Plain Talk

By Mursi Saad El-Din

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In the middle of wars, genocide and terrorism it is heartening to find someone talking about peace. The voice that is heard is that of woman.

It is the voice of the Honourable Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, ex-UN commissioner for human rights and currently executive director of the Ethical Global Initiative. Mrs Robinson was giving the sixth Sadat Lecture for Peace at the University of Maryland.

The Anwar El-Sadat Chair for Peace and Development was inaugurated in the fall of 1997, in memory of "the Egyptian leader who gave his life for the cause of peace". The Sadat chair, in the words of CD Mote, President of the University of Maryland, was established thanks "to the vision and support of Dr Jehan Sadat", who is currently senior fellow at the Centre for International Development and Conflict Management.

Dr Mote went on to say that the lecture series was created "in the name of the great statesman and Nobel Peace Laureate Anwar Sadat, a man of extraordinary stature."

"As President of Egypt he exhibited exceptional courage and took enormous personal risks in search of peace."

Previous Sadat lecturers include Ezer Weizman, Jimmy Carter, Henry Kissinger, Nelson Mandela and Kofi Annan. Mrs Robinson is the first woman speaker in the series. She was presented by Jehan El- Sadat who, after enumerating the different jobs Mrs Robinson has held, underlined how, as president of Ireland, she helped create a bridge between developed and developing countries, and how, as UN high commissioner for refugees, she prioritised the reform proposal of Secretary- General Kofi Annan integrating human rights concerns into all UN activities.

"The Journey to Peace: Finding Ourselves in the Other" was the title of Mrs Robinson's address. It reflects, she said, "what for me was President Sadat's great insight as a leader. He understood, in reaching out to the people of Israel, that he was reaching out not so much to a different nation or culture, but to a shared human desire for acceptance, security and dignity."

Mentioning the tragedies of Northern Ireland, Rwanda, Chechnya, Colombia, East Timor, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Afghanistan, Mrs Robinson added that "a common thread in each situation was an unwillingness on both sides to see 'the other', or 'the enemy', as an individual with hopes and dreams and with equal rights."

Mrs Robinson covered a number of important issues, starting with globalisation. She mentioned a survey, carried out in 44 countries, which revealed that although people generally have a favourable view of the increased economic connections commonly associated with globalisation, sizeable majorities of those polled said their "traditional ways of life" were being threatened and agreed with the statement that "our way of life needs to be protected against foreign influences".

As former commissioner for refugees it was natural that she would deal with the issue of migration. Again she referred to the results of a survey, this time undertaken by the EU. The poll showed that while a majority of Europeans agreed that there was an economic need for more immigrants, 80 per cent still want a tightening of passport and other entry controls for foreigners. She mentioned some interesting figures. According to a report by the IMF (International Monetary Fund) published in 2002 remittances from migrants in that year alone were around $100 billion, compared with $51 billion in global development assistance. "How many more people," she asked, "would be forced to leave their homes if not for the remittances coming from their family members abroad?"

"I conclude with a simple truth which President Sadat understood so well... In giving his life for peace Anwar Sadat gave inspiration to generations to come. Yet, the challenges ahead are formidable, the familiar catalogue of problems and future obstacles remains to be faced. Yes, we have a long road to travel before human rights will be secured for all. But I am convinced that this is a time when civil society world wide can make its voice heard as never before," she said.