Social Resolutions

SOCIAL RESOLUTIONS

The upsurge of the national liberation movement and the advance of the Afro-Asian Solidarity Movement had tremendous repercussion on the social development of Afro-Asian Peoples. Needless to say these movements have set themselves as an objectives their emancipation of imperialism under all its various forms including neo-colonialism and the domination of racial discrimination and the policy of oppression, violence and bloodshed as practiced in Algeria, South Africa and other African countries. Undoubtedly, peoples movement, plays an essential role in the implementation of these objectives.

Now after the Afro-Asian Solidarity Movement had infused the emancipation consciousness of these peoples with new life, they have risen impelled by a powerful urge of their own, to employ all their responsibilities and the means under their disposal to reconstruct their social edifice and to achieve prosperity for all the people of their homeland, under just and civilized conditions.

Many Afro-Asian countries which have, through their struggles, won their independence, were able to march forward with wide steps towards higher social levels that correspond to the spirit of just reform.

One of the most important consequences of this phenomenon is the formation of a powerful movement of the Youth of Africa and Asia who organized their ranks in a Youth Conference held in Cairo in February 1959 which  adopted resolutions to consolidate the bonds between the youth of Afro-Asian Countries.

A powerful development was evinced in the sphere of woman and child activity, following the resolution adopted by the Afro-Asian Solidarity Conference held in Cairo during December 1957. The Afro-Asian Woman’s Conference is to be held in Cairo in September 1960 and its agenda is the following:-

1) Disparity in education between boys and girls and mass communications.

2) The role of women in the family and the community.

3) Equality between men and women in the economic field.

4) Political and legal rights of women.

5) The right of women in the struggle for national independence and maintenance of peace, will strengthen the unity and solidarity of Afro-Asian women in their struggle for solving their common problems.

Since the Cairo Conference, the broad masses of the Asian and African workers have been playing and increasingly notable role in the struggle against imperialism and colonialism and in defence of world peace. Particularly encouraging is the growth of the African workers movement, greatly advancing the movement for national independence in Africa. The objective of its struggle is not only the economic demand for improving their living conditions but also more and more clearly a struggle for national independence and democratic liberties above all. The organisation of the African workers is being further strengthened with each passing day. The trade union movements of various African countries are advancing towards unity and cooperation. Trade union representatives 17 African countries met last November in Accra, and called for the establishment of Pan-African Federation of trade Unions.” Important development has been made in the united struggles waged by the workers of various African countries for their common interest. These united all African Solidarity actions have pushed the African workers movement to a new stage more powerfully advancing the national independence movement in various African countries.

In the light of what has been mentioned the conference has reached resolutions related to the following points:-
a) Women and child welfare.

b) Youth welfare.

c) Social and health services.

d) Workers

e) The role of the advanced countries in helping to realize the objectives.

WOMEN AND CHILD WELFARE

Considering that the role of women today in the struggle for national liberation and for safeguarding peace is highly increasing, and that women have become now a new force as in Africa. The Conference calls upon the women of Afro-Asian countries to increase mutual friendly contacts and to strengthen their solidarity for fulfilling their role.

The Conference recommend that:-

(1) To grant political rights to women in those countries where such a right has not as yet been granted.

(2) Equal rights of work and payments.

(3) Working hours for pregnant women and their rights of suitable leaves following childbirth with full pay.

(4) To set up nurseries in firm and industries where women are employed. The state should undertake to set up enough nurseries for the children of women working and the different faces of life. The state should also provide medical care for children.

(5) Implementation of the international labour have laws as far as working hours, kind of work scheduled for women.

(6) Social care should be given to working women,

(7) To set as a basis for married life personal freedom between young men and women before marriage, Thus regulating family life.

(8) To undertake the necessary measures for safeguarding married life, the protection of women and children, regulations of divorce.

(9) To set a minimum marriage age for girls at 18 years.

(10) To insure that mothers will have children in their custody till a suitable age.

(11) To ask different governments to oppose polygamy by all means and at the same time to implement the programme related to raising the standard of Afro-Asian women.

(12)  To abolish prostitution and to provide honorable means of livelihood for unqualified women.

(13) To set up reformatories for perverted children where education and means of moral reform are available.

(14) To increase the number of clubs, social service bureaus and libraries in order to protect the children.

(15) To increase the care given to juvenile courts and to emphasize the necessity of their being based on sound scientific foundations. All help should be given to delinquents in order to help them face life as useful citizens.

(16)  Proposing to send dispatches to governments asking them to support the demands of women.

(17) To ask U.N.I.C.E.F. to increase the budget allotted to women and children.

YOUTH WELFARE

The Conference recommends that it:-

(1) To work towards the implementation of the Afro-Asian Youth Conference which was held in Cairo in February 1959.

(2) The necessity of promoting the permanent Afro-Asian Youth Bureaux by offering material and moral aid.

