The Human Codes of Tolerance and Respect Project
 |
WSN Founder Dr. Hubertus Hoffmann (left) with German President Johannes Rau in Schloß Bellevue, Berlin.
"WSN, with its global network including 17 former generals, is convinced that this lack of soft factors cannot lead to success, but that a new credible and balanced double strategy combining military containment and strength with an active reconciliation policy is needed – a holistic formula for peace based on diplomacy, power, and reconciliation; a new art of peacemaking effectively winning the hearts and minds of the people." |
The Human Codes of Tolerance and Respect is a focus project promoting the very important soft factors of peacemaking of the independent global World Security Network Foundation.
With our 17 former generals we know a lot about the hard factors of peacemaking and its limitations and therefore promote more attention to the soft factors of peacemaking promoting a new credible double strategy of power and reconciliation in areas of conflict and for peace solutions.
This main WSN project is developing and promoting universal and practical Human Codes of Tolerance and Respect for five influential groups which have an enormous influence on promoting tolerance and respect towards other ethnic groups and religions:
- Families
- Educators
- Religious leaders
- Journalists and Media
- Politicians
In order to make these codes more practical for the target groups, and as positive examples, these codes are combined with 10 best practice examples for each group so they can better implement the codes.
The Codes for domestic and international politicians includes a toolbox of 20 concrete globally collected best practice examples and new proposals, aimed at domestic and international policy makers who promote tolerance and reconciliation on the local, national, and international level.
These Codes are intended to promote tolerance, respect, and dignity for ethnic minorities and people of different religions, and to support a peaceful coexistence between other religions, races and nationalities of our "global village." This starts from where you live locally, but reaches up to the national and international policy levels too.
There are thousands of active grassroots projects from which we can choose best practice examples of tolerance and a number of academic and nongovernmental approaches to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence. There is as yet no precise strategy and a recipe, however, for implementing these best practice examples into political action worldwide. This is especially true for conflict areas.
To implement Codes of Tolerance is enormously important for conflict solution, nation building and as a soft factor of peacemaking in countries like Bosnia Herzegovina, Kosovo, the Baltic States or Russia in Europe, Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, Israel-Palestine as well as Afghanistan, Pakistan or Sri Lanka in Asia and many more regions in the world with different nationalities and minorities in one state. WSN has members of the International Advisory Board and Editors in those countries, and has analyzed the situation in Bosnia Herzegovina, Kosovo, the Baltic States, Russia, Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan and Pakistan carefully through fact finding missions.
WSN, comprised of globally experienced and respected experts on defense and foreign affairs, media, and education, is convinced that in today's diverse and unstable world there is an urgent need for an active reconciliation process. This process also includes "Education for Tolerance and Respect" as a second pillar of global peace policy in addition to the classic tools of diplomacy, defense and deterrence.
Education for Tolerance is needed, in particular, to promote a fruitful dialogue between the Western and Islamic worlds, to avoid a clash of these cultures and to actively isolate and contain the radicals from the silent majorities.
The focus on the promotion of stability by military means and homeland security has led to an unbalanced approach. The human soul, the needs of the victims of oppression, and their suffering and dignity at the heart of peacemaking have been almost forgotten, and a cold power policy has prevailed which will not be able to produce stability and perpetual peace.
 |
| Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Education of the United Arab Emirates: "Islam must not position itself as a threat of the Western way-of-life, and stereotypes and ignorance must be overcome on both sides. The Islamic states will have to reform themselves, as only then there is a realistic hope for a better future." |
WSN, with its 17 former generals advising it, knows much about the hard strategies and tools of peacemaking, and also of the need to implement an effective double strategy including and strengthening the second pillar of reconciliation in strategy and concrete actions.
Several of our International Advisory Board members have personally experienced this in war time military actions: General Klaus Naumann as Chairman of NATO Military Committee during the Kosovo war against Serbia, later General Klaus Reinhardt commanding the KFOR troops in Kosovo, and Goetz Gliemeroth as one of the first commanders of ISAF in Afghanistan.
