GENEVA, JUNE 10, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Defending the fundamental rights of workers, the Holy See said it is necessary to remember in a globalized economy that the human being is «the best capital.»
Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations in Geneva, spoke Wednesday at the 92nd International Labor Conference. The conference started June 1 and ends June 17.
The archbishop highlighted John Paul II’s invitation in 2000 during the Jubilee of Workers «to address the economic and social imbalances in the world of work by re-establishing the right hierarchy of values, giving priority to the dignity of working men and women and to their freedom, responsibility and participation … (and) to redress situations of injustice by safeguarding each people’s culture and different models of development.»
According to the Vatican Information Service, Archbishop Tomasi noted that «the projection that by the year 2015 there will be 3 billion people under the age of 25» underscores the urgency of employment creation, adding that «the search for full employment is an ethical commitment.»
«Job creation is the main road to personal and national development,» the archbishop said. «The human person becomes the best capital with his creativity, knowledge, relationships, spirituality. Working persons enrich society and foster ways of peace.»
Wherever conflicts exist they «disrupt the achievements of set goals of development. But at the root of many conflicts is the lack of work and of a minimum earning capacity,» he pointed out.
«It seems appropriate to emphasize that by preserving the priority of the person, globalization too becomes fair as it avoids leaving behind vulnerable groups, women and children in particular, migrant workers, seafarers and other categories of workers, and less developed populations,» Archbishop Tomasi said.
He added: «Work that allows people to live a decent lifestyle requires today a concerted commitment to provide workers with sufficient education and training so they may have the skills needed to confront successfully the information revolution and the increasingly knowledge-based economy.»
