Mohandas Gandhi was born on 2 October 1869. In 2007 the General Assembly made that date the International Day of Non-Violence. It recalls a fact that foreign ministries sometimes forget: before it speaks of force, the United Nations Charter speaks of negotiation. President Macky Sall invokes it in his candidacy for the office of Secretary-General.
Article 33. The Charter asks the parties to a dispute to seek a solution first through negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration or recourse to regional bodies. The words have stood in the text since 1945, and each generation of diplomats has to put them into practice again.
Good offices. Dag Hammarskjöld, the second Secretary-General, made good offices a full instrument of the office. They rest on discretion: a mediator who speaks too soon loses the parties' trust, and trust is not bought back.
Peace at ground level. Local mediators, village peace committees and dialogues between herders and farmers settle disputes that weapons would worsen. The Organization gains by backing them, because they act before the fighting starts.
Speaking to every party. In June 2022, as sitting chair of the African Union, President Macky Sall travelled to Sochi to argue for the release of grain and fertiliser held back by the war in Ukraine. He saw a simple principle in it: a mediator does not pick his interlocutors among those he likes.
A method to uphold. The vision statement filed with the United Nations puts prevention in the first pillar. It requires a Secretary-General who addresses all parties, including those people avoid receiving.
Africa at its heart, the world in its sights.
General Assembly resolution 61/271 (2007) and Article 33 of the Charter are public. Read all public positions at www.mackysall.net