For José Manuel Rodrigues, "the only war that must mobilize us as first soldiers to the front line is the war against poverty and injustice and for Freedom and Democracy" and education for an active citizenship is necessary

I am thankful for the kind invitation made by the Community of Sant'Egidio for me to be at this International Meeting for Peace, which is an opportunity, in these troubled and uncertain times, to reflect on the state of democracies and to understand how we can strengthen them and place them at the service of reconciliation and of harmony among people.

 

I come from the island of Madeira, the first land of the Portuguese discoveries, where, since the 15th century, people, cultures, and civilizations intersect, as it was the first Diocese of the New World, that extended from Funchal to India, a land of Mission and today a tourist destination where the meaning of crossing and communion of cultures is well known.

 

I greet all the participants in this Meeting, belonging to different political backgrounds, and the representatives of the various religions who here celebrate the meaning of Life and the virtues of Peace and Friendship among Men.

 

Today marks, precisely, 22 years since the heart of New York was violently hit by suicide attacks that caused thousands of deaths and put the world in shock in the face of a terrorist attack of that size.

 

I make this sad evocation because I believe that one of the problems of our societies is not cultivating the so-called “Culture of Memory” and not learning from the mistakes made, avoiding conflicts and wars, like the one that is now again tearing Ukraine apart.

 

And in addition to not preserving memory, we seem to be on a path to the disappearance of indignation.

 

On the contrary, there is a serious risk of trivializing violence, of normalizing war, witnessing suffering and death, today in the heart of Europe, as if it were a fiction, to which new episodes are added daily.

 

The only war that must mobilize us as first soldiers to the front line is the war against poverty and injustice and for Freedom and Democracy. That must be the war for which all must show up as volunteers. That is the war which calls upon all, humanizes all. That is a civilizational war.

 

This city of Berlin, which welcomes us, knows well, at different times in its long history, the barbarism of tyrannies, the horrors of wars and their consequences on freedoms and division between citizens.

 

 

Ladies and Gentlemen

 

Addressing the question that brings us to this forum, it is indisputable that the best path to peace is to fight for the application of the Human Rights, without compromise, enforce the rights and duties of citizens, that is to say, to ensure that the rule of law is for everyone, that no one is above the law and that everyone has equal opportunities in their communities.

 

Now there is no rule of law if there is not a true and healthy Democracy.

 

When, after the fall of the wall that divided this city, which divided a Nation and separated its people, emerged, from the end of Soviet totalitarianism, a group of independent countries in central and eastern Europe, settled on the values of Freedom, a relevant hope was born that the end of the Cold War would not only be the end of a potential nuclear conflict, but would also be the beginning of a globalization of Democracy in all of the continents.

 

That was our wish, but that is not the reality.

 

Unfortunately, the latest studies on Democracy in the World assure us that this regime is in regression and that, with each passing year, dictatorships are replacing the rule of law all over the world.

 

For each State that moves towards Democracy, we have two States moving towards authoritarianism and this is the worst result of the last decade, according to the report of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.

 

Now we all know that dictatorships and the so-called “muscled democracies” are potential conductors for tensions, hatred, violence that generate repression, conflicts and wars.

 

It is true that some democratic nations have initiated military interventions, some justified to avoid greater evils, others perfectly illegitimate, that being, going against the rules of International Law, but the truth is that the great conflicts of History and of our time were unleashed by tyrants and totalitarian regimes.

 

Despite the fact that we live in a time when we have more questions than answers, it is important to clarify the reasons behind why democracies are sick and in crisis and why many of them succumb to populism and extremism.

 

Obviously, the risks and threats to Democracies vary from continent to continent and from country to country, but there are some causes common to all of them that have to do with the crisis of State institutions, the discredit in its powers, namely the legislative, the executive and the judicial, and in an alienation of citizens from participating in political life, that finds its greatest expression in the levels of increasing abstention in elections.

 

The consequences of this democratic erosion are well known: the gap between elected officials and voters; the discrediting of electoral results; corruption and lack of transparency in governance and youth’s disappointment with politics.

 

The result is the growth of extremism embodied in populist parties, or the immersion of inorganic movements that jeopardize the stability of regimes and social peace.

 

What happened in the United States and Brazil, democracies that we considered stabilized; the growth and rise to power of radical parties in Europe, unthinkable after what happened in the Second World War, should be a reason for deep reflection by all those who work for the public defender, but above all for action.

 

In this regard, I believe it crucial that we return to institutionalism, strengthening and dignifying judicial, executive and legislative organisations, in full respect of the separation of powers, but institutionally cooperating in strengthening the rule of law.

 

The climate of suspicion that sweeps our societies, fuelled by violations of the secrecy of justice and the settling accounts between politics and justice, erodes society's trust in its leaders and jeopardizes Democracy.

