Welcome to COMBE
On behalf of the Association of World Citizens (AWC) and a preparatory group of persons from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and North America, we are pleased to present the outline of the project on basic needs, the “Coalition to Meet Basic Needs for Everyone” (COMBE).
The “Coalition to Meet Basic Needs for Everyone” (COMBE) is part of the global civil society. It is not a charity organization doing charity work. There are many people and organizations doing admirable work in that field.
The project focuses on structural change to bring about the eradication of hunger and extreme poverty, as hunger reduction is essential for meeting all the other goals such as those set out by the United Nations in its Millennium Development Goals.
Global civil society should be able to play an increasingly decisive role in shaping the world, as States are less and less autonomous political entities nor the sole depositories of political authority. Likewise, many transnational business corporations have narrow self-centered aims and are unwilling to share power and affluence, thus perpetuating the current unjust world system.
As a fist step Global civil society needs to focus upon a small number of goals as an entry-point for broader reforms on the world, the national, and the local level.
Empowered and self-confident citizens will develop democracies based on participation and universal ethical principles which will replace many current policies which are suicidal in nature.
If people are no longer threatened by hunger and poverty, if they have experienced the solidarity of people from different cultures, different traditions, and different regions, they will no longer be manipulated into killing “the Other” and treating him or her as inferior enemies.
As a first sign of support we would welcome your endorsement of the statement below and your sending it on to others, as together we construct a vision in order to move ahead in the next decade. We believe that the course for action is clear, and leadership should be at hand.
Ingrid Schittich, Director, Association of World Citizens (AWC), Germany
Prof. René Wadlow, Association of World Citizens (AWC), Representative to the UN, Geneva
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