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2009 as the International Year of Reconciliation

The world today is one in which many actors and forces intersect. It is a world where new problems and contradictions are emerging and old ones are reappearing, where conflicts of all kinds arise as a result of a variety of causes, where environmental crisis seems inevitable and where the scourges of hunger and pandemics afflict all of our peoples. Proclaiming 2009 as the International Year of Reconciliation is a way of seeking universal reconciliation, on the basis of solidarity, brotherhood and the enshrined values and principles of freedom, justice, peace, non-discrimination, democracy, development and human rights.

If we proclaim reconciliation as the path leading to the achievement of world peace, we should say that reconciliation means restoring humanity's lost unity -- particularly today, when human societies are fractured or deeply divided and afflicted by extreme poverty or confronted by territorial or ethnic conflicts.

It is impossible to exist without others, and it is always possible to live in peace with others.
therefore we propose reconciliation, in the sense of seeking and establishing new paradigms for human coexistence and understanding.

We proclaim 2009 the International Year of Reconciliation as an initiative that is appropriate for the sphere of international relations and relations between States, nations, peoples, cultures and individuals. Such an exercise requires that we consider forgiveness, truth, justice and mercy, as maintained by the most seasoned experts on peaceful conflict settlement. However, as long as we continue to believe that war is the means to achieve peace, humanity -- which is no longer an abstract entity -- will suffer its present ills and others that are even worse. Thus, we will be plunged into darkness and barbarity.

Reconciliation results from putting into practice ethics and superior values as opposed to petty interests. It involves making the common good and human dignity the cornerstone of development. Reconciliation means analysis and overcoming the causes of violence and oppression and the origins of the problems and threats facing humanity. It also results from criticizing our own culture and way of thinking, which are inclined to be bellicose or self-centred. Here, reconciliation poses a challenge.

That is why we believe that the perspectives of all world views, world religions, political systems, peoples and individuals can contribute to world reconciliation through activities, plans and programmes that will ultimately create conditions for greater unity among human beings. Only if we are united can we confront the problems that are common to everyone, although not caused by everyone, such as terrorism, extremism and the grave ecological crisis already affecting millions of human beings.

Thus, through systematic and practical reconciliation, promoted by States and citizens, we can carry out concrete actions needed in any society -- in keeping with their history and culture. Reconciliation between States in conflict, between Governments and citizens, between genders, between generations, between men and women, between human beings and nature, between religions, ethnic groups and cultures, between the North and the South, between developed countries and poor countries without access to technology -- that is the essence of reconciliation in a world where antagonisms, ruptures and discord could lead to our demise.

For the supreme value of peace -- a gift that is obtained not through military victories but through a life of brotherhood and justice -- Reconciliation instead of confrontation is vital.

Reconciliation processes are particularly necessary and urgent in countries like ours and regions of the world which have suffered or are suffering situations of conflict that have affected and divided societies in their various internal, national and international facets.Therefore it,s high time in our country to pursue the policy of reconciliation at all levels so as to face all internal and external challenges successfully.

As reconciliation touches our state of mind, it must comprise all levels of society as an indispensable precondition of any sustainable development; thus it starts on a personal subjective level within oneself, reaches out to the family, relatives, friends and neighbors, includes daily work, the relations in and between organizations and companies, on community and international levels.


Fida Karim
University Of Karachi.