Canada's Lloyd Axworthy
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Intersections The Hague Institute for Global Justice Winter 2015 Column Interview Current Work No Civil Society Canada’s Making without Education Lloyd Axworthy Reform Last Kailash Satyarthi, Nobel Fragile States and Launch: The Commission Peace Laureate 2014 Human Security on Global Security, Justice & Governance Cover photo: A young girl practices reading at a UNICEF supported Community Based School in Qala-e-Haji Yahya village, in Afghanistan’s Herat Province. Intersections | Winter 2015 Education in Fragile States | 3 Dr. Abiodun Williams Education in Fragile States Welcome to the Winter 2015 edition of Intersections magazine, which showcases The Hague Institute’s ongoing work, especially as it relates to education and conflict prevention. In this issue, Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi writes on the importance of education for all, while former Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy is interviewed about his work on conflict-affected countries. Dutch MEP Marietje Schaake also writes for this season’s edition, focusing on the central role that education should have in foreign policy. I have long been convinced that education state. Between states, better education goats and seldom reflects the humanity is of fundamental importance in – particularly about other cultures – can of supposed rivals in the global race. preventing conflict and fostering help to ease tensions between rivals, and In fragile states, the role of education sustainable peace. Education serves thereby hold back the dogs of war. This serves a particular purpose in bringing many functions – for example, as an has been the signature achievement of about sustainable peace after conflict. instrument for economic growth, various international educational Educators who give due consideration to socialization and poverty reduction – programs, including the United World conflicting communal narratives create and contributes to building peaceful Colleges and the Fulbright Program, a space for co-operation between future societies. both of which I am pleased to be generations. Education is also the pathway associated with. to fulfilling jobs, which goes a long way to disrupt the poverty-conflict nexus at the “ Education serves It is axiomatic to say that we now live heart of many wars. in a global age. It is an age that requires a purpose in global citizens, equipped to collaborate It is for these reasons that The Hague beyond borders to solve collective Institute is devoting attention and bringing about problems and affirm our common resources to the relationship between sustainable humanity. However, globalization has education and peacebuilding. It is a field also brought with it alienation; changes which deserves significantly more inves- peace after wrought by global processes have left tigation, and one in which I am confident communities feeling powerless and that the Institute will make a contribution. conflict.” threatened by the ‘other’. Education must be at the heart of efforts to counter Education underpins an informed the backlash against globalization, which Dr. Abiodun Williams citizenry, which enables the exercise of has readily understandable causes, but President arbitrary power to be checked within the which too often has sought out scape- The Hague Institute for Global Justice 4 | Table of Contents The Hague Institute for Global Justice 29 3 8 16 6 24 Intersections | Winter 2015 Table of Contents | 5 Table of Contents 6 No Civil Society without Education Kailash Satyarthi, Nobel Peace Laureate 8 Interview Dr. Lloyd Axworthy, former Foreign Minister of Canada 11 Convening Power Commission on Global Security, Justice & Governance 12 Current Work Education to End Violent Water Conflicts in Yemen Marchant Lecture Global Governance Reform Initiative Climate Adaption in Vulnerable Small Island States: Zanzibar 16 Conflict Prevention Education in Fragile and Conflict-affected States 18 Communications Media in Fragile States 19 Knowledge Platform The Knowledge Platform’s Thematic Events in 2014 20 20 Fact-finding and Accountability Rule of Law 23 Spotlight Addressing Europe’s Challenges 24 Home to Experts Dr. Aaron Matta, Jill Coster van Voorhout and Tessa Alleblas 28 Snapshots Dialogues, Meetings and Events 29 On Education, Foreign and Development Policy Marietje Schaake MEP 30 Upcoming Events and Recent Publications 6 | Column The Hague Institute for Global Justice Kailash Satyarthi, Nobel Peace Laureate 2014 No Civil Society without Education Education is a vital building block for every society, argues Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Kailash Satyarthi. Fighting for the eradication of slavery, child labor and exploitation has been his main activity since 1980. His deeply-felt convictions have driven the Indian child rights advocate over the past three decades in his quest to end these practices. The Nobel Committee recognized his tireless efforts in 2014. Education is the key to human liberation, sustainable economic growth, gender and social justice, as well as peace. Denial of education is violence, and hence an obstacle in building peace. No-one