Other members of the WSN Advisory Board and Editors like Tunne Kelam, the freedom hero of Estonia, have to deal with the strong Russian minorities; Sergey Rogov from the Russian Academy of Science and his assistant and WSN Editor Russia Dmitry Udalov with a strong Muslim minority in Russia; WSN Editors Teram Poghosyan and Fariz Ismailzade are covering South Caucasus with its many minority problems and Russian influence; former Col Bernd Papenkort is, as WSN Editor in Sarajevo, involved in the reconciliation process in Bosnia, Arben Qirezi, former Spokesman of the Prime Minister and now Executive Director of the Transition Center in Pristina/Kosovo knows the discussions there since the beginning; Samy Gemayel is leader of the student Kateab group in Lebanon promoting independence there, Muhammad Aslam Khan Niazi is Brig Gen ret. in Pakistan and as well as Amin Hashwani and our two editors Roah ul Amin in Peshawar and Sahabzada Abdus-Smad Khan from Islamabad deeply involved in the complicated situation in Pakistan, the tribal areas FATA and neighboring Afghanistan; Prem Singh Basnyat is fighting, as an active Lt Col and WSN Editor, with the instable situation in his home country Nepal. WSN knows the urgent need for reconciliation, tolerance and respect - but also the need for concrete political planning and solid implementation of a soft power peace policy.
We know that until now there has been a lack of concrete and systematic planning, funding and integrating it into the peace strategies on the local levels as well as the international arena.
We believe that the important containment of terrorism and its isolation from the majority of peaceful people, especially in Islamic countries, needs a fresh and active effort to promote Education for Tolerance and Respect on a global scale. As this task currently lacks the necessary political attention, the role of WSN will be to spread tolerance where it matters most: among the young population of the broader Middle East and the Islamic countries of Asia.
The Human Codes of Tolerance and Respect will be valid all over the world, in all cultures and regions. There is a need all over the world and nobody can ask for tolerance and respect if he does not offer it to another.
In general, the Codes should help religious minorities of all faiths and ethnic minorities in their desire for a peaceful coexistence with their regional majorities.
Religions and Islam
Religions, especially Islam, are increasingly important and influential in promoting tolerance and respect. The Codes will therefore analyze the roots of tolerance and respect in major religions.
Monsignore Ortwin Gebauer serves as Chairman of the special WSN Committee Christian Peace, Tolerance and Reconciliation Policy and is as well a member of the Advisory Board. Also involved is Prof. Alfons Nossol, the Archbishop of Opole (Poland), Member of the Commission on Christian Dialogue in the Vatican and close friend of former Pope John Paul II, as expert who is the spiritual father of the German-Polish reconciliation process.
One larger chapter will deal with the life of the Prophet Muhammad and his teaching of tolerance towards the people of the book and other tribe members during the early days of Islam. First findings and many quotes of the Prophet show us that the merciful nature of the Prophet has been forgotten, like that of Jesus Christ for more than 1800 years by Christianity during the long periods of inquisition, crusading and the Thirty Years' War against the Protestants in Europe. We believe that an Islamic Renaissance is urgently needed to bring back Muhammad's teaching of mercy, respect, and tolerance not only for the West but the Islamic nations themselves and for the clash of Shiites and Sunnis - i.e. in Iraq - as they are the first victims of totalitarian thinking.
 |
| Catholic Archbishop Alfons Nossol with WSN-Founder Dr. Hubertus Hoffmann. "First findings show us that the merciful nature of the Prophet has been forgotten, like that of Jesus Christ for more than 1800 years by Christianity during the long periods of inquisition, crusading and the Thirty Years’ War against the Protestants in Europe." |
Promotion
The Codes of Tolerance and Respect will be published as a book in several languages including Arabic and in the WSN and first proposals can be seen in the special website www.codesoftolerance.com. A first draft of the Codes can be found as appendix.
