Transcription of the oral presentation made by Julio Carranza Valdés, director of the UNESCO Regional Office in Quito and representative for Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela, at the opening ceremony of the Third Meeting on Higher Education in Human Rights and Nature: "Social conflicts, memories of violence and alternatives for peace" organized by the Universidad Central del Ecuador, the Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar and the Universidad Internacional del Ecuador.
Faced with the difficulties we are experiencing as humanity, such as the Covid-19 pandemic or the war in Europe -whose conclusion no one in the world knows what it may be- a response from society is needed to overcome these challenges. These issues must be understood by the academy in their essence, because the only way to seek and achieve answers that overcome these difficulties is by understanding the complexity of the processes in which we are immersed. Without deep knowledge, without a science that is also a conscience, it is impossible to provide an answer that allows us to articulate the policies and initiatives that will enable us to overcome the challenges we face. This reflection applies to the world, to regions, to countries, to regions within countries, to neighborhoods and even to families, because we must be able to understand how to live together and overcome the complex problems that threaten us.
The theme of human rights in particular is of great importance, but it must be well understood, eliminating empty propaganda. Nowadays, it is very difficult to find a public discourse that does not refer to human rights, but it does not always do so in the essential way in which they should be treated. Human rights are conquests of humanity, the result of years of historical processes that have been giving rise to an awareness of what we are entitled to in law by the sole condition of being human beings, as expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Then, we have been understanding with greater certainty that there cannot be a prosperous and sustainable society without taking care of the rights of nature, to which the indigenous ancestral communities have contributed a great deal, as they have a very deep knowledge about the implication of the relationship between human beings and nature.
Human rights must be understood in all their essence. In order for them not to be manipulated, they must be understood in their entirety. No human right is more important than any other. Human rights as a whole are important. There are political rights, which should not be reduced to the existence of periodic elections, but there should be a permanent accountability of those who were elected to comply with the demands of the people who elected them. On the other hand, democratic institutions, congresses, representation, different groups, the possibilities of organizing and expressing themselves are fundamental factors of human rights, but this would not be enough if we have societies with high levels of exclusion, illiteracy, chronic child malnutrition, violation of judicial processes, among others. This means that there must also be an incorporation of everything that has to do with the rights of the individual, above all to have a dignified life, a roof, a job, education, health, and no manifestations of racism, xenophobia or discrimination. A society with all the formal mechanisms of political rights would contribute little if they were not accompanied by mechanisms to guarantee a process of social inclusion and the right of access to the main fundamental services for individuals. This is the principle of indivisibility of human rights, all of them must be fulfilled, not some of them.
Another principle to understand is the relationship between individual rights and collective rights. Some time ago I had to present a dissertation on the tensions that exist between the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Universal Declaration on Cultural Rights. These are two complementary texts that I recommend studying, as they have some points that are worth examining because they have different approaches. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a fundamental document, which like any document has its history, its process and its evolution, and corresponds to a time when individual rights are fundamentally highlighted. And the Universal Declaration on Cultural Rights has more of a focus on collective rights. We must be able to understand these texts and these principles in order to integrate them in a complementary way because individual rights are as important as collective rights, the rights of the community, the rights of the culture of which each human group is the bearer.
The third point is the right of nature, to understand that the environment in which we live is an essential factor for an adequate coexistence and, therefore, we must recognize the rights that allow us to live in a sustainable way. There is a thought that I like very much because it is very graphic, which goes like this: Nature is not something we receive in inheritance from our parents and grandparents, but it is something we receive on loan from our children and grandchildren. It means that they have lent us this environment and we have to return it in optimal conditions for the generations to come. That implies a certain responsibility. Considering the levels of environmental impact of our activities, the deterioration of ecosystems, the misuse of energy, climate change, this thought must move our consciences and lead us to act. The world is making efforts in this direction; there has just been a meeting, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Egypt, where important decisions were taken, but they are still insufficient, as shown by the indicators and alarms.
This means that we are in a world that poses great challenges. I do not think it would be an exaggeration to say that we are in a civilizational crisis, society needs new values, new inspirations, new concepts, because otherwise the survival of the species may be under threat. ¿Why do I say that we are facing a civilizational crisis?, because on the one hand we have that the way the world works does not guarantee the main rights of the human being, such as the right to work. We are facing societies that do not generate a sufficient dynamic of inclusion, that is to say, it would seem that there are too many people. And, on the other hand, we are in a society where the air we breathe, the water we drink and the places where we walk are polluted. So, if on the one hand there are too many people and on the other hand there is a rarefaction of the space in which we live together, obviously there is a civilization problem, which can be transformed to the extent that we change consciences and change values. That is why it is necessary to have an essential conception of human rights and the rights of nature, and universities are essential in this respect. They are not the only one, but they are one of the most important institutions that society has to provide it with clearer thinking, a process of education and well-founded proposals on how to face these problems.
Changes in values are needed at the base of education. Regardless of the knowledge that each student acquires about his or her career, education in ethics, education in rights and education in values as fundamental components of the process of formation of individuals is required, so that they become professionals for the good of humanity. We need a university that educates in rights, citizenship, ethics and values, together with academic excellence and the practices of university careers, since this is a basic factor in facing the complexity of the problems of today's world.
Finally, I would like to congratulate Ecuador for this inter-university agreement that gives rise to a dynamic in the direction that has been promoted by UNESCO from its headquarters in Paris and in each of its representations in the world. I would like to congratulate you for the organization of this third meeting, for the essential contents addressed, for the interest and certainty of the university authorities in giving life and content to these processes and for helping to understand in the deepest sense the concept of human rights, rights of nature, peaceful solution of conflicts, advocating for social inclusion, for banishing all forms of discrimination, xenophobia and racism, that is, to make ours a more humane society.