Swiss Senator Simonetta Sommaruga spoke yesterday on the theme of ‘The Essential Conditions for Human Security’ at the third Forum at the Caux conference centre. At the ‘official day’, which saw diplomats from Bern and Geneva, representatives of the local authorities, church figures and representatives of civil society joining the 350 participants, Sommaruga called for personal responsibility.

Simonetta Sommaruga

Sommaruga, a member of the Council of States, the upper house in the Swiss Federal Parliament, talked of the global financial crisis, and attacked State guarantees to the big banks. ‘Such guarantees allow the banks to take even greater risks, without worrying about the consequences,’ she said. Risks always have a cost, she stated, but who will pay? She went on, ‘State aid to save the banks meant that the lack of funding for social justice.’ She called for the relationship between the State and the market to be redefined. ‘I want Switzerland to be at the forefront of such moves. We have the means and the time is right,’ she said.

Sommaruga, who is also President of the Association for the Protection of Consumers, underlined the responsibility of consumers in demanding change of banks and politicians. ‘As clients, we can tell them what we want to support and what we want to prevent with our money. It is not easy to information out of them, but we must. We are responsible.’ Simonetta Sommaruga noted that individuals could feel powerless in the face of climate change, but she insisted that individuals and citizens do have a role to play. The United States produced 20 tons of CO2 per person, she went on, while Switzerland produced 10 tons, but Kenya produced only 0.3 tons. For things to change, the rich Western countries must commit themselves decisively, she said. She closed by quoting an Indian proverb, ‘We inherit the earth from our parents but we borrow it from our children.’

Pierre Helg, Deputy State Secretary for Foreign Affairs brought the greetings of the Swiss Federal authorities. Also taking part in the round table, he said: ‘The Swiss government is proud to support the Caux Forum and Initiatives of Change,’ Helg said, going back to 2005, in Burundi. ‘Since then, our partnership has expanded and deepened,’ he continued. ‘We particularly welcome the view of human security adopted by the Forum,’ he noted, saluting the ‘broad perspective’ and ‘a multidisciplinary approach which encompasses numerous actors at different levels’. There is no security and well-being without freedom from fear and freedom from want for each and everyone, he suggested, adding that more was required than ‘just crisis management’. Helg concluded, ‘The tasks ahead are daunting, but I am inspired by this Forum.’

A third participant was Luc Gnacadja, Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, who warned: ‘In the not so long history of humankind, our ancestors too often fought for land and water. Those days have returned.’ Six to ten inches of topsoil are all that stand between us and extinction, he suggested. ‘Soil is a common good, a common wealth.’ Roughly a third of the planet’s land mass and home to one third of the world’s population live in drylands, more than 2 billion people. The changes are silent and slow, he said, but unlike tsunamis and earthquakes, they are predictable. He concluded, ‘Never before in the history of human kind has the sustainable management of natural resources been so critical to human survival. Our generation will set human history on the path to either sustainable development or self-destruction. There is no time for procrastination.’

The Caux Forum for Human Security continues until 16 July. It is then followed by four other sessions up to 17 August, on ‘Trust and integrity in the global economy’, ‘Everybody counts – a dialogue across generations’, and training in the skills needed to ‘Lead change for a sustainable world’. Further information and photographs can be found on the Caux web site: www.caux.ch/en/2010-programme

>> Listen to Simonetta Sommaruga's speech online or download it as podcast (in German)