wfn.org | BWNS -- Global governance needed to counter terrorism

[Baha'i World News Service <bwns@bwc.org>]

Baha'i World News Service
See the story with photographs on the BWNS site at http://news.bahai.org
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Global governance needed to counter terrorism
GROESBEEK, Netherlands, 9 January 2006 (BWNS) --The challenges that
terrorism throws at governments can only be countered by global
governance deeply grounded in unity, a keynote speaker told the European
Baha'i Conference on Law.

Dr. Wendi Momen said that the challenges to the law that terrorism poses
are not only in the area of balancing safety with human liberty but in
the creation of new law to fit a new system of governance that is better
adapted to the present globalized word.

"While the terrorist fires are burning, states and governments around
the world are struggling with 19th century legal frameworks and notions
of state sovereignty that prevent them from turning on the water hose --
this has to change, and quickly," Dr. Momen said.

Dr. Momen, who holds a doctorate in international relations from the
London School of Economics, is an editor and author, and the former
chair of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United
Kingdom.

Dr. Momen was delivering the Dr. Aziz Navidi Memorial Lecture, which is
named after a prominent Baha'i lawyer renowned for his courage and skill
in the area of human rights.

The conference, held 1-4 December 2005, attracted participants from
seven countries and was organized by the Law Association of the Tahirih
Institute, an educational institute of the Dutch Baha'i community.

In her address, Dr Momen said new responses are needed at the
international level that enable, and even require, governments to work
together, the strengthening of international bonds, and steps towards an
international federal government.

Among other papers delivered at the conference were: "Consultation in a
Multilateral Setting," by Joachim Monkelbaan; "Human Cloning -- Current
Legal and Ethical Considerations seen from a Baha'i perspective," by
Tinia Tober; "The Ethical Consciousness," by Eltjo Poort; "Some Thoughts
on the Future of Crime and Punishment implied in the Baha'i Writings,"
by Shirin Milani-Ansinger.

Other presentations were made by Dr. Nicola Towfigh, Dr. Frank Dignum,
and Dr. Virginia Dignum.

Workshop topics included "The denial of the right to education for
Baha'is in Iran," "Freedom of Speech," and "Jury versus Judge."