(3) To set up youth camps in different parts of Africa and Asia in order to enable the youth of the two continents to come to closer understanding and consolidate the bonds of friendship among them.

(4) To encourage the exchange of excursions and visits between the Youth of Africa and Asia.

(5) To hold the second Afro-Asian Youth Conference in any country which may demand that it should be the seat of the conferences.

(6) To support the IInd African Youth Festival which will be held at Conakry 1961.

(7) To work towards the organisations of sports festivals as well as cultural and art festivals in which the Youth of the two continents will participate.

(8) To set up a mobile exhibit where the artistic products of Afro-Asian Youth are displayed.

(9) Exchange of sports tournaments and cultural and arts activities among Afro-Asian Youth.

(10) To organize the exchange of films audio-visual methods which reveal the activities of Africa and Asia.

(11) To encourage the youth of the two continents to participate in the fields of public service towards the construction of their societies.

SOCIAL & HEALTH SERVICES

The Afro-Asian Conference considers that the progress of peoples can better be realized when social and health services are provided in order that the living of standard may be consequently raised. All programs should include a complete planning of the different social cultural health and housing services. There is a strong relation between the increase of production and the provision of social and health services to the people.

The Conference recommends that:-

(1) Social Health, cultural and housing services are a right for each citizen. These should be provided to all the people in accordance with the requirements and potentialities of each society.

(2)  Complete health insurance is the right of each citizen and the state should provide this insurance according to a well studied plan which should include the 2 following points:-
a) Health measures should be available for the protection of all citizens. Potable water and canetary housing should also be provided in order to safeguard them against communicable and epidemic diseases.

b) From the point of view of the treatment hospitals, clinics, health centres, dispensaries, doctors and nurses should be provided.

(3) To work towards the security of medical services.

(4) To promote health consciousness among citizens.

(5) To provide suitable nutrition, and to make the peoples aware of the food value of their different national food materials.

(6) To hold conferences and different study circles at different local regional and international levels to discuss the health problems and the means of raising the health standard of the Afro-Asian people.

(7) To work towards the provision of social securities as insurgencies to citizens against incapability, sickness and old age.

(8) Since education is one of the most important agencies of social cohesion and economic progress, the right of the individual to educational facilities should be recognized.

WORKERS

According to the resolutions of the Cairo Conference Afro-Asian workers have contributed to the struggle against imperialism, to the promotion of world peace, national independence, the construction of national economy and the raising of a standard of living. On the basis of this past precious experience, we recommend that the workers of Afro-Asian countries should develop their struggle against colonialism and imperialism and for their democratic rights. They should develop common activities and mutual cooperation and solidarity in order to bring about further success.

The Conference recommends that:-

(1) To establish fundamental and democratic rights of labours on a legal basis.

(2) To support the Pan African Federation of Trade Unions which will be established next May, besides all the trade unions endeavored to come to closer understanding and cooperation through communication and the exchange of publications.

(3) In connection with landless agricultural workers, the land reform should be proceeded in Afro-Asian Countries.

(4) The establishment of voluntary social services Agencies to work towards the promotions of the total well being of workers.

(5) The conference is of the opinion that economic development in the various countries of Asia and Africa should aim at the full utilisation of idle sources of wealth; towards putting an end to unemployment and raising the standards of living among the workers. It also urges the African and Asian governments to restrict the continued rise in prices of essential commodities for the benefit of the people.

(6) To call upon the governments of countries of Asia and Africa to guarantee the rights of workers to form their own trade unions, (indistinct)

(7) To emphasize that the application of the principles of justice, equality and solidarity makes it necessary that equal wages should be paid for the same kind of work, and that any discrimination in wages on the ground of race or religion is neither sound nor just, and is detrimental to the solidarity of our nations.

(8) The Afro-Asian Governments should establish minimum wages for the various kinds of work and provide the necessary social guarantees for workers.

(9) To encourage the formation of co-operative societies for production and the setting up of co-operative movements in accordance with the particular circumstances in each country. It urges the strengthening of co-operative relations among the Afro-Asian countries.

(10) The mutual exchange of technical experts and information among trade unions and cooperative movements. In further recommends the exchange of educational missions and seminars.

(11) To request the Afro-Asian Secretariat to establish the widest possible contact with the trade unions and cooperative organisations in Asia and Africa in order to promote cooperation for the above mentioned purposes.

THE ROLE OF ADVANCED COUNTRIES IN THE REALIZATION OF THESE OBJECTIVES

The conference considering that some of the Afro-Asian Independent States are socially economically and scientifically more advanced than others;

And the implementation of the Afro-Asian spirit of solidarity the conference recommends that:-

“The independent Afro-Asian States who have been able to gain economic social and scientific progress should realize and accept their responsibilities towards the realization of Afro-Asian Solidarity objectives and should participate actively, materially, and technically towards the realization of this objective and offer all aid possible to those states which are economically, socially and scientifically underdeveloped.