HUMAN DIGNITY AND DEVELOPMENT

VATICAN CITY, JUL 7, 2006 (VIS) - On July 5, Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi C.S., permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations and International Institutions in Geneva, delivered an address before the 2006 Meeting of the High Level Segment of ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social Council).

  The meeting is considering the theme of "creating an environment at the national and international levels conducive to generating full and productive employment and decent work for all, and its impact on sustainable development."

  Archbishop Tomasi's own contribution focussed on the idea that "the dignity of the person is what gives work and development their true value." The Holy See delegation, he said speaking English, fully endorses "the goal of equitable development regularly pursued by the Economic and Social Council," because it "highlights the central place of the human person, the value of human work, and this indicates the way to overcome chronic poverty and marginality."

  After recalling how the fact that so many people fail to find work risks frustrating the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, the archbishop observed that "this frustration may provoke disorderly behavior and, surely, a less secure world." In this context, he recalled the words of Pope Paul VI in 1967: "Development is the new name of peace."

  "Local involvement can propel the economy forward," said the Holy See permanent observer. "Step by step poverty is reduced, emigration becomes an option instead of a necessity, social standards begin to develop, people are lifted out of a vicious circle of misery. ... Assistance for capacity building will have to be adapted to the level of development of each country. In this way, a waste of resources will be avoided. Donors will see their solidarity fruitful for the receiving countries and, in the long run, also for themselves."

  He went on: "In our present interconnectedness, to the necessity of preparing products for the global market corresponds the responsibility to help the people of the least developed societies to have the training and the know-how that allow them a fair chance to compete."

  "When the process of transformation of society takes hold, decent work contributes another important dimension, that of a sense of future ... and self-respect. ...Children are not forced to work and instead can accede to education , the values of organization and participation are learned."

  "If the Doha trade round negotiations fail to conclude with some positive agreements," Archbishop Tomasi concluded, "the world's poor and hungry will pay most of the price and the chance for their growth, their development and for decent work will vanish for a long time. The courage and political imagination to make the necessary compromises can lead instead to a renewal of common action and show a concrete commitment to the elimination of global poverty which is still a scandal and a threat to peace and security."
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