For an International Inter-religious Campaign on Global Priorities: A Brief
Concept Paper 

At the dawn of the 21st century, the world reaffirmed its commitment to a
human-centered development by adopting a series of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in September 2000.  Much of the world, even the richest nations, is faced with deteriorating conditions of various kinds, pressing social needs, growing disparities, insecurity and violence. Since the earlier version of this paper was circulated in 1998, disasters (such as the widespread devastation of HIV/AIDS and famine in Africa, Central America and elsewhere), the continuing consequences of the Asian financial crisis (in Indonesia and other nations), and a variety of complex emergencies, have led to a deepening of poverty that will only worsen in the absence of concrete steps to tackle this urgent problem and related issues.  Some limited progress was made in terms of promises of a slight increase in assistance at the International Conference on Financing for Development held in Monterrey, Mexico in March 2002.  However, this is clearly not sufficient in meeting the crucial challenges of human development, and is
particularly inadequate in view of the massive surplus capital that actually
exists.

While certain sectors, most recently the military and national security, have
seen massive increases in their budgets, the challenge before us is to
mobilize funds for the well-being of those most in need.  Suitable vehicles include community development, charitable and international organizations. 
Religious communities everywhere by their very nature have a commitment to assisting the poor and the marginalized. Indeed, religious communities are challenged on the local, regional, national and international levels to cope with a range of unmet human needs, including the promotion of economic self-sufficiency and dignity. Organizations sponsored or managed by religious communities have a long history of local, national and international engagement. Moreover, in many places, religious communities and religious organizations are now being asked to take on many tasks previously addressed by governments and international institutions. The resources of religious groups are fast becoming outstripped by mounting needs, and there is little sign that this phenomenon will abate soon. In parts of the developing world, institutions linked to religious communities are the only reliable providers of basic services, even as they must cope with growing urgencies. 

It is not simply a matter of meeting the needs of the poor and disadvantaged: harsher social conditions have become a fact of life even in nations that have traditionally been known for their generous programs.  In many cases education, cultural institutions, libraries, parks, child care, community centers and other recreational facilities have been undergoing cutbacks.  At the same time, budgets for assistance to some of the world's poorest people and vulnerable groups like refugees have become increasingly reduced. In the absence of significantly greater resources, religious communities can only do so much to address these combined problems calling on previous commitments to fulfill human rights.

In its report, "The State of the World's Children 2000", UNICEF stresses that
the world could ensure access to the services needed to address basic human needs for everyone on earth by redirecting $70 - $80 billion a year to this purpose. This number has been confirmed by various intergovernmental institutions that have based their estimates on the Millennium Development Goals. Different entities within the United Nations system have called upon all developed nations to significantly increase their foreign aid if these Goals are to be met.

While these Goals are clearly not exhaustive, they point in the right
direction, and a significant number of heads of state and government have actually made commitments to meet these goals. As these Goals confirm the rights to health, education, food, clean water, as well as non-discrimination, there are certainly increased possibilities for advocacy work on the fulfillment of these and other economic and social rights. 

A crucial question is how such resources might be made available to meet
burgeoning human needs around the world, especially with regard to extreme poverty. Such questions have been asked more insistently in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in the United States of America. How can practical attempts be made to address these various problems on a local, regional, national and international level?

A redoubled effort to address issues of global poverty and other unmet human needs ought to be undertaken as a matter of urgency. To be sure, better use must be made of existing funds so that they actually address unmet human needs. Effectiveness must be the watchword. Indeed, human needs should be determined by local priorities within a framework of rigorous accountability. Such accountability must apply to all. Global military expenditures are estimated to be at least $700 billion annually, and may amount to $1 trillion or more. By contrast, world spending on development aid in 2001 was estimated at $50 billion. 

After a decade of reductions from 1987 through 1997, huge increases in
military spending are in the process of being enacted in the United States. Partly as a result of the war against terrorism, European nations are also being urged to raise their defense budgets. But to the extent that vast resources are diverted from meeting human needs, we are only postponing the day of reckoning: worsening poverty throughout the world can only create conditions that may lead to more terrorism. It also should be recognized that the substantial military spending that was already taking place did not prevent the heinous terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Massive military spending in the future is no guarantee of success in the war against terrorism. 

Human security is rooted in human rights (civil, political, economic, social
and cultural).  Human security is far more comprehensive than individual
safety or military security.  All people have the right to food, water, housing,
health and education.  A human-centered approach to security contributes to safe livelihoods, promotes human dignity and respects the environment.