 

The subordination of financial and economic powers to political power must be accentuated, obviously without jeopardizing the desirable collaboration for the growth and development of communities.

The Common Good must prevail over any particular interest.

 

Parliaments must be closer to citizens and elected representatives to voters, reinforcing mechanisms for citizen participation in legislative processes and also in decision-making, so that people do not feel that Democracy is reduced to the ritual of elections and that their word, through their vote, only counts in election years, usually every 4 years.

 

Binding referendums, on very concrete issues in the life of communities, should be a practice and not an exception, in a healthy exercise of participatory democracy.

 

Executive positions, at the various levels of administration, must have term limits so that there is no eternalization in power and that governance positions are renewed and refreshed.

 

Supervisory entities, such as Audit Offices, must be seen as essential bodies for good governance and rigorous management of public funds and not seen as obstacles to correct executive decisions and speed in the execution of public policies.

 

We need to reinforce the checks and balances, the checks and balances of our Democracies, and in this context, it is important to recover the essential role of the reference media, whose power and intervention was seriously reduced with the emergence of social networks, in order to reinforce true and impartial information that helps form enlightened citizens.

 

The regulation of information or disinformation that circulates on the internet and social media, has to be done, otherwise, in the name of individual freedoms, we will be killing Freedom and Democracy.

 

The functioning of the democratic regime and the political system and the Rights, Freedoms and guarantees of Citizens must constitute a permanent concern in the curricula of the various levels of the educational system.

 

Education for an Active Citizenship must be a priority in our schools and political participation has to be seen as an inalienable right and a duty towards the whole community.

 

Democratic institutions have to overcome the existing gap between their agenda and those that are the new Causes that mobilize the youths, such as the Environment, Climate Change, Heritage, the Digital Transition, the Decarbonization of the Economy, Volunteering, Culture and Human Rights.

 

Democracy is an imperfect system, but there is an unquestionable certainty: the countries with the best development rates are pluralist regimes with free elections;

 

And then, we must never forget that it is easy to be a defender of a dictatorship in a democratic country; what is difficult is to be a democrat in a country that lives under a dictatorship.

 

This is the reality that makes all the difference in many of our countries and in our lives.

 

 

Ladies and Gentlemen

 

On another level, I believe that a reform of international organizations is crucial, in particular those whose mission is to maintain and deepen peace.

 

This is the case of the United Nations, which has been losing strength and power in managing conflicts and in negotiations that lead to Peace or war, given that, in many situations, it is limited by the power enjoyed by some of its Member States. What remains in public opinion is only the appearance that the so-called superpowers are capable of sitting at the table and understanding each other on major global issues.

 

As much as my fellow countryman, António Guterres, tries to call the Nations to reason for harmony, concertation and joint action for Peace and Sustainable Development, it is always a voice that cries out in the desert, because the feeling we get, that the Security Council is an example of, is that the interests of each country take precedence over the interests of the community.

 

The reform of the UN and, in particular, the functioning of the Security Council, cannot be postponed if we want a fairer and more fraternal world for all!

In this regard, it is also important that the European Union has, once and for all, a common migration policy, instead of pushing the problem around from country to country, with the loss of life for thousands of refugees who perish at sea.

 

These people want only an opportunity to improve their lives and should have the same Rights and Duties as citizens of host countries.

 

Still in this context, I believe it is very important that support programs for the poorest countries and those in the process of development guarantee funds destined to reinforce the pillars of the Rule of Law, since this is a condition for combating the causes of many conflicts that find their origin in the weaknesses of public institutions, in hunger and poverty, in the climate crisis, in trafficking of human beings, minerals, drugs and weapons, in terrorism and in ethnic, political and religious persecution.

 

The so-called failed States are propitious territories for the greatest atrocities and the greatest inhumanities and for spreading fanaticism of all kinds, including that of the religious kind.

 

Dialogue between cultures and religions is therefore decisive.

The more they know each other, the more they interconnect, the greater the probability of finding common ground and working together for reconciliation and peace.

 

Religions, all men of good-will, must build bridges instead of walls; to build unity and not hostility; promoting encounter rather than rejection; raise hope and not conformism.

 

There are no holy wars, and we cannot let them use faith and the name of God to practice and justify violence and terror.

 

God is Peace and what is asked of us, as Paul VI proclaimed, is that we cultivate the Peace that must begin in each one of us, within our hearts, because from there we will be able to bring it to the other, to our family, to our country, and to the world.

 

It is therefore crucial to offer an Education on Peace to the new generations, which educates them in respect for the Human Rights, whose Declaration is now 75 years old, which makes them protagonists of fraternity, reconciliation, care for Creation and which makes them agents of Political Dialogue, Interreligious Dialogue, Intercultural Dialogue, essential conditions for Justice not to be a utopia and for Peace to be a reality.