can deny the benefits of education to an individual human life, families, nations and the world at large. A single year of primary school increases earnings later in life by 5-15% for boys and even more for girls. No country has ever achieved continuous and rapid economic growth without first having at least 40% of its adults able to read and write. A child born to a literate mother is 50% more likely to survive past the age of five years. Recognizing the importance of education, governments and civil society have made tireless efforts to promote access to free, good quality education for children and education for all (EFA), thus reducing the current number of out-of-school children to 58 million. These 58 million children represent undeniably the hardest to reach category of children who remain at a high risk of exclusion. This includes children affected by conflict, HIV/AIDS or disability, with girls particularly vulnerable to continued educational disadvantages. Children engaged in child labor or slavery, as well as those trafficked represent a significant subset of the hardest to reach children. Intersections | Winter 2015 Column | 7 Child labor and slavery pose a substantial of education and poverty alleviation. “ A child born to impediment to achieving EFA. Children Focusing on these hard-to-reach children cannot attend school while they continue is a priority and matter of urgency. a literate mother to work. Even when some children attend school and combine it with work, many This will require innovative and bold is 50% more learn very little and drop out early, leading steps, as well as new and strengthened to an intergenerational cycle of poverty at partnerships between and among likely to survive the household level. governments, civil society, businesses and others. Lastly, what is most needed past the age of Recent statistics illustrate a slower is genuine and reinvigorated political pace of reduction in child labor, will with a sense of urgency and five years.” which is unacceptable, especially for ownership in the spirit of ensuring the interlinked development goals justice to all children. 8 | Interview The Hague Institute for Global Justice Interview Dr. Lloyd Axworthy Dr. Lloyd Axworthy is one of Canada’s most noted statesmen, having done much, during his tenure as Foreign Minister from 1996 to 2000, to lead global efforts to prevent conflicts and protect civilians. He was instrumental in the passage of the Ottawa Treaty which banned land mines, as well as in the development of the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ doctrine, which formed part of an ‘alternative framework’ for security in the post-Cold War era, one focused on people, not just on states. Here, he discusses his tenure and efforts, as well as his involvement as Commis- sioner in the Global Commission on Security, Justice & Governance, a Commission supported by The Hague Institute and The Stimson Center in Washington, D.C. In your time as Foreign Minister, Canada’s and the structuring of joint action on initiatives based on people foreign policy was known for its interna- protection such as the land mine treaty, the establishment of tionalism, with ‘human security’ at its heart. the International Criminal Court, and the adoption of a child How relevant is that approach today? soldiers’ protocol. For Canada, the 1990s made clear the acute need for an alternative security framework that went beyond Realpolitik and put the focus on ‘human security’. To do so, we drew on a path- “ Risks were becoming global breaking UNDP report from 1994, which addressed the threats of in nature, beyond the capacity violence and conflict, as well as other, social and economic, risks to people’s security. This was the time of Srebrenica and Rwanda, of many states to respond.” where rules of sovereignty restricted protection or intervention. It was also an era when the emergence of civil society drew attention to risks such as land mines, internal conflicts in Kosovo marked the real turning point. It saw an international countries which either didn’t have the will or resources to coalition of countries use military means to stop a human respond or were governed by predator leaders, and suffered from security transgression, showing that the tenets of sovereignty large scale human rights abuses. And it was clear that risks were could be altered to respond to international crimes. However, our becoming global in nature, beyond the capacity of many states Ministry saw the need to go beyond ad hoc responses, and it was to respond, and exacerbated by weaknesses in international for that reason that we established the International Commission institutions unable to cope with the confluence of global issues. on Intervention and State Sovereignty (with the support of UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan), which eventually led to the This gave rise to a diplomacy based on partnerships with a core development of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) norm, a new group of other governments and like-minded NGOs (whose framework for dealing with security issues adopted by world shared vision was encapsulated in the 1998 Lysøen Declaration) leaders in 2005.