Sergio’s World: A World of Dialogue, Respect and Dignity

By Annick Stevenson

Imagine a world in which everybody would speak to his/her neighbor, would listen to his/her views and would try to understand them, would, more generally, always wish to know the will of others before deciding, would negotiate before envisaging any military reaction, would never ever view war as the solution to any conflict whatever the reasons may be… A world in which war would become impossible because it would too difficult to think of killing someone you share so much with. This world existed. It was in the mind of Sergio Vieira de Mello. This is how he conceived it and lived it, as much as he could, or at least as a matter of principle.

Following the tragedy of the killing fields in Cambodia, Sergio was the head of the repatriation component of the UN presence there (UNTAC). The Khmer rouge refused to respect the peace agreement that had been signed in 1991, which made it impossible for many of the Cambodian refugees to return to their homes. Sergio couldn’t imagine any option other than discussing it with one of their leaders, Iang Sari, which he did in spite of the strong criticisms he received from almost everybody, including his own hierarchy. His intervention worked and opened the way for thousands of refugees to be repatriated. And again in Bosnia, Sergio used the same approach with the war criminals Radovan Karadjić and Ratko Mladić who had laid siege to Sarajevo and launched bomb and mortar attacks on civilian targets, including hospitals. He wanted to meet with them face to face and discuss it and try and find a way to stop the killing of innocent civilians. Meeting and discussing led to a gradual lessening of the terror for Sarajevo ’s inhabitants, and Sergio was again severely criticized, but his insistence on dialogue inspired others to do the same. If he were still with us today, he would want to speak with the Burmese junta or with the presidents of the Sudan or of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Because it was his way of acting. “I’ve had to shake hands with many war criminals, because if you want results, you must negotiate with the devil. If you want to see 75,000 Cambodian refugees freely return home, you have to deal with Ieng Sary”, he said in 2003 in an interview with the French daily La Croix.

Dialogue was always his solution, and it was based on a very simple concept: every human being deserves respect and dignity. How many wars have started because of arrogance, disregard, lack of interest in the other? Sergio never hesitated to listen to someone who had something to tell him, whether it was a war victim, a refugee, the representative of a government or a human rights defender.

A world like Sergio’s can exist. We just have to remember his example, and to think about how he would react in any given circumstance.

Annick Stevenson is a journalist and author, and was spokesperson for Sergio Vieira de Mello in his position as High Commissioner for Human Rights prior to his assignment in Baghdad in 2003.