Note to the Secretary-General Declaration of Human Responsibilities Sent by Professor Kiing in the Wake of the Cartoon Episode (
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1C Note to the Secretary-General Declaration of Human Responsibilities sent by Professor Kiing In the wake of the cartoon episode (10 February 2006), Professor Hans Kiing of Tiibigen University, sent you a letter recalling a proposal for a "Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities" and reaffirming his request for introducing the Declaration in some way into the UN System. The Declaration of Human Responsibilities was prepared in 1997 to "give rights and responsibilities equal importance" and would be a "means of reconciling ideologies, beliefs and political views", thus "establishing an ethical base". Professor Kiing was the academic adviser to the project of preparing the Declaration. The theoretical assumption behind the Declaration, as can be implied from Professor Kiing's paper "The Three Abrahamic Religions", derives from the following: the main cause of conflicts within the religions and between them is the persistence and rivalry of former religious paradigms today (in line with Thomas Kuhn's argument of paradigm shifts). The way towards reconciliation and peace is the preservation of the "essence" of the three religions, which has been conserved in spite of the changes of religious paradigms throughout history. What makes this reconciliation possible is the ethical imperatives that the three religions share, namely (i) the "Golden Rule": "what you do not wish done to yourself, do not do to others" and (ii) the rule of humanity, according to which every human being should be treated humanely and not inhumanely. These elementary ethical values are to form the personal moral conviction of the human person and society and signal, as you proposed in your Global Ethic Lecture in Tiibigen in 2003, that the idea of universal values should not be abandoned. It is important to note that the Declaration of Human Responsibilities mostly reproduces the argument of the Doha Statement, i.e. that rights should be exercised responsibly, on the issues contemplated in the Universal Human Rights Declaration. The Declaration of Human Responsibilities goes further in its article 14, which states that "the freedom of the media to inform the public and to criticize institution of society and governmental actions, which is essential for a just society, must be used with responsibility and discretion. Freedom of the media carries a special responsibility for accurate and truthful reporting. Sensational reporting that degrades the human person or dignity must at all times be avoided." As is presented, the Declaration of Human Responsibilities provides an interesting framework to bring rights and responsibilities into balance. The pertinence of such document is significant, especially, as highlighted in Prof. Kiing's letter of February, in the context of the events that followed the publication of the Mohammed cartoons. However, the legal implications of adopting the Declaration, in particular given the bonds it keeps with the Universal Human Rights Declaration, need to be further assessed. I would await your guidance on how you wish to proceed. rlos Lopes 7 March 2006 ^<fcuJt t<U 03-MOR-2006 16=34 PROF. H. KilNG +49 7071 610140 S.01/02 *: C E « V E Von/from: PROF, DR. HANS KUNq Waldhauser StraGe 23 MAR - 6 2008 D-72076 Tubingen Tel. 07071 - 62646 EXEOFWE OFFICE ! Fax 0/071 -610140 OF THE SECRETARY j;cMCPM ; e-mail: office@weltethos,org An/to H. E. Kofi Annan Personal/Urent Secretary General United Nations Fax; 001/212/963-3511 C Seiten/pages: 1 + 1 v March 3rd, 2006 Dear Secretary General, dear Kofi, Many thanks for your letter of 28 February 2006 and the very stimulating speech you gave in Doha. I amjiappy to see that it reflects a large number of shared convictions. My letter to you about the responsibility of the press found a very positive echo in the InterActionCouncil of former heads of state and government. At thejrorth- coming meeting of the InterActionCouncil in Amman we may consider how-to relaunch the Declaration of Human Responsibilities on the UN level, and I am •wondering -whether you have some helpful suggestions. Since the presentation of the proposal of the »Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities" to you on September 1st, 1997 significant new developments have occurred: - an increasing global consensus about the necessary connection between rights and responsibilities has developed; — the »caricature dispute« shows that the InterActionCcmncil was right to emphasize that freedom and responsibility of the press go together, as it is also very well expressed in the Doha Statement you sent me; SG OFFICE 03-MRR-2006 16=34 PROF. H. KUNG +49 7071 610140 S.02/02 2 - the present very serious situation of the world shows how important it would be to gain a new consciousness of some etfiical standards in world politics; - the debate of the UN General Assembly on Dialogue of Civilizations on 8/9 November 2001, in which I had the honour to participate, showed that such a debate need not be divisive, but can lead to a consensus among the nations. Let me recall that the UN General Assembly in its resolution, A/RES/56/6 of th November 9 , 2001 adopte1 d a ^Global AgendO a for the DialoguC^ e of Civilizationsw Article 2 of which requests concretely the development of a better understanding on the basis of common ethical and universal human values, I would therefore be most grateful for any advice that you could possibly give me on the most appropriate procedure to follow. With all good wishes and kind regards. GESflMT SEITEN 02 17-FEB-2006 14:04 "" PROF. H. KLJNG +49 7071 610140 O p w D 0- ^ oc n § §. S § §• S*a • s° §3. •»» * «rt 5? f H f-< Cr- 3 2? 17-FEB-200G 14=04 PROF. H. KLJNG +49 7071 £10140 S.03/07 C3" pa CJ~ O =73^-: !*' a- Si- P- H- ~* H CD ~« Iin I^_ £ H . 2 s fst= a« 1-sf OS - f " a. tr cr ,3- ' TTJ •< cu 2 50 ©g 3 " irr 4SCTCI O_. rt n> g-S. g. O- 3 _u • o £? O „ 1 633 B g § o ET \o s rT'-S is I CO ?l ftq n a. vc 5 n S s §• n M 3' F? K. 5 VD era ' 7 o - e. 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