The Schuman plan: A big step towards Europe
-Raphaelle LUCAS, France
Believing in the need for French-German reconciliation, at a
time when the political construction of Europe was experiencing difficulties to get under
way, the French minister of Foreign Affairs, Robert Schuman, suggested creating a European
Coal and Steel Community, on 9 May 1950. Since then, the project, initiated by Jean
Monnet, has come a long way.
<<The French government proposes placing the
whole of French and German production of coal and steel under a common high authority, in
an organization open to the participation other European countries>>. That was on 9
May 1950. In the magnificent clock room at the French Foreign office, Robert Schuman, the
minister of Foreign affairs thus officially revealed the plan inspired by the French
economist and politician Jean Monnet, keen to achieve the << first concrete meeting
of a European Federation that is indispensable for maintaining peace >>. By his
declaration, Robert Schuman, born in Luxembourg in 1886, lay the foundations for what was
to become the European Union.
Five years after the Second World War, the drawing closer
together of the countries of Europe was far from being obvious. Indeed, at the time,
Europe was in a perilous situation. The cold war brought down the threat of a conflict
between its eastern and western parts on it and old rivals had great difficulty
reconciling their differences. So it was important to quickly create the conditions for
peace. Robert Schuman considered that << World peace could not be safeguarded
without creative efforts commensurate with the dangers threatening it>>.
As the nub of the problem lay in relations between France and
Germany, Jean Monnet suggested to Robert Schuman and Konrad Adenauer, the Chancellor of
the recent German Federal Republic, to have their two countries share a common interest
and gather the free nations of Europe around it. This plan, Klaus-Dieter Borchardt
explains in a European Union publication (1) << was based on the observation
according to which it was not very reasonable to impose unilateral controls on Germany,
but that leaving it completely independent would still be felt as a potential threat to
peace. The only means of getting out of this dilemma consisted in integrating Germany, on
a political and economic level, into a solidly structured European community>>.
To create this community of destiny, Robert Schuman suggested
establishing customs union for two essential products, coal and steel, and to set up a
supranational authority for this purpose. << The pooling together of the production
of coal and steel, >> he declared << will immediately ensure the establishment
of common bases for economic development, the first stage of the European federation, and
will change the destiny of these regions which, for long time, were devoted to
manufacturing war weapons of which they were the most constant victims >>. Indeed,
he went on, << The solidarity of production, which will thus be established, will
show that any war between France and Germany becomes not only unthinkable, but materially
impossible>>.
Whereas the USSR immediately condemned the project, the
United States, for its part, approved, <<persuaded>>, the historian
Jean-Pierre Rioux (2) recounts, << that it sets up the first obstacle to stop
Germany from rising up again, which is so necessary for the defense of the Atlantic world
>>. Other countries of the western world, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and
the Netherlands greeted it with enthusiasm. Great Britain alone remained aloof for,
following Jean-Pierre Rioux’s analysis, << The labor party had no intention of
putting its newly nationalized steel and coal industries in competition >>. Thus, in
June 1950, six governments, Paris, Bonn, Brussels, the Hague, Luxembourg and Rome, agreed
to the principle of a supranational authority and, on 18 April 1951, the negotiations
carried out by Jean Monnet resulted in the signing, in Paris, of the treaty creating the
European Coal and Steel Community, ECSC,. The following year, on 10 August, the high
authority moved to Luxembourg and chose Jean Monnet, its founding father, for president.
Finally, in 1953, the Common Market of Coal and Steel was created.
Th craftsman of the rapprochement of European countries had
been right. <<, They had asserted, << will not be built at a single stroke,
nor in a single block. It will be made with concrete achievements, first of all creating
an actual solidarity>>. Fifty years after that declaration, there are no more doubts
about it.
The Role of Women in the 21st
Century
- Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister , Republic
of Bangladesh
I am delighted to receive the Pearl S. Buck
Award from this great seat of learning. I accept this honor with humility. The Award
bestowed on me is not only a rare honour for me but also my country and our people. I
express my thanks for this award. This has reposed great responsibility in me - to live up
to its honor and obligation for making this world a prosperous and peaceful abode to live
in.
I recall the great contributions made
by Pearl S. Buck, an alumna of this institution, for the refinement of art, culture and
literature; for widening the frontiers of knowledge and also for rendering service to the
humanity irrespective of caste, creed, colour and race. Based on her experience in China,
she developed a deep insight into the Chinese way of life and wrote her famous novel,
"The Good Earth". She describe with compassion and deep personal touches the
struggle of a Chinese peasant and his slave - wife to gain land and social position.
Buck's work provides a moving and realistic portrayal of her characters in their struggle
to survive in the midst of natural disasters, social turmoil and unfriendly environment
and the ultimate triumph of the human spirit and truth.
We also, in our part of the globe, have
undergone trials and tribulations historically, socially, politically, economically and
even culturally. Our movements right from 1947 through 1971 bear eloquent testimony to
this fact and we believe, like Pearl S. Buck, that ultimately truth will prevail and evil
forces will be defeated. Our struggle for political freedom and war of national liberation
in 1971, launched at the clarion call of our great leader Father of the Nation Bangabandhu
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, lends credence to this assertion. During these struggles, our
people have undergone untold miseries and inhuman sufferings. Nearly 3 million embraced
martyrdom and nearly 200 thousand women have been violated. But ultimately, we achieved
independence defeating the Pakistani occupation forces. As you are aware, cyclones and
floods visit us at regular intervals. Our brave, hard-working and energetic people never
become demoralized and start re-building their lives anew after every natural disaster. It
is in this context that I find a resemblance between Buck's philosophy of life and the
heroic deeds and coping abilities of our people to face adversities of life.
I speak of the courage of our people, I have
particularly the women in mind. Women constitute nearly half of our total population of
128 million. No nation can aspire to be a developed one leaving half of its population in
darkness. This realization prompted us to take concrete measures for the development and
empowerment of women ever since we came to office in 1996. The Constitution of Bangladesh
ensures equal rights for women. Since the inception of Bangladesh as a sovereign state,
the country has shown its full commitment to ensuring equality for all citizens and also
to eliminating all forms of discrimination against women. The Father of the Nation had a
special interest in the welfare of women. In 1972, Women's Rehabilitation Board was
established. It was converted into a Women's Rehabilitation and Welfare Foundation in
1974. This has now taken the shape of a Department to deal with the gender issues, to
create greater network in the country and deliver services to the women even at the
grass-roots level.
Women in my country have been a focus of
public policies since the birth of Bangladesh. The current Five Year Plan stated specific
objectives and strategies to use women as a productive force and to ensure that women are
direct beneficiaries of all development efforts. My government is firmly committed to
Beijing Platform For Action (PFA), and Convention on Elimination of all Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) for women's advancement. We approved a National
Policy on Women's Advancement to provide a comprehensive framework for this purpose.
These institutional mechanisms have started
yielding good results for the empowerment of women, which has captured the imagination of
the present-day world. I perceive them mainly under three heads: economic, social and
political.
I will touch upon all the three aspects
briefly. The government is implementing the largest poverty alleviation program known as
Vulnerable Group Development (VGD). The VGD is a development package for the destitute and
poor women which offers food, skill development and training. Micro-credit offered to the
rural women by government, financial institutions and NGOs have appreciably changed our
rural socio-economic scenario. Originating in 1972 in Bangladesh, credit has now turned
into a global poverty alleviation tool, a success story and more than 50 countries of the
world have replicated the scheme. We have number of successful and replicable targeted
poverty alleviation programs for the poor and destitute women.
Regarding empowerment of women, social
returns of female education are significant in different ways. Female education slows down
population growth. Influence of women's education on reduction of infant deaths is greater
than that of direct intervention aimed at reducing mortality and fertility. Higher
education levels enable the women to move from low paying and low productivity activities
to the activities of higher economic value. Considering the social values of education, my
government has made the highest allocation of resources for the education sector in the
current year's budget. As a matter of fact, 40% of the budgetary allocation has been made
for the social sector. Following our pragmatic policies, the rate of enrolment for girls
in the schools has gone up significantly. The food for education program, stipend scheme
for girls upto grade eight, free education upto class ten and the non-formal education
program are considered the main reasons for this rise in female child enrolment. We have
also started a massive total literacy program to ensure 100% literacy rate by the year
2005. Provision has been made to increase the number of women teachers to 60% of all
vacant positions in our primary schools. There is also a plan for the expansion of
technical training programs for women. With this end in view, three more polytechnic
institutions exclusively meant for the women would be added to our network of technical
schools soon.
