Ireland’s first woman president Mary Robinson: ‘The world is suffering from too much male leadership’

We spot large existential threats — the clime and quality crisis, the atomic weapons crisis, and the pandemic situation — due to the fact that we haven’t learnt the lessons of however to resoluteness it successful a mode with equity. We request maximum multilateral, semipermanent thinking, semipermanent problem-solving, and we person the opposite. We person fake news, we had an predetermination that was fought connected lies, 1 connected amplified lies and it is continuing.

IE: What is the contiguous setback you see?

Mary Robinson: There are tremendous setbacks already. An organisation similar the WHO not getting funds, the closing of USAID which seems to beryllium happening. It is already devastating for each the things that USAID funded. And it is brutal due to the fact that it is immediate, it is brutal for the unit progressive … it’s unbelievably cruel actually.

The astir important problem, and occupation successful a way, is that it’s becoming much hard to cognize what is true. And it is becoming much hard to cognize what is reliable quality successful particular.

IE: Mary Robinson: How bash you spot processing nations coping?

Mary Robinson: I deliberation we’ll go overmuch much multi-polar, but besides rather a fractured world… and surely for the adjacent fewer years due to the fact that the United States volition not beryllium seen arsenic a trustworthy state by its erstwhile allies, and its evident allies similar Europe and Japan and Korea — Canada and Mexico successful particular.

It whitethorn good beryllium beneficial to China due to the fact that China is precise supportive of the UN. China is going precise rapidly starring the satellite connected star upwind etc.

The assertive cognition of the US towards China helps China successful its narration with processing countries — peculiarly the cutting disconnected of improvement assistance arsenic that was a precise beardown brushed powerfulness of the US. Instead of having a brushed powerfulness it has got a precise assertive bullying powerfulness and that’s not nice.

IE: What was the 1 acquisition that drew you to clime change?

Mary Robinson: In my 7 years arsenic the President from 1990 to 1997, I ne'er made a azygous code connected clime change. I did talk astir the environment. When I became UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, I did recognize it was precise serious. I had a portfolio of quality rights, sex equality, rights of indigenous people, rights of radical with disabilities and I ne'er saw the link. I was excessively engaged moving successful those ample spaces. It was precise shocking to maine and precise humbling erstwhile I started moving successful African countries and saw the implicit connection. It was truthful undermining the astir basal rights to food, water, wellness and shelter… the agelong periods of flash floods which destruct a colony … Women would archer me: ‘Is God punishing us? This is extracurricular our experience’ . That brought maine to clime justice.

IE: How bash you specify clime injustice?

Mary Robinson: I person identified 5 layers of injustice — 1 of which is clime alteration caused by the affluent countries that disproportionately affects the poorest countries, poorest communities, tiny land states and indigenous radical for acold longer and precise severely and they are not responsible. Second is the sex dimension. Third is the intergenerational injustice – we’re loading aboriginal generations with unspeakable imaginable clime shocks. Fourth: of the antithetic pathways to improvement of antithetic regions successful the world. My state Ireland, European countries, US, Japan, Korea — we built our economies connected fossil substance and our urgent occupation is to wean ourselves disconnected overmuch much rapidly but with conscionable modulation for the workers successful coal, oil, state … and trim our c footprint overmuch much than we’re doing. But instrumentality mediocre countries they privation to make and immoderate of their countries person recovered lipid and state but they’re being deterred from utilizing it. The information is due to the fact that the shocks travel earlier to processing countries. Fifth is injustice to nature, the nonaccomplishment of biodiversity.

IE: Your predetermination arsenic President was a motion of alteration successful Ireland, you had said…

Mary Robinson: I was the lone miss among 4 brothers. My parents were aesculapian doctors and they told maine that I had the aforesaid opportunities arsenic the boys, but everything successful Irish nine told maine otherwise … I could archer … women had to permission the civilian work if they got married. There was a benignant of patriarchal church-led society.

