Annan calls for 'globalization of community' to meet present and future challenge

Urging efforts to make worldwide integration an inclusive force, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called for a "globalization of community."

Addressing the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, Mr. Annan stressed the need "to create a wider, more expansive definition of our duties to our fellow men and women." He pointed out that this is an imperative, not a luxury, as today's world "demands that we tear down the walls in our own minds as well - those separating us from them, rich from poor, white from black, Christian from Muslim from Jew - so that we are able to recognize the untold ways in which we can all benefit from cooperation and solidarity across lines of nationality, race or economic development."

The Secretary-General called on those present to "rethink what belonging means, and what community means, in order to be able to embrace the fate of distant peoples, and realize that globalization's glass house must be open to all if it is to remain secure."

To achieve this, leaders must make the case for helping the poor and disenfranchised. "Either we help the outsiders in a globalized world 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," he warned.

Drawing lessons from last year's 11 September terrorist attacks against the United States, Mr. Annan said the global reaction offered hope. "The sight of people gathering in cities in every part of the world from every religion to mourn - and to express solidarity with the people of the United States - proved more eloquently than any words that terrorism is not an issue that divides humanity, but one that unites it."

While acknowledging that the past year had seen a dramatic rise of intolerance, he said acts of bigotry and ignorance represented the "ugly faces" of an exclusive globalization. "An inclusive globalization must address these ills," he said.

While the primary victims of the 11 September attacks were the innocent civilians who lost their lives, and the families who now grieve for them, the Secretary-General pointed out that peace, tolerance, mutual respect, human rights, the rule of law and the global economy were all among the casualties of the terrorists' acts.

"Just as a concerted international response can make the work of terrorists much harder to accomplish, so should the unity born of this tragedy bring all nations together in defence of the most basic right - the right of all peoples to live in peace and security," he said. "An inclusive globalization will be central to achieving this fundamental goal."