Design for the World '99 Tokyo Symposium REPORT
Commemorative Speech
World Issues for the 21Century
Yoshio Hatano
What the UN should do in the 21st Century
I am now working in a group of 16 persons selected from the world to consider what the United Nations should do in the 21st century. I see three major issues.
First is the process of globalization which will be accelerated. As it progresses, there will be light and shadow. In the light aspect, communication through the Internet will be promoted and become more convenient. People will spend increasing hours in leisure and tourism. The problem is the dark aspect of globalization. Globalization will also bring forth problems across the borders such as in the fields of environment, population, refugees, HIV/AIDS infection, drugs, land mines, and terrorism. How can the UN control them? This is the number one problem.
The second issue is "Development." At this moment, more than three quarters of the countries in the world need foreign assistance. Their economic development will benefit the world as a whole. So, how can we promote development assistance to them?
The third one is "Security." How can the UN ensure the security of the world? This is the problem of peace and disarmament.
I would like to discuss these issues. These are the issues that design can involve itself in, even though indirectly. I expect that designers can help mitigate the existing problems through their design involvement.
Problems in the Shadow of Globalization
Japan is proposing a concept that the 20th century was an age of national security and that the 21st century is to be an age of the individual person's security. The security of individual persons is implicitly related to how we can settle the problems of the dark aspect of globalization. This is very difficult. There are great gaps in view between developed and developing countries. They can hardly reach an agreement, even though all the 16 members admit the importance of narrowing the gap.
Let me cite some examples. First is the "environmental issue." Environmental conservation is considered as the top priority task for developed countries. But when we come to discuss the criteria to control pollution, both parties do not come to an agreement. Developing countries say, "it was industrialized countries that have polluted the earth, making the mess we have today. And now they are proposing to formulate the criteria for environment conservation. It means that developing countries should not promote industrialization. They must first make efforts to clean the environment. We may pollute the earth a little in the process of our industrialization, but we have the right to do so." I believe that only when people in industrialized countries including Japan change our lifestyles will we be able to persuade developing countries to restrict industrial discharges. We must mend our ways and urge developing countries to do what should be done. This is the approach to solve environmental problems for the sake of the earth.
My second example is the "human rights issue," which is most difficult. The title of UNDP's annual report seven years ago was "Freedom and Assistance." Under the caption "Indices of Freedom," a question was asked, "Is it good for the world that a country without freedom nor democracy and in which human rights are violated becomes economically affluent?" Developing countries were repelled all at once by this. Countries in Asia were especially opposed to this question. They said, "If we become richer, freedom emerges and democracy will come about, and human rights will be respected." There is reason in what they said. But how about China? If China becomes economically well-off, will that communist government grant the right to vote to the nation? Even if the right is granted, will people in Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia be granted with the same right? Therefore, even while admitting that what Asian leaders have said has reason, we concluded that perhaps this reason could not be applied to all countries.Another example is "population." The United Nations holds its Population Conference once every five years. In the latest conference held in Cairo in 1994, some delegate said "in order to control, we should support artificial means (meaning induced abortion) more positively." The Vatican Council as the center of Catholicism opposed this idea strongly, followed by Catholic countries in Latin America, and by countries believing in Islamic Fundamentalism. Consequently, the conflict over population control has not yet been settled.
The last example of "refugees" involves religious conflicts and ethnic conflicts in the background. Where people are killing each other in the name of ethnic cleansing as in the case of Kosovo, we need to give two types of assistance. One is to contribute funds to save refugees, and the other is to receive refugees in our own countries. Japan is very reluctant to receive refugees. As Kosovo is in Europe, the NATO and the world as a whole paid greater attention to the problem. However, killings between different ethnic groups, or religious communities are almost everyday affairs in Africa. The future world should become more sensitive to these occurrences.
The above are globalization-related problems. Each of them are complicatedly tangled and at this moment, we have not found ways to solve any of them.
Problems related to Development Assistance and the UN Agencies
The problem of "development" is, in turn, the problem of assistance. There sseems to be an agreement that helping developing countries to become richer will benefit the world, and that their return will come back to donor countries. However, there is no agreement as to how efficient assistance can be given, and what roles the United Nations can play. Even among the 16 members, there are always conflicting opinions. It is because the decision on assistance is made outside the United Nations. The Bretton Woods system has been inherited and world financial issues are dealt with by the IMF and the World Bank, and trade issues by the World Trade Organization. The United Nations is completely bypassed. Developing countries ask the question why the United Nations has no say in the discussion of development assistance when it takes full responsibility in other issues. Developed countries say "we give assistance from the money collected from tax payers, so we are accountable to them to explain how we use money meaningfully. The Japanese, now the number one donating nation, may think "If we give whatever money to a country where people do not help themselves, the country will not become richer. We are giving money in vain." But the United Nations will say, "Yes, the Japanese can help yourselves, but how can you expect people in many African countries to make self-help efforts? Most of their societies are multi-ethnic, multi-religious societies, with low educational standards. There are societies without any government nor governing competence." To such countries, the humanitarian point of view is emphasized. The most important element in the future assistance will remain "humanitarian assistance."
There are two methods of assistance. They are bilateral assistance and multilateral assistance through a UN Agency. Bilateral assistance has been in the main in the assistance from Japan so far, but on the global level, multilateral assistance is increasing. Among the UN Agencies is the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) which is taking an important role. It has acted mainly as a coordinator so far, but it will have its own budget to assist projects. The Japanese government is donating an overwhelming portion of the expenses of the UNFPA that deals with population issues and family planning. The positions of the WHO, FAO and UNESCO should be enhanced by a leap. They are destined to have greater roles. In the area of development assistance, the role of designers is essential, and the world is expecting much from you.
Security and Diverse Values and Civilizations
"Security" means the problem of peace and disarmament. The most complicated in this problem is the relation with human rights. Most of the recent disputes have this difficulty to some extent. A typical one is Kosovo. a NATO officer may say "There was a person fallen down on the ground. Although the traffic light was red, I went across the street to help him. It is illegal, but can be justified." Countries of Asia may say,"It is a problem of values. It is not accepted in Asia. The principle of the international laws is noninterference." As typically presented by Indonesia's "musyawarat" Asian people will seek a settlement through negotiations and forging consensus. Civilization in the Middle East is different and that in Africa is even more different.
What we all share in the security issue is that we need preventive diplomacy before any dispute occurs. Six years ago, a thesis titled "Collision of Civilizations" was included in Foreign Affairs magazine. It suggested collisions of civilizations would cause greater problems than armed conflicts after the end of the Cold War. The typical question was where Islamic civilization and Western civilization could find a point of agreement. Not only that, Asian civilization and Western civilization may face difficulty in finding agreement. What is necessary to narrow gaps between different civilizations is mutual understanding and cooperation. Cooperation across the national borders in all sectors, in particular in the fields of culture and education is required.
One thing is clear about the 21st century. That is, the roles played by the government will be reduced, and the private sector will have greater roles to play. The media has the strongest influence on the private sector. I would like to ask the media people to be aware of this fact, and play their due roles in spreading Design for the World.
Yoshio HatanoPresident of Foreign Press Center,Former Ambassador of Japan to the United Nations. /Japan
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations in New York (1990), Member of the Group of International Advisers of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Member of the Environment Council of the Japanese Government, others.
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