WSN will not only research, formulate and publish it, but also develop the important second stage of active promotion of the Human Codes of Tolerance and Respect and the best practice examples through its unique network of high-ranking politicians, media, opinion leaders, experts on education, and celebrities in the U.S., Europe, Broader Middle East, Africa, and Asia. The goal is implementation into many different societies and government policies.
Selected Best Practices Examples
The World Security Network Foundation is collecting ideas, policy examples, and best practice examples of tolerance and peaceful coexistence in the areas of family, education, and media from all over the world. To give a first impression of them:
Examples for families include
- "Art for Peace" initiative of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art to educate Jewish and Palestinian children in cooperation through working on art projects;
- Berlin Children's Museum's (Mach Mit!) project with the Children's Museum of Manhattan on a "World of Difference" Road Show to reach young kids in Germany in cooperation with the U.S. Anti-Defamation League, co-sponsored by WSN.
Examples for religious leaders include:
- Local committees with religious leaders of the Christian, Islamic and Jewish communities to visit and get to know one another, as organised by WSN Advisory Board member Monsignore Ortwin Gebauer as Deacon of the Catholic Church in Lindau at the Lake of Constance in Germany.
- Reconciliation ceremonies in churches, mosques and synagogues, inviting those from other faiths.
Examples for teachers and schools include:
- A Joint School Book Commission presenting two sides of history, as done by the Braunschweig School book Institute in Germany for German-Polish and German-French history books since decades successfully.
Examples for journalists include
- Declaration in editors committees to cover more stories of reconciliation in TV, print and radio, not only hate and terror. This should show the world as it is: full of hope and people taking responsibility for the younger generation especially in public controlled media.
- Support of movies covering the aspects of reconciliation, tolerance and respect to reach out to a young audience, as done by local moviemakers in Bosnia-Herzegovina with funding from international organizations.
Examples from the WSN toolbox for domestic and international policy makers to implement tolerance domestically and in international relations include:
- The establishment of a governmental position of State Secretary or Special Representative for Dialogue of Cultures and Tolerance, with a budget similar to the environmental and arms control initiatives of the 1970s and 1980s.
- Legislative resolutions requiring governments to publish an annual report on the status of the dialogue of cultures, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence.
- A National Day of Tolerance and Minorities.
- Establishment of a National Truth and Reconciliation Commission like in South Africa.
For further information and proposals please contact:
Dr. Hubertus Hoffmann
President and Founder
World Security Network Foundation
hubertus@worldsecuritynetwork.com
More in www.codesoftolerance.com
The Human Codes of Tolerance and Respect (First Draft)
Codes of Tolerance and Respect for Each of us
1. "Yes for Tolerance!" Each and every day we must practice tolerance in our families and society; we must make every effort to live in peace in an increasingly international world with human beings who are unlike us. At home we give tolerance; abroad we receive tolerance. At home someone else is the stranger; in other countries we may be the stranger. Here we are a majority; there we are a minority. Everyone needs tolerance sometime, somewhere.
2. The elite in each of the more than 190 countries of the world - in politics, religion, culture, business, and sports - must promote tolerance in their society and affinity groups. We have to establish a new system of global common values of freedom, liberty, peace and social responsibility which will bring us all together.
3. Accept that people are different and let them live as they like, unless they harm others. Tolerance requires the recognition of difference. We must know ourselves before can show tolerance to others. The world does not revolve around you; it revolves around the sun which shines on all people.
4. Tolerance always has two sides: you and another. Each person needs tolerance. Treat other human beings just as you would like to be treated by them.
5. Treat everyone's children as if they were your own. It is paramount that children are brought up not to hate.
6. Accept that we live in a global village and do not tolerate that which can destroy it. Ethnic cleansing, expulsions, and terrorism are the greatest crimes against humanity.
