant and, if nurtured, are capable of
growing into a new, more just and human tomorrow.