- Unomattina Estate (Rai I) con Emma Bonino, puntata del 12/06/2017
There are some letters you never want to be in the position to write: some because they announce painful decisions, difficult choices or unavoidable paths, others because they certify failures, losses or dramatic situations.
This is such a letter. Yet I am compelled to talk, through these few lines, about a dramatic situation for No Peace Without Justice, an organisation that has achieved unprecedented victories for the affirmation of the law against impunity for crimes that shock the conscience of humankind and for empowering victims of norms and practices that subjugate the most vulnerable members of society.
In the mid 90s, we in the Radical Party declared: “There is something that is worth the definition “at all costs”: the law. The law at all costs means that there cannot be peace without justice”. With these words, we announced the Radical initiative to create an international criminal justice system that could be an antidote to the most atrocious violation of human rights. With these words, we decided to establish “No Peace Without Justice”, to give life to this simple declaration and to fight against impunity worldwide.
NPWJ’s initial work focused on providing evidence of the atrocities committed by the Milosevic regime to the detriment of the people of the Balkans and working at all levels to establish urgently an ad hoc Tribunal to investigate, prosecute and judge those crimes. NPWJ achieved this goal and, as we hoped and planned, the Tribunal played the role of pioneer in the establishment of an international jurisdiction, created four year later, with the establishment of the International Criminal Court.
The added value that has marked all the activities of No Peace Without Justice since then is the vision that this organisation has developed, its commitment to support the most vulnerable members of society and to challenge social norms that stand in the way of a full realisation of human rights. NPWJ has expressed this commitment through its work against impunity, the campaign to ban female genital mutilation, initiatives to support Arab women as agents for the economic and democratic development of countried in the Mediterranean and Middle East and in countless other ways. Personifying the teachings of Marco Pannella, No Peace without Justice has touched the lives of thousands of people throughout the world and not only given hope for a better future, but helped people take the lead in shaping that future.
I myself gave a lot to this heritage. But it is not only mine, it is not only Radical: it is a heritage shared by many throughout the world. And it is now facing a difficult situation due to an unexpected event.
Like all NGOs, NPWJ cooperates politically and financially with other organisations that share a similar vision and similar values. By putting our financial resources together, we can achieve more politically than we can working alone. Unfortunately, one of our long-standing partners, with whom we achieved great results for more than a decade, has suddenly had economic difficulties such that it was not able to respect its commitment to co-fund a project on which we were working together and for which NPWJ had already expended more than its agreed share, in the magnitude of hundreds of thousands of euros.
As with any other aspect of the life, timing is crucial. NPWJ learned about this situation only on the eve of the end of the project, which left insufficient time to adjust their financial commitments and activities to ride the wave of the crisis. I ask now for your support to help NPWJ continue to carry out its valuable work in defence of human rights around the world.
I am not motivated by affection, nor am I motivated by loyalty to an organisation I helped create. What I am motivated by is a need to keep the vision alive: to support No Peace Without Justice means to strengthen the foundations of freedom on which our societies and our world should be based. It means to put the world’s most vulnerable people front and centre in discussions that affect their lives. And it means to play a part in fighting the impunity that is the scourge of today’s world and allows would-be dictators to continue killing their own people without fear or consequence.
I reach out to ask you to help me keep these possibilities alive, in whatever way you can. You can donate by bank transfer or credit card to Non c’è Pace Senza Giustizia, or you can help us to find new donors that believe in the Rule of Law and are willing to fight to safeguard it. Donations are tax deductible in Italy, Belgium and the United States of America.
I am thankful to you for reading these lines and for what you want or you can do.
For any further information please visit our website www.npwj.org or contact the treasurer’s office of No Peace without Justice, Antonella Casu (e-mail: acasu@npwj.org)
Emma Bonino
By Bank Transfer
To the attention of Non c’è Pace Senza Giustizia
Banca di Credito Cooperativo di Roma c/c 2472
IBAN IT 24 E08327 03221 000000002472
BIC/SWIFT ROMAITRR
By Credit Card or Paypal on the website http://www.npwj.org
