Francois Farah: ‘Human Dignity has no Timeline’

UNFPA's Francois Farah discusses human dignity at the Civil Society Stakeholders meeting in Istanbul

ISTANBUL, TURKEY—
Human dignity is a right often overlooked by the developed world, but is a basic human right that much of the less developed world universally lacks. ICPD Beyond 2014 sat down to chat with Francois Farah, the UNFPA Representative in Romania and Country Director for Moldova, Serbia and Macedonia during the Civil Society Organization Stakeholders meeting in Istanbul to discuss this global disparity. Farah has been an integral part of the International Conference on Population and Development process since its 1994 inception in Cairo.

As a seasoned expert on all things ICPD and the Programme of Action, he shared his personal thoughts about how together, all of us can keep the PoA as relevant a document today as it was back in 1994. After all, there is a new generation of citizens born after the ICPD convened, who are affected by many of the issues it addresses, yet unaware of the opportunities for a better life that it presents. Within the PoA are a set of fifteen principles. The first and the tenth explicitly address dignity stating:

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights…Everyone has the right to education, which shall be directed to the full development of human resources, and human dignity and potential, with particular attention to women and the girl child…

The eloquence and potential for a better world under the leadership of the PoA is inspiring. The PoA essentially is a blueprint, a guidebook of passion and promise, maintains Mr. Farah, and he is very hopeful about the kind of world that can emerge from its implementation.

How do we make the ICPD PoA feel relevant to people who find it to be an old document?
The world has changed and we have been able to implement many of the premises of the ICPD. The novelty of the ICPD is that it deals with human dignity, and human dignity has no timeline. We are moving on a road toward the destination that we’ve now defined very well. That destination is overall well-being for everyone and particularly for those who are far from it, those in minority groups, young people, and women. This is something important for people who don’t want to be at the mercy of social protection programs. The reality is you want to use them only for a while. You want individuals to catch up with their own lives and the only way to do this is when you empower them.

How do you empower them?
Shift their thinking and approach. You show them their dignity, make sure there is no abuse, and give them equal access to services and equal access to opportunities. Those are the most effective ways to help people at any level of vulnerability. That’s what ICPD is all about. The challenge is to see now that it is workable, to then re-position the ICPD in the broader development agenda.

How do you suggest empowering the youth population so they truly feel like stakeholders and not just beneficiaries?

When you talk about adolescents and young people, it’s like learning how to drive. When you learn how to drive, you are confined to any area, but once you know how to drive you can drive anywhere. You aren’t confined anymore. When you empower an adolescent on how to develop a sharper perception of risks, how to assess the situation, and how to be responsible for their actions, they can apply that to everything. They can do it within their relationships. They can do it with their health. They can do it with their future. They can decide when to have a family, when to have a child, with whom, and they can learn how to be respectful to one another. With the right tools they can learn how to be equitable and do justice. They can put an end to hierarchical living and stereotypes. It will be no more of, ‘That’s how my father did it,’ but instead, ‘I’ll do it this way.’

How about the spread of information using social media and the Internet?
Throughout the history of human beings an important tool for us has always been access to information, and not only the easy access to information, but also the digestion of information. Young people must be in a place where they can digest information. That allows them to mature faster and look at things differently. When you’re not in conflict, everything be comes different. It becomes possible for groups to come together, provided you give them the right framework.

— Shira Levine