———
Los bahais ofrecen modelo para toma de decisiones en Comision de la ONU

Lea una traduccion automatica al espanol de esta noticia pinchando en el
cuadro a la derecha –>
——–

Baha’is offer decision-making model at UN commission

UNITED NATIONS, 16 February (BWNS) - A new model of decision-making among
peoples of different cultures would contribute to integration “at this time
of transition to a new social order,” according to a new Baha’i statement.

The statement was prepared for the 48th United Nations Commission for Social
Development, which concluded on 12 February. The commission is the chief
U.N. body charged with following up on the World Summit on Social
Development held in 1995 in Copenhagen, where world leaders outlined
principles that would characterize a new “society for all.” These principles
included respect for diversity and participation of all people.

The Baha’i International Community said in its statement that it was
offering its experience in the method of consultation used by Baha’i
communities around the world - a key component in creating unity among
people.

The consultative process, the Baha’i statement said, rests on the
understanding that all human beings are essentially noble - “they possess
reason and conscience as well as capacities for inquiry, understanding,
compassion, and service to the common good.”

Mr. Ming H. Chong of Singapore, a delegate to the commission who presented a
summary of the Baha’i statement, said afterwards that understanding the
nobility of all humans prevents people from dismissing others as needy
rather than being in charge of their own development.

“If you start with (this) understanding, then you have a different
perspective, one that avoids labels like ‘marginalized’ and ‘poor,’” he
said. He explained that he was a child of immigrants to Singapore and had
learned that such labels create the wrong impression of entire groups of
people.

“Language shapes the way we think,” he said. “It creates mental pictures of
how we see the world. Some of these mental pictures are not always positive
- those that dehumanize migrants, for example.”

The Baha’i statement to the U.N. commission suggested that the human body
can serve as a model for comparing the integration of the world’s cultures
and peoples. “Within this organism, millions of cells, with extraordinary
diversity of form and function, collaborate to make human existence
possible. Every least cell has its part to play in maintaining a healthy
body,” the statement said.

This image can be used to envision the world’s peoples as one human family
and understand how each culture plays a part in the functioning of the
whole, Mr. Chong explained.

In consultation as practiced in Baha’i communities, great value is placed on
the diversity of perspectives and contributions that individuals bring to
the discussion.

“Actively soliciting views from those traditionally excluded from
decision-making not only increases the pool of intellectual resources but
also fosters the trust, inclusion, and mutual commitment needed for
collective action,” the Baha’i statement said.

A key feature of Baha’i consultation is that ideas belong to the group
rather than to individuals.

“Detachment from one’s positions and opinions regarding the matter under
discussion is imperative - once an idea has been shared, it is no longer
associated with the individual who expressed it, but becomes a resource for
the group to adopt, modify, or discard,” the statement said.

A diversity of opinions, however, is not sufficient - it “does not provide
communities with a means to bridge differences or to resolve social
tensions,” it continued.

“In consultation, the value of diversity is inextricably linked to the goal
of unity. This is not an idealized unity, but one that acknowledges
differences and strives to transcend them through a process of principled
deliberation,” the statement said. “It is unity in diversity.”

To read a longer version of the article, with photograph, go to:
http://news.bahai.org/story/758

For the Baha’i World News Service home page, go to:
http://news.bahai.org

Inglés en el Extranjero