7. We must not only tolerate our fellow human beings, but go one step further towards acceptance. Acceptance of others' choices and individualities can help us discover positive powers within them and ourselves and to become better human beings.
8. Generosity can truly influence the view of people with a different outlook, opening their minds to cooperation. This is the right course in living together, based on humanity.
9. Patriotism is a product of love, not of hate. Exclusive nationalism, however, can degenerate into chauvinism; it is inhuman, and sooner or later leads to war.
10. Hatred between people can only be conquered in the long run if terrorism is stamped out. Terrorism is a fruit of ideology, which must be defeated in the hearts and minds of people.
11. Antagonism is not in the nature of Islam or Christianity or any other religion, but is an extreme form of ideological interpretation of religious beliefs. When ideology takes precedence, it fuels hatred and leads to atrocities, such as modern-day suicide killings and hate crimes or the burning of "witches" during the Inquisition.
12. Working together as Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, and Hindus, we must put hate and ideology behind us and endeavor to achieve unity and mutual goodwill through tolerance.
13. All people must take the risk of a new, fresh start. By thinking only in categories of retaliation, fuelled by the desire for revenge, a person also dehumanizes himself, failing to give others a chance.
14. The idea of reconciliation as a balm with the power to heal memory is the fundamental principle of living together. Towards this end, a number of elite individuals - teachers, journalists, and politicians - must embark upon and lead the rest on a new path towards peace and reconciliation between peoples. They must tread this path courageously, with a "Thoughtful Heart and a Loving Mind."
15. The more human a person becomes, the more divine are his or her thoughts, feelings, and actions.
16. Education and culture are the best weapons against intolerance. Learn and study other cultures and civilizations to see how rich they are. The world around you is so vast and interesting. See what you can borrow from other cultures. This way you will enrich your own personality.
17. All human beings are unique and equal before their God or gods.
18. Tolerance, as mutual respect among human beings, needs self-confidence on both sides. Both minority and majority have to be proud of themselves and their different roots.
19. The media should and must report not only about violence and conflict but also the new hopes and fresh seedlings of peaceful coexistence and tolerance.
20. In both the West and East, many no longer know the meaning of their religions and what it means to be a true Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist or Hindu. Therefore, out of fear and insecurity, they cling helplessly to prejudices.
21. The true conflict occurs between the followers of real existing cultural liberalism and the representatives of a religious worldview. This is the tension which requires tolerance, and above all, the recognition of difference.
22. Envy is a very negative quality of human nature, which will never make one better or more successful. Value other people according to their merits.
23. All foreign persons and groups should respect the fundamental rules and laws of the host country in which they choose to reside.
24. All host nations should give foreign persons and groups a fair chance to integrate - but no group should be forced to assimilate. Learning the host nation's language is the first important step into integration.
25. Extremists and terrorists and their supporters should be isolated and expelled. Attacking civilians - for whatever political or religious reason - must be condemned by all people.
26. The social position of women and minorities should be enhanced.
27. For all people, tolerance begins with knowing oneself and with love for oneself. Only by accepting and analyzing one's own fears and insecurities of the unfamiliar does one achieve true acceptance and respect concerning other people and cultures. One recognizes what is essentially human in others, rather than that which divides. Tolerance is harmony, over and above numerous differences.
28. Moral tolerance commands esteem and respect towards the other, the unfamiliar, those fellow human beings so different from oneself. Rejection, xenophobia and chauvinism are repressed through a definite relationship toward divine unification, precisely because we are all children of God - not mere possessions of others.
29. We should no longer view others in the obsolete categories of enemy and friend, but rather accept others in their complete humanity and see them as an enrichment - not as a threat and an attack on our essence.
30. Tolerance requires and affirms plurality - in this regard, states with a monolithic conception or totalitarian social structures breed intolerance.
31. Tolerance is the opposing concept to totalitarianism - whether it be politically or religiously motivated and justified.
