The five of us – coming from different national, confessional and political sectors, but yet united in the defence of the core values of democracy, humanity and sustainable development – have been working in their different capacities and have occasionally worked together in different areas and projects along the recent past.

Last February, Jamila, Kamal and myself finished the report “A Green Ray over Iraq” (promoted by the Commission to Study the Organization of Peace, USA) assessing the Iraqi situation and proposing a set of measures to the international community regarding the future of Iraq. (www.paulocasaca.com)

The findings of this report – based on extensive field trips and analysis of the most important international and Western World official reports – contradicted directly the analysis and proposals of well-established international think tanks and NGO.

We concluded then that our world major problems are in great need of independent assessments geared by the will to serve and respect humanity rather than any convenient interests.

The idea of establishing an association gathering people from the most diverse geographical, professional, and cultural upbringings united in their will to advance cooperation and understanding took therefore shape under the project of the “Alliance to Renew Co-operation among Humankind” ARCHumankind.

Both Antonio and I are Europeans very much engaged in the political scene, in particular in the international arena. Masoud, an English lawyer, is yet very linked to its Iranian origins and is a staunch supporter of freedom and democracy in the land of his ancestors, while Kamal is a Lebanese fully engaged in the defence of human rights and in the political process. Jamila, a Palestinian, is a journalist with a strong civic engagement in particular in the Gaza strip.

We started with limited support, and are now opening up the association to new members, constituting an advisory board and aiming at getting support for our Working programme for the next two years that turns around seven basic issues:

1. Women; Discrimination against women appears as the most generalised and serious human problem in the developing World. Innovative actions will be sponsored to address this question;
2. World Without discrimination; other than women, minorities tend to be heavily discriminated, ethnicity and religion coming as the main reasons for it. An appraisal of the situation of minorities and the ways to address it will be a fundamental topic;
3. Watch; human rights, in particular the work of human rights defenders and the situation and rehabilitation of victims of torture.
4. War; Iran is stepping up its nuclear programme at the same time as it increases the sponsoring of terrorism and destabilisation in the region and reinforces brutal repression in-doors. Appeasement policy reinforced considerably this threat. What shall be the new policy of the international community to the fanatic threat?
5. Waste; whereas it is true humanity is slowly learning to diminish and reuse the waste of its production processes, more and more waste is being created everywhere with disastrous consequences for our eco-systems. How can we think of global strategies to severely reverse the trend?
6. Water; Assessment and proposals to face the scarcity and combating the mismanagement of water resources;
7. Weather; Our land and energy systems are proving unsustainable and with a dramatic potential to serious affect weather conditions on a planetary scale. Whereas major international initiatives have not yet fully addressed the issue, are there alternative actions that might prove to be more efficient?

We have already commissioned one study and produced a report on the situation of the main opposition force in Iran, the People’s Mujahedin of Iran, and we are aiming at sponsoring other ideas, as the one of a clinic in Tikrit specialising on Women Cancer prevention.

Please, tell us what your ideas are, tell us your opinion and help us going ahead enhancing, developing, renewing co-operation among humankind.

Brussels, 2010-12-06
(Paulo Casaca)