Redressing the imbalance between military spending and efforts to reduce
poverty would create vast resources to address pressing human and social needs. Such efforts would create a better quality of life for people on a worldwide scale and foster a more harmonious social atmosphere both domestically and internationally.  This, in turn, could help counter terrorist threats and lessen the growing mood of militarization of this period in world history. 

The arguments are not only moral and spiritual. Authoritative analyses from
former US defense officials have shown that military spending in the United
States alone can be less than proposed, taking into account a tough assessment of real security threats. It is our conviction that assiduous advocacy by a broad range of international faith-based constituencies and leaders, both religious and secular, coupled with convincing testimony by military and financial experts and others with long government experience, can be a potent combination that over time will lead to concrete change. Indeed, a central element in this effort will be building public awareness of these questions.
 
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan stated in the report to the UN General
Assembly Special Session on Children (May 2002):
 
" the key constraint is generally not an insuperable shortfall of resources
but a combination of misplaced priorities, absence of vision and insufficient
commitment by leaders."
 
Religious communities have a great stake in addressing the issues put forth
by Secretary-General Annan and freeing additional resources for social needs and international development than the religious community.  No other group in society has a greater ability to mobilize local, national and international constituencies in pursuit of economic justice as well as peace.
 
Religious communities have the potential to spread awareness of common
concerns on the local, regional, national and international level and to work
together to help promote international understanding. These communities are increasingly asked to fulfill a social role and assert a moral position that is an integral part of their mission regardless of tradition.  Thus, most everywhere they have an enormous stake in finding ways to alter the apportionment of financial resources available to local, regional and national needs, as well as to the world community at large.
 
No single religious community or religious denomination, whether in a single
nation or internationally, has the capacity to address this massive problem by itself. But with proper international coordination of efforts by a range of
like-minded individuals and religious institutions, it may be possible in time
to alter the international equation on the pressing matter of how world
financial resources are spent. At the same time, any initiative in this direction promises to be politically sensitive, giving all the more reason to have a broad international, inter-religious and nonpartisan character to such endeavors. The efforts of secular organizations and individuals of good will should be an integral part of this initiative.

Consultations were held in New York in November 1999, plus in February, May, September and November 2000, February and November 2001, February, April and November 2002 and March 2003 in Geneva.  Participants included those from Christian Aid (UK), the Center for the Study of Islam (Indonesia), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Church of Norway Council on Ecumenical and International Relations, the Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church (USA), The Lutheran World Federation, the World Young Women's Christian Association, the Jesuit Refugee Service, Catholic Charities (US), the US Fund for UNICEF, the Congress of National Black Churches (US), the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers (US), the Netherlands Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, the Advocacy Institute of Washington, DC, the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (Geneva), the World Council of Churches, the American Jewish Congress, the
Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace of Liberia and the Won Buddhist
Representative at the United Nations, and, among others, has been endorsed thus far by Gunnar Staalsett, Lutheran Bishop of Oslo, former general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, and a member of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, and Bishop Melvin Talbert, ecumenical outreach office for the United Methodist Church.

The consultations were convened and promoted by the U.S.-based
Humanitarian Project, whose members have worked extensively with religious groups on a national and International level on efforts such as the 1983 US Catholic Bishops Pastoral Letter on Nuclear Arms and the campaign to ban land mines.

The new effort is called The Global Priorities Campaign: An International
Inter-religious Initiative, to bring about a reconsideration of global spending
priorities over the next decade. The chief goals of our advocacy will be to
significantly increase resources to combat world poverty. Where possible, we will seek to redirect resources from military spending to meeting human needs, and to stimulate new ways of thinking about these questions and more active public participation in budget formulation. Another goal will be to stimulate public discussion about increasing public support for meeting human needs by other means, including mechanisms to collect new and innovative sources of revenue, and holding private sector actors more accountable in private-public partnerships.
 
Concerted religious-based initiatives can draw upon a much wider constituency than that of any previous effort. Majority opinion ultimately can be swayed by articulation of values whose roots are deep in every oral and scriptural tradition of the world's great religious communities: concern for our children, our elders, our disabled, and all the vulnerable members of our societies.  

The Global Priorities Campaign seeks to augment the work of other campaigns on HIV/AIDS, trade and debt cancellation, all dealing with issues of global justice. This campaign further seeks to enrich the international debate and the policies that will determine global priorities in the years ahead by crafting and articulating appropriate responses at various international and national forums.

Copyright © 2006 Global Priorities