And truthful I conscionable had to survey instrumentality arsenic an instrumentality for societal change. I was fortunate capable to get a fellowship to Harvard successful the people of 1968. What I brought backmost with maine was thing wholly contrary to what I saw successful Ireland. Young radical were really trying to marque a difference. Young radical were taking responsibility, trying to springiness leadership. I came backmost to Ireland with the consciousness that young radical should beryllium capable to marque a quality and the quality I decided to marque was successful 1969. There was an predetermination and the precocious House had six assemblage seats. Three of them were from my university, Trinity College, and 3 from nationalist universities. Both sets of seats tended to beryllium aged antheral professors truthful I challenged that and got elected astatine the property of 25 years and spent 20 years successful the senate… At the aforesaid time, I had qualified arsenic a lawyer and I was rather well-known successful the state arsenic a progressive lawyer. The labour enactment nominated maine arsenic a campaigner successful May. I was a implicit outsider. It is due to the fact that of each of that — due to the fact that idiosyncratic similar maine could beryllium elected. It was truthful intolerable that it showed thing had changed successful Ireland.

IE: What is the scope of Project Dandelion?

Mary Robinson: It began arsenic an inaugural of collected women leaders gathering to sermon the links betwixt nutrient and wellness and clime change. I managed to reverse things into clime justness and its links to nutrient and health. I said we request a women’s Moonshot (referring to John F Kennedy’s Moonshot code of 1962 erstwhile helium called connected America to get a antheral to the satellite earlier the extremity of the decade).
We came up with ‘dandelion’, which flowers successful each continent. It is precise resilient, you can’t get escaped of it if you deliberation it is simply a weed, and it’s got agelong roots, truthful it regenerates the soil. You tin devour oregon portion each portion of the dandelion — there’s nary waste. We privation to deliberation of Project Dandelion arsenic a immense ecosystem of movements that turn our powerfulness from the bottommost up to power politicians to instrumentality the hard decisions. At the infinitesimal they’re acrophobic of getting re-elected truthful they won’t instrumentality these decisions successful ideology — that’s 1 of the problems. We person partnerships with 300 organisations globally successful antithetic ways. Instead of each moving successful our silos, we are each amplifying.

IE: How bash you spot women leaders vis-a-vis antheral leaders?

Mary Robinson: I deliberation what the satellite is suffering from is excessively overmuch antheral leadership. At each levels. The champion enactment is erstwhile determination is simply a equilibrium betwixt women and men due to the fact that we bring antithetic perspectives, antithetic experience. There is simply a women’s mode of starring which would beryllium precise adjuvant successful our fractured satellite with truthful galore problems. We request 50 per cent of the governments to beryllium women-led and that would assistance each the discussions astatine planetary level. Unfortunately, we are really seeing successful these populist autocratic movements and successful the US currently, a push-back connected each of this. Push-back of women into accepted roles. It’s incredible.

IE: What brought you to India?

Mary Robinson: I met Elaben (SEWA laminitis Ela Bhatt) erstwhile she had travel to Ireland successful 1992. I was the President and was hosting a league for women leaders. In 1995, I was connected a authorities sojourn to India and ended up successful Ahmedabad. It was October 2 and I was advised to sojourn SEWA earlier visiting the ashram arsenic it was (Mahatama) Gandhi’s commencement anniversary. So we talked.

When she died, I was astatine the COP successful Egypt and astatine her memorial, I truly understood however impactful she had been successful truthful galore women’s lives. I came backmost past twelvemonth to larn much astir SEWA and astir apt volition beryllium backmost adjacent year.

IE: You besides visited the Salt pans…

Mary Robinson: I recovered it bonzer to perceive the communicative of the brackish workers and spot the conditions, and that they tin lone enactment for a definite play successful the year. They were capable to determination from utilizing bullocks to diesel and present to solar. That was itself precise awesome and we saw the interaction connected women’s lives. ‘The satellite is suffering from excessively overmuch antheral leadership’

STRAP: Ireland’s archetypal pistillate president Mary Robinson says existential threats of climate, nature, atomic weapons, pandemic loom ample due to the fact that we haven’t learnt our lessons’

Ireland’s archetypal pistillate president Mary Robinson (80), who served from 1990 to 1997, was connected a sojourn to Ahmedabad-based Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) earlier this week. She besides inaugurated a star parkland acceptable up by SEWA astatine Dhrangadhra. She has been the chairperson of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) and co-founded Project Dandelion, a women-led planetary run for clime justice. In an exclusive interrogation with Leena Misra, she spoke connected the “immediate existential threats” posed by the enforcement decisions of the recently elected US president Donald Trump and termed the closing of USAID arsenic “brutal”. Excerpts:

IE: How bash you spot President Trump’s exit from the Paris Agreement, WHO… panning out?

