What the UN can do to promote: dialogue among civilizations.

• Author: D'orville, Hans
• Position: Essay

"Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed" (UNESCO's Constitution, Preamble)

2011 marked a decade since the United Nations General Assembly declared the year 2001 as the United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations. At the same time, 2011 also represented the tenth anniversary of one of the most traumatic terrorist attacks of modern times. The juxtaposition of these two events shows, more than anything, the need for a firm commitment from all Member States of the United Nations to reduce and eliminate any notion of an ill-defined "clash of civilizations" which is rather a "clash of ignorances", through authentic dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples. Dialogue is not only a "necessary answer to terrorism but, in many ways, its nemesis," and one of the most effective ways "to promote the best in humanity." (1) It implies reciprocity of communication and the acceptance that truth does not and cannot belong to a singular group alone. Since "conflict begins where dialogue ceases", it is essential to search for ways past political fragmentation and strive to find common ground for debate. (2) Thus, the ideal of authentic dialogue among people belonging to different cultures and civilizations has never lost momentum or its driving force. It must just be adapted to an evolving political landscape in the current era of globalization.

The concept of dialogue among civilizations is not new for the United Nations. On the contrary, it is part of its fundamental structure, as underlined by former Secretary-General, Kofi Annan: "The United Nations itself was created in the belief that dialogue can triumph over discord, that diversity is a universal virtue, and that the peoples of the world are far more united by their common fate than they are divided by their separate identities" (3) The Organization is meant to be "the natural home of dialogue among civilizations; the forum where such dialogue can flourish and bear fruit in every field of human endeavour." (4) Today, faced with a new set of challenges, the United Nations must uphold once again its founding values and build through innovative approaches the basis for dialogue creating a new culture of belonging.

The outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, as well as the UN System Task Team report: Realizing the Future We Want for All, put forward a clear agenda aimed to build and maintain peace through more inclusive, people-centred sustainable development. At the same time, both documents named globalization as one of the most important forces shaping our world today, with a vast influence on intercultural dialogue.

As the globalization process increasingly opens societies to one another and diversifies them internally, the new threats to peace are becoming political, social, economic, cultural, and environmental and sometimes a mix of all. They can take the form of intra-or interstates tensions which may turn into conflicts, wars, transnational disease vectors, global terrorism, tsunamis, floods and droughts, water resources disputes, misuse of cyberspace, as well as the joint effect of all these forces, in producing disruptive social transformations and traumatic human population movements. These phenomena drastically change the conditions for dialogue and building lasting peace. While growth has spread in every continent, old inequalities remain and new ones are emerging. New...