Business and belief in international relations.

• Author: Sternberg, Sigmund

If there is one lesson I have learned as a citizen of the twentieth century born in Eastern Europe, who has lived the largest part of his life in the western world, it is that the process of healing which follows wars, ethnic conflict or civil unrest cannot be left to the politicians and the generals alone. Initials on treaties, signatures on agreements, handshakes and embraces at the top table or on the White House lawn - all these are no more than gestures if they are not also embraced in the hearts of the peoples concerned.

Even if, and when, the deals are done, whether in Northern Ireland, the Middle East, Bosnia or the Indian sub-continent, fear and mistrust will remain. Only a long, careful, patient process of dialogue can bring that true peace which lies not just in agreements, but in the determination of everyday folk that the agreements must be made to work.

It has long been my firm belief that in the making of foreign policy and the managing of international relations, especially in the aftermath of conflict, there is room within the dialogue for men and women of true religious faith or dedication to a set of ethical values, who are driven by something more powerful than human emotions, by purely national consideration or personal ambition.

I know from my travels that there are many who can contribute to the healing of the world wherever in this world, they live. I believe it is their duty as people of faith, as citizens of this world, to come forward and make that contribution. I am delighted that this message is being carried loud and clear to all four corners of the world by Secretary-General Kofi Annan. His appointment to this vital and influential position was an act of inspiration, and all those with a care for the United Nations will acknowledge that he has given it a fresh and challenging image.

For all its faults - and it would be foolish not to believe there are any - the United Nations remains our commitment to the belief that our world must be built not on the strength of arms, but the strength of the human spirit. At this point, I should make clear that I am neither a politician nor a theologian. I am not a scientist, not a scholar, least of all a rabbi. I am a bnsinessman - a businessman who also happens to be a man of faith. To my intense regret, I am a rare species among those engaged in the search for inter-faith reconciliation and world fellowship, which has been my primary activity for the past decades. (I was...