Policy of Rotary International in International Service  

  The Aim:
The aim of international service in Rotary is expressed in the fourth avenue of service; namely, to encourage and foster:

The advancement of international understanding, good will and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional men united in the ideal of service.

The Rotary ideal of service finds expression only where there is liberty of the individual, freedom of thought, speech and assembly, freedom of worship, freedom from persecution and aggression and freedom from want and fear.

Freedom, justice, truth, sanctity of the pledged word and respect for human rights are inherent in Rotary principles and are also vital to the maintenance of international peace and order and to human progress.

Responsibility of the Individual Rotarian:
Each Rotarian is expected to make his individual contribution to the achievement of the ideal inherent in the fourth avenue of service.

Each Rotarian is expected to so order his daily personal life and business and professional activities that he will be a loyal and serving citizen of his own country.

Each Rotarian, wherever located, working as an individual, should help to create a well-informed public opinion.  Such opinion will inevitably affect government policies concerned with the advancement of international understanding and good will toward all peoples.

As a world-minded Rotarian:

(a) He will look beyond national patriotism and consider himself as sharing responsibility for the advancement of international understanding, good will, and peace.

(b) He will resist any tendency to act in terms of national or racial superiority.

(c) He will seek and develop common grounds for agreement with peoples of other lands.

(d) He will defend the rule of law and order to preserve the liberty of the individual so that he may enjoy freedom of thought, speech and assembly, freedom from persecution and aggression and freedom from want and fear.

(e) He will support action directed towards improving standards of living for all peoples, realizing that poverty anywhere endangers prosperity everywhere.

(f) He will uphold the principles of justice for mankind, recognizing that these are fundamental and must be world-wide.

(g) He will strive always to promote peace between nations and will be prepared to make personal sacrifices for that ideal.

(h) He will urge and practice a spirit of understanding of every other man’s beliefs, as a step towards international good will recognizing that there are certain basic moral and spiritual standards which, if practiced, will insure a richer, fuller life.

Responsibility of the Rotary Club:
Rotary clubs should not engage in any corporate effort to influence governments, world affairs or international policies, but should devote their energies toward informing the individual Rotarian in these important matters, so that he will develop an enlightened and constructive attitude of mind.

A Rotary club may properly provide a forum for the presentation of public questions where such a course of action is designed to foster the fourth avenue of service.  Where such questions are controversial, it is essential that both sides be adequately presented.

When international subjects are presented and discussed in a Rotary club, the speaker should be cautioned to avoid giving offense to peoples of other countries and it should be made clear that a Rotary club does not necessarily assume responsibility for opinions expressed by individual speakers at its meetings.

A Rotary club should not adopt resolutions of any kind dealing with specific plans relating to international affairs.  It should not direct appeals for action from clubs in one country to clubs, peoples, or governments of another country or circulate speeches or proposed plans for the solution of specific international problems.

In all cases where international tensions develop between countries in which Rotary clubs exist, the utmost caution should be exercised by the clubs of the countries concerned and by clubs of other countries lest any action may increase ill will and misunderstanding.

Position of Rotary International:
R.I. consists of Rotary clubs located in many countries with many points of view.  Therefore, no corporate action or corporate expression of opinion will be taken or given by R.I. on political subjects.  

[This is the end of the 1959 Publication]

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Postscript

by Robert Stewart, Rotary Club of Okotoks, Alberta , Canada (D5360) and Director of Canadian Centres for Teaching Peace http://www.peace.ca ; email stewartr@peace.ca 

  In decision 157, 1982-83 the Rotary International Board agreed to discontinue publication of the book "Seven Paths to Peace" and it was replaced by the volume on international service in the new Rotary Basic Library.  The Rotary Basic Library was discontinued in 2000 and replaced with an annual new member insert in The Rotarian magazine.  Unfortunately, there are no copies of the discontinued Rotary Basic Library available and there are no other publications on International Service.

Currently, the RI Code section 8.080. contains the Basic Principles of Rotary in International Service (copy follows).

