April 22, 2019

Asia Europe Peoples Forum (AEPF)
Peace and Security Thematic Circle,
International Conference
Kathmandu, Nepal, April 4-6, 2019

Peace and security cluster of AEPF, met in Kathmandu on 4-6th April, 2019. The discussions analyzed how the rise of right wing populisms (RWP) is making a more insecure and less peaceful world, through the use of chauvinistic identity politics to get political support and mobilize people. In an increasing number of countries, governments are using authoritarian and fascistic methods to consolidate and expand their power. It’s especially worrying that right wing forces work by criminalization of migrants, suppressing social movements, denying gender equality and rejecting multilateralism.

The tactic of the RWP is to displace and reject the progressive and alternative discourse that arose in response to people’s demands after the 2008 global crisis that questions the former hegemonic neo-liberal globalization. AEPF expresses concerns about fundamentalisms, often linked to distorted ideas of religion which are then extended to violent extremism including attacks on civilians. We do not believe that any kind of extremist movement and violent actions can be a solution to any problem in the world.

We’ve identified military spending, arms proliferation, financing of arms companies and the military industrial complex as key actors that influence governments to make its business more profitable. The choice of militarization as a strategy for national security is a political decision to militarise security, to securitize every aspect of life that can be susceptible of being militarized.

Peace and security is not the patrimony of the military industry and conservative ideologies. There is a need for creating a progressive discourse about peace and security, critical of militarization. Another security is possible and necessary.

RWP use the following issues to mobilise people: They want to re-organise society and separate those they consider impure and outsiders. These can be migrants, LGBT, dissenters, women, drug dependents, religious minorities, Dalits, indigenous communities and civil society actors. They focus on Islamaphobia. All these are seen as threats and national risks.

The beneficiaries of RWP are state actors, oligarchs, ruling and military elites, who benefit from neo-liberalism. RWP use the narrative of corruption and aspirations, and that given structures are not working, so re-framing social justice. They want to create and rest on new inequality and conflict.

The Peace and Security Cluster puts forward a framework for a politics of peace and security to contest RWP:

There is a need to shift from a state fused national security concept and discourse to rights based human security based on ensuring the freedom from fear (civil and political rights) and freedom from want (social and economic rights)

We call for an immediate end to the genocide, repression and forced displacement of the Rohingya community in Myanmar. All states should support a safe, voluntary and dignified return of the Rohigya. As also a just resettlement of these forcefully displaced communities.

It is important to unite as many internal factions in each country to counter RWP. There is a need to incorporate different tendencies and movements at different levels to re-capture autonomous institutions.

It is critical to attract young activists to these platforms. And especially young women and men from excluded communities and activist.

The role of progressive education and information both from internal sources nationally, regionally and internationally is critical. Training and developing youth against RW mobilisation is integral to this process. There is an urgent need to foster a next generation youth advocates and campaigners for peace. We need informal spaces of education which can disseminate ideas of peace and tolerance by countering the exclusive and hate filled discourse of the far right.

Develop understanding, provide arguments, comparison between countries as resources against RWP. We need to map the connections between RWPs/and their discourse internationally.

We need to show the connections and root causes and reasons for migrations and in order to fight phobias. We cannot just frame migrants and others in a moral framework of human rights but also re-frame issues in material conditions, with internationalist perspectives, use of international law.

We have to continue building solidarities of South-South as well as North-South. And build links with progressive movements internationally. The representation in multilateral institutions must be improved as these remain exclusive.

There is a need to showcase best practices, specific strategies and pro- people programmes and build international guidelines for these.

It was felt that forces of the Left and liberals had abandoned the sphere of culture and religion, while the RW have framed themselves as upholders and interpreters of religion and culture. It is proposed that the Left liberals go beyond buzzwords like secularism and multiculturalism and include with these especially, the lived experiences and issues. Of how lives of people can be bettered and associated with local cultures, traditions and folklore. The everyday issues of people’s lives, from water, employment, equality and class struggles that RWP cannot deliver, should be part of the mass actions of people’s groups.

We condemn and critique the extremist and fundamentalists movements who reject human values of the ‘other’. We need to accept multi cultural thinking, migrants and refugees. In Europe the fundamentalist movement mainly consists of far right wing but in Asia religious extremist movements are the dominant form of RW movements.

We must recognise the role of mass media especially social media platforms to whip up xenophobia and legitimise racists discourse. We call for digital literacy programs to counter hate speech and promote an internet for the common good.

There are concrete policies that we need to critique like: Blasphemy Laws; discriminatory citizenship laws; criminalisation of migrants, and those who support migrants, dissenters. And the attempt to de-humanise them; government policies that support and are silent on vigilante violence.

We call on the Governments of Pakistan and India to start to continuous dialogue mechanism and process to resolve all bilateral issues and to support a energized South Asia.