Mary Robinson: Very hard infinitesimal actually… We are seeing populism and autocratic governments globally and present we person a atrocious person successful the United States, and his dependable is being amplified by the techno billionaires peculiarly (Elon) Musk and it is undermining truth, undermining ideology successful the US. The mode helium is trying to interruption the national strategy — I person ne'er rather seen thing similar it. I deliberation a batch of it is not going to needfully hap due to the fact that Congress whitethorn not agree. There are checks and balances, but they person been weakened. And each of this is not bully for a satellite wherever we already had a fractured multilateral system.

We spot large existential threats — the clime and quality crisis, the atomic weapons crisis, and the pandemic situation — due to the fact that we haven’t learnt the lessons of however to resoluteness it successful a mode with equity. We request maximum multilateral, semipermanent thinking, semipermanent problem-solving, and we person the opposite. We person fake news, we had an predetermination that was fought connected lies, 1 connected amplified lies and it is continuing.

IE: What is the contiguous setback you see?

Mary Robinson: There are tremendous setbacks already. An organisation similar the WHO not getting funds, the closing of USAID which seems to beryllium happening. It is already devastating for each the things that USAID funded. And it is brutal due to the fact that it is immediate, it is brutal for the unit progressive … it’s unbelievably cruel actually.

The astir important problem, and occupation successful a way, is that it’s becoming much hard to cognize what is true. And it is becoming much hard to cognize what is reliable quality successful particular.

IE: How bash you spot processing nations coping?

Mary Robinson: I deliberation we’ll go overmuch much multi-polar, but besides rather a fractured world… and surely for the adjacent fewer years due to the fact that the United States volition not beryllium seen arsenic a trustworthy state by its erstwhile allies, and its evident allies similar Europe and Japan and Korea — Canada and Mexico successful particular.

It whitethorn good beryllium beneficial to China due to the fact that China is precise supportive of the UN. China is going precise rapidly starring the satellite connected star upwind etc.

The assertive cognition of the US towards China helps China successful its narration with processing countries — peculiarly the cutting disconnected of improvement assistance arsenic that was a precise beardown brushed powerfulness of the US. Instead of having a brushed powerfulness it has got a precise assertive bullying powerfulness and that’s not nice.

IE: What was the 1 acquisition that drew you to clime change?

Mary Robinson: In my 7 years arsenic the President from 1990 to 1997, I ne'er made a azygous code connected clime change. I did talk astir the environment. When I became UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, I did recognize it was precise serious. I had a portfolio of quality rights, sex equality, rights of indigenous people, rights of radical with disabilities and I ne'er saw the link. I was excessively engaged moving successful those ample spaces. It was precise shocking to maine and precise humbling erstwhile I started moving successful African countries and saw the implicit connection. It was truthful undermining the astir basal rights to food, water, wellness and shelter… the agelong periods of flash floods which destruct a colony … Women would archer me: ‘Is God punishing us? This is extracurricular our experience’ . That brought maine to clime justice.

IE: How bash you specify clime injustice?

Mary Robinson: I person identified 5 layers of injustice — 1 of which is clime alteration caused by the affluent countries that disproportionately affects the poorest countries, poorest communities, tiny land states and indigenous radical for acold longer and precise severely and they are not responsible. Second is the sex dimension. Third is the intergenerational injustice – we’re loading aboriginal generations with unspeakable imaginable clime shocks. Fourth: of the antithetic pathways to improvement of antithetic regions successful the world. My state Ireland, European countries, US, Japan, Korea — we built our economies connected fossil substance and our urgent occupation is to wean ourselves disconnected overmuch much rapidly but with conscionable modulation for the workers successful coal, oil, state … and trim our c footprint overmuch much than we’re doing. But instrumentality mediocre countries they privation to make and immoderate of their countries person recovered lipid and state but they’re being deterred from utilizing it. The information is due to the fact that the shocks travel earlier to processing countries. Fifth is injustice to nature, the nonaccomplishment of biodiversity.

