Liaison Newsletter > LIAISON Vol. 3, No. 4, July 1999 - Articles

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For Peace and Justice in the 21st Century
by Fergus Watt

HAP 99, held May 11 to 15, was a peace conference unlike any other. This was no diplomatic conference of governmental representatives called to end a particular conflict. It was a global conference, led by citizens organizations, aimed at nothing less than building the conditions which can prevent future conflicts and eventually abolish war.

Indeed, many governments wanted no part of such a conference. After successful UN conferences earlier this decade on Environment and Development, Population, Human Rights, Human Settlements, Social Development and Women, there was growing anticipation of an end-of-century peace conference. But when some major powers withheld support for another major UN conference, civil society organized the Hague Appeal for Peace anyway.

And when over 8,000 people from all parts of the world showed up, doubling expected attendance, it was all organizers could do to cope.

The conference featured a wide cross-section of people from civil society and government, North and South. The lineup included UN Secretary-General Annan, two heads of state, a handful of foreign ministers, heads of UN agencies and international organizations, three nobel prize laureates, authors, performers, academics and representatives of over 700 non-governmental organizations. However, most of all, this was an activist conference. It was a conference about identifying what has to be done and campaigning for change.

The role of citizens was a central theme throughout the event. Bill Pace, the HAP Secretary-General (and Executive Director of the World Federalist Movement), told delegates "We are here because conventional approaches to peace have failed miserably in this century - and are continuing to fail miserably even as we meet."

UN Secretary-General Annan added, "No one ever promised it would be easy to rid the world of the scourge of war, which is so deeply rooted in human history . . .. Perhaps most important of all, this requires a deep change in civil society -- the development of a culture in which statesmen and diplomats alike know what is expected of them. They have to know that, in the eyes of their fellow citizens, the ultimate crime is not to give away some real or imaginary national interest. The ultimate crime is to miss the chance for peace, and so condemn your people to the unutterable misery of war."

So what in actual fact do you get when you show up at such a massive gathering?

Global Forum, in a room the size of three hockey arenas presented over 900 displays and information booths from around the world.

Over 400 separate workshop sessions (some attended by hundreds of participants) were organized, each with speakers panels and then comments on how to turn ideas into action.

And there's a formal document, a conference action plan, called the Agenda for Peace and Justice in the 21st Century, which reads like a long list of campaigns and proposals, (over 50 sections are expected in the post-conference version, which won't be published until later this summer). The Agenda is organized according to the four 'strands of the Hague Appeal: international humanitarian and human rights law; disarmament and human security; conflict prevention and transformation; and building a culture of peace.

But beyond the documents and Agendas, the displays and demonstrations, endless meetings, the round-the-clock line-ups at copying, faxing and computer centers, there was a constant buzz of activity which left most delegates with a feeling that, even though they'd only seen a small part of a very large event, they'd been part of a process which is re-invigorating a worldwide peace movement.

It is too early to identify tangible outcomes from such a historic event. Indeed, the reporting of what went on may be just as consequential in determining outcomes as the events themselves. Those who attended are just now assessing the impact the conference had on them. Only time will tell what impact the Hague Appeal for Peace has on the world.

Fergus Watt is Executive Director of the World Federalists of Canada. WFC served as coordinating agency of the HAP Canada Network and Preparatory Process. A copy of the Hague Appeal Agenda for Peace and Justice in the 21st Century is available from the WFC office.