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No alternative to global cooperation in fight against terrorism, Fréchette says

No alternative to global cooperation in fight against terrorism, Fréchette says

Louise Fréchette
In the global fight against terrorism, as well as meeting the challenges of economic and social development confronting people around the world, there is simply no alternative to international cooperation, according to United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette.

“You all know the saying: ‘All politics is local.’ We need to turn this idea upside-down, and recognize that all politics – in our era – is global,” the Deputy Secretary-General said in an address Thursday evening at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, US, where she was presented the Benjamin Rush Award for Humanistic Values in Corporate and Government Life. The prize was established in 1985 and each year honours the achievements of officials and executives who have reached the highest levels in government service or the corporate world.

Ms. Fréchette stressed that ultimate success in the total eradication of terrorism might well depend on the capacity to build a real global community that ensures safety and dignity for all peoples.

“There is no doubt in my mind that if we reject what the terrorists stand for – violence, intolerance, fanaticism – if we want to protect the values that we hold dear – freedom, tolerance, justice, equality – then we must do better, much better, to bridge the gap between rich and poor,” she said.

The Deputy Secretary-General stressed that the international community must create truly lasting conditions of peace and development, and challenged the audience to rethink what belonging and community means “in order to be able to embrace the fate of distant peoples and share our wealth and privilege with them as well.”

“Either we help the poor and developing countries today, out of a sense of moral obligation and enlightened self-interest, or we will find ourselves compelled to do so tomorrow, when their problems become our problems, in a world without walls,” Ms. Fréchette said. “That, too, is a lesson of September 11.”