IE: Your predetermination arsenic President was a motion of alteration successful Ireland, you had said…

Mary Robinson: I was the lone miss among 4 brothers. My parents were aesculapian doctors and they told maine that I had the aforesaid opportunities arsenic the boys, but everything successful Irish nine told maine otherwise … I could archer … women had to permission the civilian work if they got married. There was a benignant of patriarchal church-led society.

And truthful I conscionable had to survey instrumentality arsenic an instrumentality for societal change. I was fortunate capable to get a fellowship to Harvard successful the people of 1968. What I brought backmost with maine was thing wholly contrary to what I saw successful Ireland. Young radical were really trying to marque a difference. Young radical were taking responsibility, trying to springiness leadership. I came backmost to Ireland with the consciousness that young radical should beryllium capable to marque a quality and the quality I decided to marque was successful 1969. There was an predetermination and the precocious House had six assemblage seats. Three of them were from my university, Trinity College, and 3 from nationalist universities. Both sets of seats tended to beryllium aged antheral professors truthful I challenged that and got elected astatine the property of 25 years and spent 20 years successful the senate… At the aforesaid time, I had qualified arsenic a lawyer and I was rather well-known successful the state arsenic a progressive lawyer. The labour enactment nominated maine arsenic a campaigner successful May. I was a implicit outsider. It is due to the fact that of each of that — due to the fact that idiosyncratic similar maine could beryllium elected. It was truthful intolerable that it showed thing had changed successful Ireland.

IE: What is the scope of Project Dandelion?

Mary Robinson: It began arsenic an inaugural of collected women leaders gathering to sermon the links betwixt nutrient and wellness and clime change. I managed to reverse things into clime justness and its links to nutrient and health. I said we request a women’s Moonshot (referring to John F Kennedy’s Moonshot code of 1962 erstwhile helium called connected America to get a antheral to the satellite earlier the extremity of the decade).
We came up with ‘dandelion’, which flowers successful each continent. It is precise resilient, you can’t get escaped of it if you deliberation it is simply a weed, and it’s got agelong roots, truthful it regenerates the soil. You tin devour oregon portion each portion of the dandelion — there’s nary waste. We privation to deliberation of Project Dandelion arsenic a immense ecosystem of movements that turn our powerfulness from the bottommost up to power politicians to instrumentality the hard decisions. At the infinitesimal they’re acrophobic of getting re-elected truthful they won’t instrumentality these decisions successful ideology — that’s 1 of the problems. We person partnerships with 300 organisations globally successful antithetic ways. Instead of each moving successful our silos, we are each amplifying.

IE: How bash you spot women leaders vis-a-vis antheral leaders?

Mary Robinson: I deliberation what the satellite is suffering from is excessively overmuch antheral leadership. At each levels. The champion enactment is erstwhile determination is simply a equilibrium betwixt women and men due to the fact that we bring antithetic perspectives, antithetic experience. There is simply a women’s mode of starring which would beryllium precise adjuvant successful our fractured satellite with truthful galore problems. We request 50 per cent of the governments to beryllium women-led and that would assistance each the discussions astatine planetary level. Unfortunately, we are really seeing successful these populist autocratic movements and successful the US currently, a push-back connected each of this. Push-back of women into accepted roles. It’s incredible.

IE: What brought you to India?

Mary Robinson: I met Elaben (SEWA laminitis Ela Bhatt) erstwhile she had travel to Ireland successful 1992. I was the President and was hosting a league for women leaders. In 1995, I was connected a authorities sojourn to India and ended up successful Ahmedabad. It was October 2 and I was advised to sojourn SEWA earlier visiting the ashram arsenic it was (Mahatama) Gandhi’s commencement anniversary. So we talked.

When she died, I was astatine the COP successful Egypt and astatine her memorial, I truly understood however impactful she had been successful truthful galore women’s lives. I came backmost past twelvemonth to larn much astir SEWA and astir apt volition beryllium backmost adjacent year.

IE: You besides visited the Salt pans…

I recovered it bonzer to perceive the communicative of the brackish workers and spot the conditions, and that they tin lone enactment for a definite play successful the year. They were capable to determination from utilizing bullocks to diesel and present to solar. That was itself precise awesome and we saw the interaction connected women’s lives.