I invite you to consider helping to build peace through education and other activities, such as:

• Translating Rotary’s Seven Paths to Peace into local languages and posting them on the Internet for all to access – spread the good word;
• Publishing Rotary’s Seven Paths to Peace and distributing copies to local Rotarians and non-Rotarians with your own introductions (reference http://www.peace.ca/RotarySevenPathsToPeace.doc for copy in Microsoft Word);
• Developing a video of Rotary’s Seven Paths to Peace to assist in training and raising awareness around the world;
• Developing a Rotary Peace Plus program, analogous to the Polio Plus program (reference http://www.peace.ca/honoluludeclaration.htm );  
• Send a donation to The Rotary Foundation and mark it “for peace education”;
• Using every Rotary project as a “teachable moment” to make a connection with how it encourages and fosters the advancement of international understanding, good will and peace;
• Develop your own websites about your peacebuilding programs, to share with others;
• Join the Rotarians On The Internet (“ROTI”) email listserver which is a tool to promote communications, networking and information dissemination (reference http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ROTI/ );
• Distribute a poster with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for the wall of every classroom in your area (reference http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html );
• Developing a resource library of books, videos, etc. on peace for access by Rotarians, students and the general public;
• Provide the space for Rotarians and others to get together to dialogue, network and disseminate peace information (eg. Conferences, regular discussion groups, etc.);
• Learn about the United Nations Culture of Peace Program ( http://www.peace.ca/unesco.htm ) and the U.N. (reference http://www.un.org );
• Learn about the Global Campaign for Peace Education ( http://www.peace.ca/globalcampaignforpeaceeducation.htm );
• Other?

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Rotary Code of Policies – Page 51 February 2004  

8.080. Basic Principles of International Service

8.080.1. Purpose of International Service

The development of understanding and good will among Rotarians and among the people at large is the specific task of international service in Rotary. (June 1998 Mtg., Bd. Dec. 348)

Source: Jan. 1952 Mtg., Bd. Dec. 97

  8.080.2. Basic Policy of Rotary in International Service

The aim of International Service in Rotary is expressed in the fourth avenue of service: namely, to encourage and foster the advancement of international understanding, good will and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service. The Rotary ideal of service finds expression only where there is liberty of the individual, freedom of thought, speech and assembly, freedom of worship, freedom from persecution and aggression and freedom from want and fear. Freedom, justice, truth, sanctity of the pledged word and respect for human rights are inherent in Rotary principles and also are vital to the maintenance of international peace and order and to human progress. (June 1998 Mtg., Bd. Dec. 348)

Source: Jan. 1952 Mtg., Bd. Dec. 96. See also May 1954 Mtg., Bd. Dec. 216

  8.080.3. Areas of International Service

In concept, International Service can be broken down into four general areas as follows:

1) World Community Service Activities

2) International Educational and Cultural Activities

3) Special International Observances and Events

4) International Meetings (June 1998 Mtg., Bd. Dec. 348)

Source: Oct. 1985 Mtg., Bd. Dec. 84

  8.080.4. Responsibility of the Individual Rotarian

Each Rotarian is expected to make an individual contribution to the achievement of the ideal inherent in the fourth Avenue of Service. Each Rotarian is expected to be a loyal and serving citizen. Each Rotarian, wherever located, working as an individual, should help to create a well-informed public opinion. Such opinion will inevitably affect governmental policies concerned with the advancement of international understanding and good will toward all peoples.

A world-minded Rotarian will:

1) look beyond national patriotism and share responsibility for the advancement of international understanding, good will and peace;

2) resist any tendency to act in terms of national or racial superiority;

3) seek and develop common grounds for agreement with peoples of other lands;

4) defend the rule of law and order to preserve liberty of the individual so that all may enjoy freedom of thought, speech and assembly, freedom from persecution and aggression, and freedom from want and fear;

5) support action directed towards improving standards of living for all peoples, realizing that poverty anywhere endangers prosperity elsewhere;

6) uphold the principles of justice for humankind, realizing that these are fundamental and must be worldwide;

7) strive always to promote peace between nations and be prepared to make personal sacrifices for that ideal;

8) urge and practice a spirit of understanding of every other person’s beliefs as a step towards international good will recognizing that there are certain basic moral and spiritual standards which, if practiced, will ensure a richer, fuller life. (June 1998 Mtg., Bd. Dec. 348)

Source: Jan. 1952 Mtg., Bd. Dec. 96

  8.080.5. Responsibility of the Club

In all cases where international tensions develop between countries in which clubs exist, the utmost caution should be exercised by the clubs of the countries concerned and by clubs of other countries lest any action may increase ill will and misunderstanding. (June 1998 Mtg., Bd. Dec. 348)

Source: Jan. 1952 Mtg., Bd. Dec. 96

  8.080.6. Respect for National Laws and Customs

In the development of understanding and good will among Rotarians, it must be recognized that there are many things that are illegal in one or more countries, although they may be legal in other countries, and also that some things which are customary in some countries may not be customary in other countries. Rotarians should avoid criticism of and interference with the laws or customs of other countries. (June 1998 Mtg., Bd. Dec. 348)

Source: Jan. 1933 Mtg., Bd. Dec. VII-c

 Reference: http://www.rotary.org/newsroom/downloadcenter/pdfs/code_feb04.pdf

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