Ei-iE

The Education International First World Congress meeting in Harare (Zimbabwe) from 19 to 23 July 1995:

1. Recalls the historic significance of the adoption of the United Nations Charter in 1945;

2. Stresses the importance of the United Nations and its role in mitigating international and civil conflicts, in promoting the recognition of universal standards of human rights, in facilitating the process of decolonisation and in promoting international cooperation for development;

3. Notes that the world today faces challenges at least as demanding as those which confronted peoples and their nations at the time of the creation of the UN, including:

a. since the end of the Cold War, an increase in regional, civil and inter-ethnic conflicts;

b. an increase in acts of barbarity and cruelty, and of crimes against humanity;

c. decreasing respect for basic human rights and principles of humanitarian assistance;

d. unprecedented numbers of refugees in many different regions of the world;

e. growing pressures of population and demography;

f. serious threats to the environment and to sustainable development;

4. Seeks the peaceful resolution of disputes and supports measures which aim to prevent disputes from escalating to the stage of armed conflict;

5. Recognises that the improved effectiveness of the United Nations and its system of specialised agencies is vital to our common future.

The Congress calls on governments and other parties to conflicts to:

6. Respect international law, in particular the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the principles of humanitarian law enshrined in the Geneva Conventions;

7. Reject all forms of terrorism.

The Congress urges states to:

8. Promote effective and coherent implementation of United Nations resolutions;

9. Support fully the United Nations and the International Court of Justice in their efforts to resolve conflicts peacefully and to settle disputes in accordance with law;

10. Provide sufficient financial and logistic means for the United Nations, including the High Commission for Refugees and UNICEF, to carry out the mandates contained within the UN Charter;

11. Recognise that inequality and social injustice are among the bases for conflict, and therefore to implement the Declaration and the Plan of Action of the World Summit for Social Development, adopted in Copenhagen on 12 March 1995;

12. Recognise, as stated in commitment 6 of the Copenhagen Declaration, the key role of education in promoting sustainable development, health, social justice, respect for human rights and democracy.

The Congress:

13. Recognises the importance of the work of UN specialised agencies, particularly UNESCO, ILO, and WHO;

14. Calls specifically on the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom and Singapore to restore the membership of those states in UNESCO;

15. Declares emphatic opposition to any attempts to weaken the International Labour Organisation or to undermine the implementation of international labour standards.

Role of Education International and its member organisations

EI and its member organisations should:

16. Participate actively in debate on the future of cooperation between states and peoples through the international institutions of the UN system;

17. Cooperate with the UN and other relevant organisations in the promotion of UN Day, 24 October, which should be more than a celebration on the school or classroom calendar, but should be an occasion for reflection on the future of global community;

18. Note, in relation to the 50th anniversary of the UN, the publication of “Our Global Neighbourhood”, the report of the Commission on Global Governance;

19. Promote more coherent and effective involvement of representative non-governmental and peoples' organisations (NGOs) in the work of the United Nations and its specialised agencies, including particularly the economic agencies (World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organisation);

20. Respond positively to proposals of the UN Secretary General for participation by education unions, together with other NGOs, in UN election monitoring teams, and in other UN sponsored activities aimed at the re-building of national societies emerging from serious international or civil conflicts.