Ethnicity is emerging to be one of the most precarious weapons when used by media and politicians to create fear, allegiances, suppress human rights and an excuse for mass alienation. At this international Seminar in Helsinki on Ethnicity and Conflict in Eastern Africa organised by Finnish NGOs and supported by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, experts drawn from different professions and backgrounds (academicians, researchers, media professionals, NGOs, civil society groups, and activists) examined the question of ethnicity presenting very insightful and enriching perspectives. They interrogated the complex question of Ethnicity and Conflict with intensity and faced the hard questions with an immeasurable depth of knowledge. They suggested that a closer look at ethnicity sheds light into a systemic abuse of human rights in the face of political and democratisation processes, media manipulation and loss or crisis of identity. They agreed that by understanding the concept of ethnicity and alternative identities we as humans can unravel and map out the various conflicts of the world is facing today and develop pathways that can help us mitigate conflicts in the future.

Humans are ethnic by nature, it therefore does not come as a surprise that politicians and media are able to manipulate this human trait with ease. Additionally, globalisation is leading to an enhanced human movement creating ethnic affiliations as a result of increased competition, reduced and diminished access to resources and leading to a rise in negative perceptions. The emerging tensions are a cause for worry especially where liberated media fails in its responsibility and portrays differences in societies such as cultures and history in the negative.

Governments and civil societies should and must take a leadership role in promoting ethnic diversity divorced from manipulative politics and co-opted media. Unprofessional media in immature democracies does not necessarily guarantee the delivery of democracy. This has been shown in many nations across the world, however, the role of positive media in opening democratic spaces and promoting positive ethnicity must be recognised and applauded.

The speakers at this seminar explored this very topical issue that transcends every discipline of humanity and development. The speakers showed that ethnicity does not live in Africa. Ethnicity is a global issue and should be considered as such. They also pointed out that ethnic tensions have the potential to shake the global peace and security if not recognised and appropriate mechanisms instituted to comprehensively diffuse them as part of political and democratic processes. The case examples ranged from Ethiopia, Kosovo, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Kenya and Zimbabwe and with a global outlook. According to Sabelo Ndlovu, the seminar was brilliant and it demonstrated beyond doubt the centrality of ethnicity in fueling instability and conflict in Africa. It also demonstrated that the African continent suffers from common issues. More importantly ethnicity is a global problem that requires a global strategy to manage it. He was also quick to point out that because African nations are young ethnicity is more pronounced within our continent where poverty and inequalities manifest themselves as ethnicity.

The question of ethnicity and conflict was interrogated from the perspective of media, history, religion, identity, belonging, politics, power and eventually the speakers defined how the question of ethnicity will manifest itself in the future. It is only by understanding these underlying dynamics, that it is possible to mitigate any potential ethnically inclined conflicts in the future. Based on this meeting, the team finally produced a declaration and recommendation- the Helsinki Ethnic Action Declaration (HEAD).

The TEEB interim report shows that if we do not adopt the right policies, the current decline in biodiversity and the related loss of ecosystem services will continue and in some cases even accelerate. Some ecosystems are likely to be damaged beyond repair. Current trends in the loss of ecosystem services on land and in the oceans demonstrate the severe dangers that biodiversity loss poses to human health and welfare. The interim report proposes a general framework for evaluating the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services that acknowledges that not all values of biodiversity can be measured in economic terms.

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1. Ethical Norms of Human Behavior

Sustainable development does not happen in a vacuum. Like all events in human history, it happens as a result of human initiative. This human initiative cannot be merely abstract or imaginary. It must come to life in terms of concrete human actions, observable as human behavior. Furthermore, acts pursuant to sustainable development must be ethical, i.e., they entail distinguishing right from wrong regarding both means and ends. The goal of sustainable development is certainly a good goal: the common good of humanity and the “nuptial covenant” between humanity and the human habitat.

Merriam-Webster defined “ethics” as “the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation”, and a “code of ethics” defines “the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group.” The history of ethics goes back to the Greek philosophers (Aristotle) in particular, and has many ramifications for all conceivable situations (e.g., professional ethics, financial ethics, government ethics, etc.). Wikipedia provides a good summary: “Ethics is a major branch of philosophy, encompassing right conduct and good life. It is significantly broader than the common conception of analyzing right and wrong. A central aspect of ethics is “the good life”, the life worth living or life that is simply not satisfying, which is held by many philosophers to be more important than moral conduct.”

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