Guidelines approved by the General Assembly in 1980

Frères des Hommes: a solidarity organisation
After 15 years of direct action in the Third World and the dissemination of information in Europe, Freres des Hommes hereby reaffirm its eagerness to participate in the construction of a world in which relations between individuals, groups and peoples enable each to maintain their identities, reach decisions and improve living conditions. Exchanges between groups should not be characterised by a spirit of domination or exploitation.

Maldevelopment: the result of an increasingly unequal distribution of wealth and power
Maldevelopment is characterised by the monopolisation of wealth and power at the expense of minorities and the increasing subordination of values to the economies and the ideologies of dominant groups. Maldevelopment affects all aspects of life — cultural, economic, political and social. The Third World, a term which covers widely divergent nations and persons, reveals certain common characteristics of maldevelopment: hunger, obviously, but also inequalities, repression, violence… Europe, which also contains widely differing countries and peoples, presents other aspects of maldevelopment: pollution, wastage, injustice, violence… Nevertheless, there are, in this world, men, groups and peoples who fight against maldevelopment.

Freres des Hommes: concordance of aims and means

The Freres des Hommes international movement has set itself the goal of intervening in Europe and the Third World to help other individual and collective initiatives, for the promotion of a different type of world development. Freres des Hommes acts in collaboration with others to intervene in situations characterised by:

• the deprivation of power (insufficient income, no means of expression, nor access to decision-making bodies, impossibility of affirming one’s cultural identity)
• the existence of local initiative based on actions and values, with the aim of fighting poor global development.
• the implementation of these objectives is possible only through values shared by partners and through the exchange of human and material resources, information and experiences.
  This exchange is based on the expectations and potentials of both parties. Both partners determine the nature and volume of the means required to implement a system of common, continuous evaluation of their actions, which will ensure that they are in line with the defined objectives. These evaluation criteria should be defined at the same time as the setting up of an action.

Freres des Hommes: faced with violence

The conditions witnessed in Europe and the Third World are often characterised by daily social violence: hunger, ostracism, poor living conditions. Actions aimed at changing such situations and related to current conditions are often characterised by violent clashes. Freres des Hommes wish to develop non-violent forms of action; this should not be seen as an excuse for distancing ourselves from our partners at critical moments. However, if the use of violence becomes a strategic or ideological choice of their partners, Freres des Hommes will gradually cease all cooperation with them. In line with its set objectives, Freres des Hommes will promote greater conscientiousness in order to change individual living conditions, collective behaviour and public and private decision-making.

Paris, 1980