Theme

“True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.”
– Martin Luther King Jr. –

Over sixty years ago, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted with the aim of promoting peace on a global level. ‘Peace’ in this regard refers not merely to the absence of conflict; rather, it represents a condition which allows people to live in freedom and safety. Despite of sixty years’ efforts, human rights continue to remain contested across the globe. Arguably, more than ever before.

Lezing van Jan Pronk op ASFP 2007


To mention but a few illustrations to support this controversial implication; China’s dispute of political freedoms’ universal validity, whilst referring to so-called ‘Asian values’, is turned a blind eye to. Discussions on the purpose, necessity and attainability of the in 2000 adopted Millennium Development Goals, are omnipresent, while politicians on all sides agreed years ago on everybody’s inalienable rights on income, food, education and shelter . The right to belong to a nation state is put in an entirely new light, due to the first climate refugees.

Global processes seem to increasingly affect people’s daily lives in a direct matter, irrespective of place of habitat. How do (intertwined) processes of international trade politics, increasing level of power of corporate institutions, religious radicalisation, digitalisation, climate change, macro-policies of IFIs and the emergence of new forms of governance as well as new global powers affect global society? Moreover, what is their relationship to human rights and in what way do aforementioned processes restrict or, contrarily, enlarge people’s freedoms? Furthermore, in what ways can ‘the new generation’ counter negative effects of these developments if possible at all?

In order to come closer to answers on these questions, the Dutch United Nations Student Association, SIB-Utrecht, organises “A Struggle for Peace, a conference on human rights, globalisation and development”, to be held in Utrecht, the Netherlands, on Saturday 6 February 2010. SIB-Utrecht is driven by the conviction that information stimulates well-founded opinions on human rights, a crucial element for forming the basis of sustainable and effective policies, whether regarding development co-operation, education, integration, economic or defence policies. In shaping these policies, youth hold the key; open-minded and interested in different viewpoints, they will shape future policy.

The following parts of the programme are in English: