On Thursday, July 25, Dr. Monica Bouman spoke at UPF-NL's Dialoogcentrum, Amsterdam Zuid on the topic "De VN, Milleniumdoelen and Dag Hammarskjold" (The UN, Millennium Goals and Dag Hammarskjold).

In 2000, the UN formulated eight "Millennium Development Goals" (MDGs), to be accomplished by 2015. In July 2, UN Secretary General said the MDGs "remain achievable in most countries, but only if political leaders take urgent and concerted action". -- but the NCDO recently reported that more than 60% of Nederlanders had never even heard of the NDGs; maybe they hadn't heard of the NCDO either!

As part of its stated aim of supporting the UN, and because UPF is committed to the achievement of one global family living in harmony, Dr. Bouman was invited to address the topic, in particular, since, like UPF, she seeks to go beyond the material, physical aspects of the MDGs, vital though they are, and in general, to alert us to what are the MDGs and what can we do to help?

UPF-NL Secretary General Wim Koetsier opened the evening, by broadening the question beyond the helping of developing countries and suggesting how so called "problems" like immigration would be solved by our helping poorer nations (David Cameron, the leader of the Conservative Party in Britain, recently said there was no longer a distinction between foreign and domestic policy).

Allowing a certain number of people from poor countries to work for a restricted, pre-arranged time in the rich countries after which they would back with extra funds, could contributing to a more fair immigration policy and an effective way of helping the people at the grassroots level. The statement of the World Bank, that more money goes to poor countries through people from these countries who work in the rich nations underscores this idea.

Mr. Koetsier cited examples from recent history, how Hitler had stimulated the German economy, but, because his projects were founded on faulty principles, had eventually brought disaster and how Henry Ford had prospered as he treated his workers far better than was the current norm.

He said that many people were active in helping achieve the MDGs, but not so much was reported in the national media, which often emphasized "problems", though the local media was often more positive.

He emphasized that while governments and institutions had their role to play, the goal was to build a world where people were helped as part of, or as a result of, relationships, rather than through the function of an institution; the motive being "heart" rather than "head". UPF emphasized the huge importance of the family in creating a better society.

After showing a UPF video "Peacemakers" about the UPF Ambassador for Peace Initiative, Mr. Koetsier commented that while the "occupation" of Palestine by Israel might be unpleasant and restrictive, it was almost immeasurably less so than the experience of the Netherlands under the Nazis; there were things that could be done, and one aspect of UPF's Middle East Peace Initiative (MEPI) was to encourage the Palestinians to take the initiative. He mentioned how Dr. Bouman had taken part in a recent MEPI visit to Israel/Palestine and invited her to the podium.

Dr. Bouman "one of the few people who has studied the spiritual aspects of the UN" Dr. Monica H. A. Bouman has been described as "one of the few people who has studied the spiritual aspects of the United Nations". She has recently been addressing the challenge of the MDGs.

Dr. Bouwman is an active member of Initiatives for Change, on the board of Religions for Peace and the author of the book "Dag Hammarskjold - Citizen of the World". Her doctorate thesis was on "The Moral Leadership and Spirituality of Dag Hammarskjold" and she arranges workshops on Service, Responsibility and Leadership by introducing his writing and facilitating reflective thinking, dialogue and meditation. In her opinion, the second UN Secretary General, is a worthy role-model for today.

Dr. Bouman started by explaining her personal connection with Dag Hammarskjold's life and work, apart from the coincidence that she had once lived in a street named after him!

In the 1990s, she had been questioning what was maturity, what did it mean to be an adult, and how one be of real service to others. Also, she had lived all her life in the Netherlands, but was of Dutch and Indonesian parentage and that had led her to seek what it meant to be a world citizen. Seeking to stimulate her inner dialogue, she had turned to Hammarskjold's writings and found them a valuable influence.

Dag Hammarskjold came from a strong Lutheran Christian background, but he was a seeker, described as a "modern Christian mystic". He was a world figure as Secretary General of the UN, but after his death, in a plane crash while visiting the Congo, his spiritual diary was found and then published.

He was not easy reading, he was certainly not orthodox, had his own interpretations. In the early years of his career he had been an economist and very much focused on his work; then, in his mid forties, he had experienced a deep crisis which led him to realize "the longest journey is the journey within". In pursuit of this, he studied the medieval mystics, Meister Eckhardt and Thomas a Kempis. In his texts he didn't refer to Jesus so often, but it was obvious he was very important to him, he even identified himself with Jesus.

As UN Secretary General, he was very creative and innovative (as a condition for his appointment, he insisted he should be able to act on his own initiative, not merely as a representative of the General Assembly or Security Council). His method of diplomacy was to travel and speak with everyone, to be a helpful third party. He said we lived in one world community and had to work with that understanding. He "had a lot to do with people", but said you "must first be yourself if you wanted to contribute to world peace". For him, spiritual maturity had as its basis the desire to be of service to others and also required an active inner dialogue.

2005 the centenary of Dag Hammarskjold's birth and 5 years since MDG's launch 2005 was the centenary of Dag Hammarskjold's birth and in that year she published her book "Dag Hammarskjold - Citizen of the World", based largely on speeches he had made a half a century before.

It was also 5 years since the creation of the Millennium Development Goals (1/3 of the term set) and she attended a conference in the UN devoted to the MDGs. Accomplishment of the MDGs should lead to greater freedom for all, Kofi Annan said that abuse of human rights and hunger went hand in hand, you couldn't solve one without solving the other. But we had to question ourselves: did we really want to see the accomplishment of the MDGs, were we really concerned that too many women died in childbirth, too many children suffered?

Dr. Bouman mentioned that Hammarskjold compared the UN with Columbus' ship, the instrument with which he discovered a new continent; the world, though, was not 'concrete' but spiritual and he saw the UN as an instrument of faith to discover and fabricate a world of peace.

Text of article written on Dag Hammarskjold and the Millennium Development Goals After her talk, she suggested that it would very complicated to summarize what she had shared with the audience and forwarded the English text of an article (with a few alterations), that she wrote in Dutch for 'Speling' (Kok-Kampen March 2005). Since it is so valuable, and resonates so much with UPF's ethos and vision of the UN, it is included in full below. It can also be accessed in Files of groups.yahoo.com/group/MDG-nl.

It is 62 years ago this year that the United Nations’ Charter was signed in San Francisco, California, thus setting up the World Organisation of the United Nations.

The Millennium Declaration, signed by 147 representatives from 191 countries at the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York in 2000, is a further elaboration of the Charter of 1945, making it applicable to the problems of the twenty-first century. By putting their names to this document, the countries declared their responsibility to support the principles of human dignity, equality and justice, at a global level. The Millennium Declaration sets out goals to be reached in the areas of development, peace and security, combating poverty, environmental protection and human rights. It pays special attention to implementing democracy and good government, child protection, support for Africa and strengthening the United Nations - making the organization more effective. Eight of these goals set out an ambitious program, particularly in the field of development and poverty eradication. They specifically aim to achieve universal access to primary education, emancipation of women, and a considerable reduction of extreme poverty and hunger. Making considerable headway in the fight against AIDS, figures prominently in these goals. There is to be a special effort to realize these particular goals by 2015. The realization will only be possible if the Member States make a serious effort to do so. Human rights violation on an immense scale, human disasters resulting from conflicts, systematic subordination of women, loss of sympathy for cultures and religions due to international terrorism, failure to honour trade agreements by developed countries and failure also - with impunity - to respect international treaties; all this requires a different course of action. ‘There is an urgent need for a renewed engagement to work collectively in accordance with the Charter, which would mean honoring decisions taken collectively and displaying great determination to carry them out’ There is need of ongoing commitment as well as an awareness of international responsibility to achieve this end.

The question of how this awareness can be intensified brings us to Dag Hammarskjold (1905-1961), Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1953 until his tragic death in September 1961. In a commemoration speech in Upsala in 2001, Kofi Annan called Dag Hammarskjold a figure of great importance, not only for Annan himself but also for other Secretaries-General. ‘His life and death, words and actions, have done more to shape public expectations of the office, and indeed of the Organization, than those of any other man or woman in its history.’ He called Hammarskjold’s wisdom, modesty, integrity and sense of duty, a ‘standard ’ for all servants of the international community, which is simply impossible to live up to’, and declares that when he is confronted with difficult tasks he asks himself the question: ‘How would Hammarskjold have handled this?’ In his speech, Kofi Annan went into great detail about the significance of Hammarskjold for the 21st century. What he did not mention, however, was Hammarskjold’s call to the world community in 1955 to engage in international service, emphasizing the important role world religions play in this regard.

In this article, I will talk about Hammarskjold’s call to international service and his vision of the United Nations as an instrument of faith.

Hammarskjold was born in Sweden in 1905, grew up in the land of his birth and studied philosophy, law and literary theory. He became known as a talented economist of the Stockholm School and was one of the architects of the Swedish welfare state which was implemented when he was Secretary of State for Finance from 1947. Later, as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, he represented Sweden at different international conferences on the economic reconstruction of Europe. During his vice presidency of the Organization of European Cooperation and Development (OECD) he was noted for his technical knowledge and his talent for getting agreement between parties. Because of this reputation, he was proposed and chosen for the post of Secretary General of the United Nations in 1953. Hammarskjold filled this post for eight-and-a-half years, until his untimely death in 1961. He used the possibilities his office gave him in an intensive and innovative way. Under his leadership, the United Nations became a political factor of great significance in the area of world politics. He was known for his moral leadership, integrity and powers of judgment. Added to this, he was a very skilful diplomat, true to his principles and, at the same time, flexible in his approach -- a pragmatic idealist.

On the world stage, this period between 1953 and 1961 was devoted to post World War II reconstruction, the Cold War and the de-colonization of European colonies in Africa and Asia. One of the political crises in which all these inflammatory issues came to a head, was the Suez Crisis in November 1956, when Great Britain, France and Israel carried out an armed invasion of Egypt after Egypt had nationalized the Suez Canal. By using intensive diplomacy and setting up the first United Nations Peace-keeping Force (UNEF) under the command of the United Nations, Hammarskjold was able to prevent an escalation of the conflict. Instead he used his considerable diplomatic skills to negotiate a political solution.

Hammarskjold was convinced of the international spirit of basic European values - values which he himself held high. They include the role of justice in the community, the social duty which Christianity imposes, respect for the dignity of the individual. He maintained that the best and soundest way to perpetuate this cultural legacy was to meet other peoples and other races in ‘humble respect for the unique gifts that they, in turn, have offered and still offer humanity.’ He found that it was a sign of the highest level of culture "to be truly capable of listening, learning and therefore also responding in a way which helps the less favored ones’. Because of this vision, he set high standards for good leadership. ‘Leadership -- the word I have used instead of superior power -- is a dangerous word if one does not keep in mind that the most influential leaders of the European cultural evolution were askers of questions, like Socrates or the carpenter’s son from Nazareth’. This form of serving leadership which he himself had strongly developed was the basis of his quiet diplomacy. Furthermore, Hammarskjold’s reference to Socrates and Jesus as ‘askers of questions’ throws light on the dialogical form his own inner path had taken, as his spiritual diary ‘Vagmarken’ (Markings) bears witness to. The manuscript of this unique document was found in his apartment in New York after his death and was published first in Swedish and then later in translation in many languages.

From Markings it is clear that Hammarskjold had a deep spiritual life. In the vision which he propagated in his speeches, the United Nations was a secular church of ideals and principles, and both he, as its Secretary General, and the Secretariat of the UN, were seen by governments as representatives of this church. To put it in his own words: ‘we cannot mould the world as masters of a material thing. But can influence the development of the world from within as a spiritual thing’. And further in the same speech: ‘We can help in the movement toward those ends that inspire our lives and are shared by all men of good will - in terms very close to those of the Charter of the UN - peace and freedom for all, in a world of equal rights for all’. Hammarskjold came back to this point again in an address to the World Council of Churches in 1954 when he said: ‘The United Nations stands outside - necessarily outside - all confessions, but it is nevertheless an instrument of faith. As such it is inspired by what unites and not what divides the great religions of the world.’ In the same speech he goes on to say that we can understand "The preamble to the Charter, where the United Nations ‘declare their faith in the dignity and worth of the human person and pledge to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbors’, as having the same meaning as one of the Ten Commandments which calls us ‘to love our neighbors as ourselves.’ Because the organization functions in particular as a centre for political consultation and negotiation it is not suitable, however, as a means to influence the basic attitudes which are decisive in the struggle for the hearts of the people. A war which has to be fought in the hearts of people can only be carried on by those who can speak directly to people. Hammarskjold saw here an important task for the Churches and for people of good will from all religions. Not only to fight for recognition of their ideals of justice and truth on a wider and wider scale, but also because people of good will display the strength which arises from the courage to approach others with trust. He saw this trust as something that the world of his time very badly needed. ‘We have seen how out of present-day conflicts and the underlying tensions has grown a widespread state of fear and frustration, of distrust and desperation. This is, as we all know, in itself a source of evil. It maintains an atmosphere in which unbalanced reactions may suddenly release the explosive power of the forces which we have to master. In the face of this development, we have reason to remember the truth that he who fears God will no longer fear men.’ The government leaders of the Member States can use the United Nations as an instrument of faith if they have confidence in its true international spirit, loyalty and powers of judgment. The integrity of the international civil servant and, in particular the Secretary-General, is essential for this.

Hammarskjold also saw the United Nations as the most representative instrument for relieving tensions, reducing mistrust and lack of understanding, and for discovering and determining new grounds for shared values and interests. To this end he wanted to develop new instruments, of which quiet diplomacy was one, to be used along side the application and development of international law. He had had the experience that diplomatic discussions which took place behind closed doors were very meaningful, even if they did not produce any direct political results. His diplomatic mission to Communist China, where he held talks with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Tsjoe en Lai, about the American pilots who had been captured by the People’s Republic under suspicion of spying, led to the release of the whole group on 1 August 1955. This was a great feather in Hammarskjöld’s cap in the field of his international service. In June 1955, Hammarskjold made forming and applying this basic attitude, a central point in his speech, ‘International Service’. In this speech he called on all citizens of the world to engage in international service and spiritual maturity.

In this speech, one of three given on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the United Nations, Hammarskjold makes his moral appeal to the international community to support the work of the United Nations, and to be prepared to do service in the international spirit. He refutes the objection that international service takes place at the cost of one’s own power and fighting spirit. International service requires of all of us, firstly and foremost, the courage to be ourselves. It requires us to be true to our own ideals and interests -- but in such a way that we can endorse them fully, after we have opened our minds as sincerely as possible to the many voices in the world.

Herein lies the biggest contribution we can make to international life. International service puts us more under the obligation to let the ideals and interests, which are particular to us and belong to our own personality, to reach maturity and bear fruit in a universal climate, than that we should abandon them or bury them. It is an attitude which exposes us to conflicts and puts us outside the protection of conventional ideas. For this we need courage and self-respect, and the basis for these is maturity of mind.

With the theme ‘maturity of mind’, Hammarskjold introduces into his speech the importance of an way of living which does not purely measure human dignity against outward success and quantifiable results. Although this maturity is difficult to define in positive terms, we all recognize it when we see its fruits. ‘It is reflected in the absence of fear, in recognition of the fact that fate is what we make it. It finds expression in an absence of attempts to be anything more than we are or different from what we are, in recognition of the fact that we are on solid ground only when we accept giving to your fellow men neither more nor less than what is really ours…. It is by striving for such maturity that we may grow into good international servants.’

Here Hammarskjold gives the example of Russell Davenport, author of ‘The Dignity of Man’. Davenport had made a deep impression on Hammarskjold because of his integrity. ‘There is no formula to teach us how to arrive at maturity… His study … finally led him to the doorstep where the rest is silence because the rest is something that has to be resolved between a man and himself. The rest is silence -- but the results of the dinner dialogue are evident to all, evident as independence, courage and fairness in dealing with others, evident in true international service.’

With his call to ‘International Service’ Hammarskjold also dealt with the importance of independent thinking and an open mind as a basis for good world citizenship. Describing ‘the doorstep where the rest is silence’, he introduces the inner space for faith. In a talk which he gave for the Canadian radio in 1954, he says about faith: ‘the language of religion is a set of formulas which register a basic spiritual experience.’

In Hammarskjold’s opinion, it is St John of the Cross, the medieval mystic, who has best characterized the fundamental spiritual experience: ‘Faith is the marriage of God and the Soul’. Meister Eckhart, another medieval mystic, also gave Hammarskjöld the language to express this ultimate spiritual experience. We find him writing in his spiritual diary at Christmas, 1956: "’Of the Eternal Birth’ -- to me, this now says everything there is to be said about what I have learned and have still to learn." What he has to learn, he summarizes in the words of Meister Eckhart: ‘The soul that would experience this birth must detach herself from all outward things: within herself completely at one with herself … You must have an exalted mind and a burning heart in which, nevertheless, reign silence and stillness".

The texts in Hammarskjold’s spiritual diary show this inner path and how he found in this the basis for his service to the community. And when he says in his radio talk that the writings of the mystics of the Middle Ages were a revelation for him, he puts into words his own basic spiritual experience. He says that in a ‘singleness of mind and inwardness of spirit they have found strength to say yes to every demand which the needs of their neighbors made them face. … Love - that much misused and much misinterpreted word for them meant simply an overflowing of the strength with which they felt themselves filled when living in true self-oblivion. And this love found natural expressions in an unhesitant fulfillment of duty and in an unreserved acceptance of life, whatever it brought them personally of toil, suffering -- or happiness.’

A text from Markings dated 1956 attests to the fact that Hammarskjold had adopted this way of living. Hammarskjold was then in the Middle East, where he was working to get a cease fire by means of quiet diplomacy. After successful negotiations in Cairo, he was on his way to Damascus in Syria where a border incident with Israel had taken place that day (22.4.1956). He wrote:

Understand -- through the stillness, Act -- out of the stillness, Conquer -- in the stillness.

‘In order for the eye to perceive color, it must divest itself of all colors.’

To love life and men as God loves them -- for the sake of their infinite possibilities, to wait like Him to judge like Him without passing judgment to obey the order when it is given and never look back -- then He can use you -- then, perhaps, He will use you. And if he doesn’t use you -- what matter. In His hand, every moment has its meaning, its greatness, its glory, its peace its co-inherence.

From this perspective, to ‘believe in God’ is to believe in yourself, as self-evident, as ‘illogical,’ and as impossible to explain: if I can be, then God is. The blessed spirits must be sought within the self which is common to all’.

Hammarskjold faith in the path which led people to concord is finally evident from the explanation he gave in his speech: ‘The World and the Nation’.

‘Whatever doubts history may cast, I believe that the hope for a world of peace and order, inspired by respect for man, has never ceased to agitate the minds of men. I believe that it accounts for the great and noble human spirit behind the ravaged exterior of a history whose self-inflicted wounds have become more and more atrocious. And I believe that at the point we have now reached in our technical development, our creed may gain new possibilities to shape history.’

(This article is also available as a document, with full footnotes/references)

Millennium Development Goals and "Akkoord van Schokland" Dr. Bouman suggested that we needed to approach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) with the same attitude Hammarskjold had to his mission with the UN and went on to mention the "Akkoord van Schokland"' which was launched on June 30 of this year in Schokland, which used to be an island in the Zuider Zee, before it was "reclaimed", to become Flevoland (possibly chosen for symbolic reasons, the event attracted some 5,000 people, including household names from politics and entertainment and the support of a multitude of companies as well as NGOs).

While the MDGs was an initiative and pledge of national governments under the umbrella of the UN, anybody could contribute to their accomplishment, there were numerous projects already in existence.

Questions and Discussion After a break for refreshments, questions came thick and fast. To someone who asked how disaffected Moslem youth might have their energies creatively channeled by the MDGs she suggested that she always turned to the "Golden Rule", both for herself and to present to someone. From there, one could move on to specific suggestions.

There was discussion about the particular problems of many children, there were so many households, where for many reasons, the head of the household was a child.

One questionnaire asked Dr. Bouman to clarify what was the particular quality about Dag Hammarskjold that she wanted to share, that might be of value to us. She said his spirit of service, and his awareness of the importance of a spiritual aspect of life - and that what was important for us was to just do what we could.

It was his faith that inspired her in particular, his sense that while you chose your work, your work also chose you: he was a pragmatic idealist; as one participant commented, he combined the spiritual and physical together.

Again, she was asked, "what can I, as a small person, do?" Dr. Bouman suggested we must look inward to ourselves, each person was different, many had their own small project, but there were already so many existing projects, one could look on the internet (see Links below). In addition to responding to one's desire to help others, we needed to always look inwards at our own life.

Before closing the meeting, UPF Secretary General Wim Koetsier presented a member of the audience, Mr. H. Rootzand, with an Ambassador for Peace certificate. It came as a complete surprise to the recipient, but he expressed his great pride and delight, in particular at the spontaneity of it all. Mr. Rootzand organizes a "gespreksring" (discussion group) in Amsterdam, which has actually been running since 1920 (presumably not then organized by him).

Wim Koetsier encouraged those present to "do what you can for others" and to support the Pentecost Proposal for a national Family Day (Nationale Dag van Het Gezin) in Nederland.

Before leaving, Mihoko Koetsier, wife of the UPF-NL Secretary General, commented how the evening had made her realize again how much people were moved by the suffering of the less fortunate and really did want to be of help to others, how indeed could one be complacent when aware of the situation in other parts of the world, it was just a question of helping to make them aware of the possibilities to be of service.