“We cannot talk about equality without talking about human rights”

(Transcription of Karina Batthyány's column)
(In InfoCLACSO – May 17, 2023)

France: Mid-term review meeting of the Board of Directors of the International Science Council

I traveled to Paris, France, to participate in the mid-term review meeting of the Board of Directors of the International Science Council (ISC), of which CLACSO is a member. We reviewed the work plan to focus our efforts for the next two years on our mission and vision regarding science issues, highlighting concerns such as the need to continue advocating for science, knowledge, and education as global public goods.

What do we mean when we talk about public goods and common goods at a global level? Basically, the main point to emphasize is their public nature, meaning they are not marketable and are therefore available to everyone: knowledge, science, and education. That is the central concern.

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And one of the topics that has been on the table is, based precisely on the production of knowledge and scientific developments, how to integrate all the debate that is taking place around artificial intelligence on the instruments and mechanisms that have gained notoriety in recent months.

These meetings have brought together members, institutions, and representatives of this International Council for Science from every continent, including Latin America, North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. We have also had the opportunity to meet with councils that, like CLACSO, work in the development of the social sciences and humanities, such as the Arab Council of Social Sciences.

Colombia: CLACSO's participation in the International Forum “Social Dialogue for Equality and Human Rights”

From CLACSO, together with Vice Minister Lilia Solano, we organized the International Forum “Social Dialogue for Equality and Human Rights” to highlight the importance of social dialogue—that is, bringing dialogue to academia, public policy, social movements, and organizations. In this case, we focused on two absolutely crucial issues in the Latin American and Caribbean region: equality and human rights. These two issues are inextricably linked: we cannot speak of equality without speaking of human rights; and we certainly cannot speak of human rights for all without incorporating the notion of equality.

I take this opportunity to remind you that in Uruguay May is the month of remembrance and human rights: next May 20th the March of Silence takes place, in which year after year and tirelessly together with the Organization of Relatives of the Detained and Disappeared in Uruguay we demand Truth, Justice and Never Again.

Returning to Colombia, the various themes of the Platforms for Social Dialogue (PDS) will be present in the dialogues of the International Forum. I want to particularly highlight the participation in these dialogues representing the various social movements in Colombia, such as Indigenous, Afro-Colombian, and peace movements. Therefore, we will exchange ideas with the purpose of advancing the search for alternatives so that we can not only imagine equality and human rights for all, but also make them a reality in Colombia and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

This International Forum “Social Dialogue for Equality and Human Rights” will have a very important closing, there we from CLACSO will be giving our message, also participating in the different tables that will basically be going through all the plots and dimensions linked to the theme of equality with human rights.

I want to highlight that the opening session will feature speeches from several prominent figures from Colombia and the rest of Latin America, as well as a presentation by Noam Chomsky. In addition, we will have a specific dialogue on the topic of peace in Colombia, and another dialogue, in which I will participate alongside representatives from social movements, academia, and Colombian public policy, on the theme of the economy of life and the care of nature.

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