32. Tolerance is the opposing concept to terrorism, which places its political opinion above the life and integrity of people.
Codes of Tolerance and Respect for Parents
1. Treat everyone's children as if they were your own. It is paramount that children are brought up not to hate others.
2. Make your children proud, strong and self-confident: of their culture, of their family roots and traditions, and of their religion, as only self-confident children can be tolerant to others as they look at the world around them without fear.
3. Help your children learn other languages, especially the majority language where you live as a minority, as foreign languages are the important door for the understanding of other cultures. Children should also learn the mother languages of their family fluently to stay connected with their roots.
4. Avoid the dangers of an overly materialistic world and its moral relativism - i.e. its lack of basic, binding moral values - as this can lead to children without respect for others.
5. Connect your children with the roots of your religion and a positive picture of their world, where they are responsible as the next generation of leaders and doers to make our globe a better place.
6. Teach your children that a diverse world with different religions, races and ethnic minorities is enriching and that the idea of a homogeneous world with only one religion or one race would be a severe loss for them and all of us.
7. Invite children of other religions, races and ethnic groups to play with your children. Teach your children to accept them as friends and not exclude them.
Codes of Tolerance and Respect for Educators and Schools
1. Education and culture are the best weapons against intolerance and to promote mutual respect. Learn and study other cultures and civilizations to see how rich they are. The world around you is vast and interesting. See what you can borrow from other cultures. This way you will enrich your own personality.
2. Tolerance should become a subject of teachers' training and education in schools, where students learn to respect and appreciate each other as individuals and members of different groups. Students should also exercise consensus and compromise, get to know different religions, and train to settle conflicts non-violently.
3. Schools must be the place where children learn democratic values and tolerance. In school, they should learn about and be prepared for some of the important future issues of life with which they will be confronted: tolerance, responsibility, conflict resolution, and compromise
4. Teaching of tolerance and respect should be integrated into the curriculum of schools as they are as important in our world now as mathematics or biology.
5. Textbooks should reflect the important of tolerance concerning other religions, races and ethnic minorities as well as political conflicts with neighboring countries and not perpetuate the old schemata of hate and misunderstanding. Independent commissions should rewrite textbooks - as was done successfully to improve relations between former arch-enemies Germany, France and Poland.
6. One focus of education is to make the students with minority backgrounds proud of their heritage and teach the other students about the positive input of minorities for their country.
7. Each student should understand the basic features of different religions.
8. The basic concepts of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Charter of Tolerance should be part of the new design of education for tolerance and respect in all countries.
9. There should be a Day of Tolerance once a year focusing schools on the merits of diversity, other religions and cultures.
10. Schools should focus more on the learning of other languages, especially the languages of larger minorities. For minority students, this connects them to their mother culture at the same time that they become proficient in the main language of their home or host country, thus improving integration. For other students, foreign and minority languages are the most important door for the understanding of other cultures and to the world of diversity.
Codes of Tolerance and Respect for Religious Leaders
1. As spiritual leaders for the people of the world, all religious representatives bear a very special responsibility to promote tolerance and respect towards other religions, races and ethnic minorities.
2. Where you are in a majority you give tolerance, where you are in a minority your receive tolerance.
3. The founders of all major religions in the world demanded tolerance and respect towards other believers, races and minorities - this has been often forgotten in the public, covered by acts of hatred and turned upside down by hate-mongers who misuse religion to gain power and influence for themselves.
4. The religious leaders must revitalize the roots of tolerance and lead the masses to peaceful behavior, impeaching the hate-mongers among their religious groups. Courage and openness are needed now.
5. History shows many examples of religious leaders protecting those of other religions from extremist violence. These traditions - and not those of the extremists - must be revitalized and celebrated.
