CIVICUS speaks about global governance challenges with Marta Benavides, a spiritual leader who has led numerous sustainable peace initiatives in and outside of El Salvador, for which she has had to go into exile several times. Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 as part of the 1,000 Women of Peace initiative, Marta leads national and international networks that advocate for a culture of peace, sustainability, inclusion and the rights of women, Indigenous peoples, traditionally excluded groups and the Earth.
How do you assess the current role of the United Nations (UN) within the global governance system?
The UN is a valuable instrument that shows us the way to live in peace on a healthy planet. Within the UN, one of the most essential bodies, because of the issues it works on, is the Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). It provides frameworks and horizons to be reached. However, it is one of the programmes and processes that receives the least attention.
Several important processes are currently taking place within the UN framework, such as Agenda 2030, which is being widely misrepresented, although it could and should be a valuable framework. If states were to take it seriously, it would serve to assess their performance on each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and identify areas to work on for the common good and the health of the planet, as well as strategies to implement to that end.
In the case of my country, El Salvador, which currently has a serious deforestation problem, Agenda 2030 could serve to understand how we should proceed in accordance with the rights of Mother Earth and work on the challenges we face today to protect the environment and mitigate climate change. Unfortunately, however, this is not officially considered a priority and those who undertake actions to this end are persecuted and punished.
The UN plays a key role in coordinating and brokering commitments between states, particularly in such urgent areas as climate change. Right now, COP28, the annual climate conference, is taking place in the United Arab Emirates. We should be discussing strategies to tackle climate change, yet agreements to continue extracting fossil fuels are still being promoted. We fail to realise that we are part of nature and must live in harmony and peace with nature, so that we can also live in harmony and peace with each other.
What is the way to develop a culture of peace?
To develop a culture of peace we can and should follow the example of Indigenous peoples. They are the ones who have safeguarded life on the planet all along. They believe that every decision must take into account its impact on the collective, and not just for the present but for seven generations to come. If each generation follows this principle, a culture of peace is established. Such a transformation requires deep, systemic and structural social change.
A culture of peace requires that the problem of poverty be addressed from its roots. The world as it stands today, with two-thirds of its population living in poverty and extreme poverty, is unviable. We must work collectively to meet the basic needs of every human being to live in justice, peace and dignity, thinking both of the present and future generations and caring for nature, which sustains and supports life.
Unfortunately, there are few of us today who adopt this way of thinking and living. Many take what they want by force, from nature and from their neighbours, without caring for the wellbeing of others. Therefore, the existential challenge of these times is to live and act consciously, even when the pressures of today’s world demand the opposite from us.
My support for the culture of peace was born from the teachings of my mother and father, who gave me such guide for living, and consolidated as a result of my work during the civil war in El Salvador. In the mid-1970s, when I was working supporting humanitarian work with Monsignor Oscar Romero, I realised that people were not inherently needy, but that their social circumstances made them so, so it was necessary to change those circumstances. At that time this was a very sacrificing and dangerous job: we received constant threats and finally, one night, Monsignor Romero was assassinated. He courageously and lovingly chose to go as far as necessary, demonstrating his character and his integrity by standing by the people. His legacy was and is to walk with the people, to accompany them, to stand in solidarity and be one with them.
I also chose to do so, by living for the revolution rather than dying for it. I didn’t embrace martyrdom. I knew that my task was to live as long as possible and to carry out as many transformative tasks as I could. And I have done so. For me, that is the meaning of living simply, which is not the same as simply living. It is living a meaningful and useful life in sustainability.
What initiatives is civil society working on to promote a culture of peace and human rights?
There are many civil society-led proposals to promote a culture of peace and human rights. However, the challenge lies in approaching these projects in a sustainable way, one that is committed every day and at every step to creating a peaceful world and a healthy planet. This is the practice of planetary- global citizenship. Initiatives are often pursued with goodwill but in isolation, without understanding the importance of working intentionally and collaboratively, collectively and consciously.
For example, while governments should develop national plans to implement the necessary climate commitments at the local level, few states have developed effective national plans to avoid exceeding 1.5 degrees of global temperature rise. In the face of this official failure, it is civil society that is organising to propose solutions.
To create conditions for social governance, the sovereign people must exercise their right and duty to work alongside the authorities, reminding civil servants that they are our employees. But it is governments, with their teams and resources, that should bring together all parts of the population, particularly the least privileged who suffer most from the impacts of climate change. This would allow for a just transition without people and the planet being exploited.
In other words, there are good projects, but one-off projects are not enough. We must transform the way we live to achieve a lasting and sustainable peace that allows all human rights to be respected individually and collectively and at all levels, from local to global.
Are you working on any campaign for UN reform?
I have been working with the UN since the 1970s. In the beginning, the process I supported most was the decolonisation of Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. Back then, the central issue was the struggle for the independence of the remaining colonies.
Today, I consider it crucial to focus on the rights of Indigenous peoples. Their active participation in decision-making processes must be guaranteed by respecting their right to free, prior and informed consent and their participation in implementation. This is essential for the practice of true global governance.
It is also important to move in the direction indicated by two UN Security Council resolutions that have not been given the importance they deserve. Resolution 2,250 of 2015 calls for the inclusion of young people in decision-making from an early age. This approach is the framework for the effective and transformative work of all post-2015 UN agendas, including Agenda 2030 with the SDGs and Agenda 2036 on Habitat. Young people and children must be able to participate in the process of creating the societies that we need to live in peace, on a healthy planet.
Resolution 1,325 of 2000 recognises and affirms the right of women, who bear the brunt of all types of conflict, to participate effectively in peacebuilding processes.
It is worrying that neither of these resolutions have been seriously taken into account to lead the way, so reform projects are adrift. The upcoming UN Summit of the Future in September 2024 will be a crucial opportunity for young people and human rights defenders to contribute to shaping the UN we aspire to and need if we are to have the future envisaged in the post-2015 agendas.
This commitment means reviewing existing agreements and working to reform the UN and its founding documents to provide guidelines for the practice of planetary-global citizenship that prioritises the wellbeing of nature and people. We must take up the declaration of human rights to lead the way. This is the challenge we must not postpone. The UN was created for the promotion and maintenance of lasting and sustainable peace, and today more than ever it is our challenge and privilege to work towards its achievement.
Follow @benavides_marta on Twitter.
This interview was conducted as part of the ENSURED Horizon research project funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