"Asrayon" is a shelter and
livelihood program for the homeless. This project has been designed to provide shelter to
50,000 destitute families in the first phase. Its overall objective is not only to provide
shelter but also to create self-employment for the poor and homeless. Over 16,000 families
have been rehabilitated, 160 community centres constructed, 226 co-operative societies
formed and over US $ 2 million disbursed as micro-credit to about 9000 rehabilitated
families. Homes under the project are allotted jointly in the name of husband and wife.
Beneficiaries of the project will hopefully lead a happy life as partners in development.
A total of 403110 poor, old, distressed and
helpless men and women over the age of 57 living at the grass-roots level are being
provided an allowance per month under the old-age allowance scheme introduced in 1997 for
the first time in the country. Similar number of women–widowed and abandoned by
husbands–will also benefit under another scheme introduced for the purpose in 1998.
Family Saving Certificate Scheme for the women has also been introduced. Under the scheme
women can buy savings certificates ranging from US $ 200 to 20000. They get an interest at
the rate of 11 percent.
We have made remarkable progress in matters
of political empowerment of women. Bangladesh took a giant step forward towards ensuring
women's participation in the decision making level when the Parliament, in 1997, passed
the bill for direct election of women to the Union Parishads–the lowest tier of our
administration. At present there are around 14,000 directly elected women members - 20 of
them being the chairpersons. In the Parliament, 30 seats are reserved for women and 8
female MPs out of 300 were directly elected in the 1996 election. This arrangement has
created more space for women in our public life and decision-making process. Despite the
difficulties, greater number of women in Bangladesh are now coming up to take responsible
positions in banks, insurance, trade, commerce, industry and information technology. Women
now serve as Secretaries to the Government—the highest position in bureaucracy. A
number of women have risen to the position of Managing Directors in companies. Women now
can join any service of the Republic including aviation, police and some branches of the
armed forces. I believe, a greater role for women in the economy side by side with men
will bring about welfare of our country in the 21st century.
I envision a much greater role for women in
the 21st century in all nation-building activities. Foremost is education. In this
connection, I am reminded of the famous saying of Napoleon, "Give me educated
mothers, I will give you educated nation". Educated mothers are better able to
prepare their children for school, and later for participation in technical and industrial
sectors. No doubt, institutional arrangements for credit to women and for their training
in income-generating activities have evolved steadily, but the women themselves shall have
to take the lead for the alleviation of their poverty. Women do have the savings
mentality, they recycle the loans regularly. They are more adept in gardening, cottage
industries, poultry and livestock management. I will, therefore, make out a strong case
for the introduction of micro-credit in any poverty-prone areas of the world and also for
the leadership of women to make the best possible use of this tool for upgrading their
economic and social status.
Health is another area where women should
assume greater role. Our women still do not enjoy the same accessibility to health
services and care, as do men. We, in Bangladesh, have undertaken a massive Health and
Population Sector Program (HPSP) to deliver essential package of health and population
planning services to the doorsteps of the disadvantaged segment of the population, the
poor, the women and the children.
Now, I advocate a policy of greater
participation by women in administration, in universities, in research and development.
This will have a salutary effect on over-all development for the simple reason that women
are pacifists in nature and are more interested in socio-economic development of the
nation rather than in the perpetuation of intra and inter-state conflicts. Their
empowerment in political and administrative domain will, therefore, bring about positive
changes in the world in the 21st century.
Finally, I would like to remind you of what
the great Pearl S. Buck wrote on breaking a heart : "There were many ways of breaking
a heart. Stories were full of hearts broken by love, but what really broke a heart was
taking away its dream whatever that dream might be". So we must presume the dreams
and bring them to reality for all humanity in this millennium. If women can be protected
from injuries and harms, they can create, through their contributions, a world full of
love, affection, amity and dreams.
Excerpts from the speech delivered by
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina while receiving the Pearl S. Buck Award from Randolph-Macon
Woman's College, Virginia, USA, on 8 April, 2000. |