6. Interreligious dialogues must be encouraged and carried out respectfully. When different religious groups engage one another, mutual trust can be built up and misunderstandings can be prevented. While such a dialogue can be tense and difficult, factors like respect, kindness and a belief in mutual humanity can help both sides to accept one another and defuse petty conflicts.
Codes of Tolerance and Respect for Journalists and Media
1. Journalists and the media should and must report not only about violence and conflict but also the new hopes and fresh seedlings of peaceful coexistence and tolerance. They must show the world as it is: complex, yet full of hope and positive developments. Therefore, show examples of a negative situation from the past and its positive transformation today. Give more attention to the silent majorities. Report on the positive reality, as well, not only murder und war.
2. Journalists and TV stations have a special responsibility to show the uneducated masses not only the flames of hate but the torch of tolerance and respect. The stereotyping and branding of religions and minorities should be stopped. TV series and soaps promoting understanding should be produced.
3. Journalist and publishers all over the world have a special obligation to their own children and those of others, to support a better world with more respect and human rights.
4. Media organizations should integrate the Codes of Respect and Tolerance for Media into their own codes for journalistic and editorial staff.
5. Each media outlet should form an Advisory Committee for the Promotion of Tolerance with representatives from other religions, races and ethnic minorities. Media organizations should publish an annual report which will not censor but advise editors about stories of tolerance and respect.
6. Ask hate-mongers and the politicians supporting them clearly about their motivations, and report more about the foundations of religion and respect.
7. Moviemakers should cover positive human interest stories promoting understanding for other religions and minorities.
8. Avoid negative stereotypes of minority and foreign groups, and present realistic, differentiated pictures of human beings in a variety of cultural contexts. Foreign and minority characters in fictional work should have fully developed personalities, rather than just being one-dimensional "token" characters.
Codes of Tolerance for Policy Makers on the local, national and international Levels
O According to the UN and Human Rights Charta and the UN Year of Tolerance 1995 and the UN Culture of Peace Declarations from November 2008 the policy makers in the world have not the choice but the international obligation to promote tolerance and respect towards other religions, races and ethnic minorities. On the other side citizens of other religion or minority in all of the 192 states on the global have the rights to demand respect. Unfortunally many states and politicians still disregard these obligations on the local, national and international level and discriminate other religions, races and ethnic minorities.
O "No tolerance to intolerance!" policy in all countries of the world needed.
O To implement and active these international obligations politicians should actively promote tolerance and respect by several actions in their countries on the local and national level:
- The establishment of a governmental position of State Secretary or Special Representative for Dialogue of Cultures and Tolerance, with a budget (similar to the environmental and arms control initiatives of the 1970s and 1980s.)
- Legislative resolutions requiring governments to publish an Annual Report on the Status of the Dialogue of Cultures, Tolerance, and Peaceful Coexistence.
- A national or local Day of Tolerance and Minorities.
- Implementing the Codes of Tolerance and Respect for education in school systems.
- Establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission like that in South Africa by the National Unity and Reconciliation Act of 1995 to "enable South Africans to come to terms with their past on a morally accepted basis and to advance the cause of reconciliations," (Mr. Dullah Omar, former Minister of Justice) including three committees on Amnesty, Reparation and Rehabilitation and Human Rights Violation.
- Special discussions at international conferences and organizations like OSCE in Vienna and the Middle East Forum of the EU, or the UN and UNESCO revitalizing the universal UN concepts of tolerance.
- An invitation to representatives of national minorities to an official dinner with the Mayor, Governor, or national President along with members of the press.
- Reconstruction of symbolic buildings or other landmarks as a sign of reconciliation through donations provided by countries who destroyed them in the past, for example, the "Frauenkirche" (Church of Our Lady) in Dresden or the world-famous Bridge of Mostar.
- Agreements to allow other religions to build churches, mosque and synagogues even when they are in a minority like done in Dohar (Qatar) or in Cologne and Duisburg in Germany.
More in www.codesoftolerance.com
Print this article
|
