Prioritize the Culture of Peace in its Leadership Agenda — Global Issues

Opinion by Anwarul Okay. Chowdhury (ny)Friday, September 13, 2024Inter Press Service

The UN Constitution arose out of the ashes of the Second World Battle and the UN Declaration and the Programme of Motion on a Tradition of Peace emerged within the aftermath of the long-drawn Chilly Battle.

On this very day, the United Nations adopted by consensus and with out reservation a monumental doc on the Tradition of Peace that transcends boundaries, cultures, societies, and nations.

Arduous journey

It was an honour for me to Chair the nine-month lengthy open-ended negotiations that led to the settlement on that historic norm-setting doc which is taken into account as one of the crucial vital legacies of the United Nations that may endure generations.

I launched the agreed textual content of that doc (A/RES/53/243) on behalf of all Member States for adoption by the Meeting with its President Didier Opertti of Uruguay chairing the assembly. Via this landmark adoption, the Common Meeting laid down humanity’s constitution for the brand new approaching millennium.

This doc explains, outlines, and defines all the things that the worldwide neighborhood has agreed on as the main focus of the tradition of peace. I’d all the time treasure and cherish the chance to guide the method in its adoption and in its subsequent advocacy.

For me this has been a realization of my private dedication to peace and my humble contribution to humanity. For greater than two and a half a long time, my focus has been on advancing the tradition of peace and I’ve continued to commit appreciable time, power, and energy to try this.

It has been a protracted, arduous journey – a journey ridden curiously with each obstacles and indifference. Since July 1997, after I took the initiative to jot down to our much-loved and extremely revered Secretary-Common Kofi Annan to create a separate merchandise of agenda of the Common Meeting, the trail and progress of the tradition of peace at UN have been uneven to say the least. For being part of this journey, I pay tribute to Bangladeshi diplomats who’ve been true co-travellers.

My life’s expertise has taught me to worth peace and equality because the important elements of our existence. They unleash the optimistic forces of excellent which might be so wanted for human progress. It’s important to do not forget that the tradition of peace requires a change of our hearts, change of our mindset.

The target of the tradition of peace is the empowerment of individuals. We must always not isolate peace as one thing separate. You will need to notice that the absence of peace takes away the alternatives that we have to higher ourselves, to organize ourselves, to empower ourselves to face the challenges of our lives, individually and collectively.

Transformation is the essence

The essence of the tradition of peace is its message of self-transformation and its message of inclusiveness, of world solidarity, of the oneness of humanity. These parts—particular person and international, particular person to international—represent the way in which ahead for the tradition of peace.

‘Transformation’ is of probably the most important relevance right here. The Programme of Motion identifies eight particular areas which encourage actions in any respect ranges – the person, the household, the neighborhood, the nationwide, the regional and, after all, the worldwide ranges.

Although the Declaration and Programme of Motion is an settlement amongst nations, governments, civil society, media, and people are all recognized on this doc as key actors.

The tradition of peace begins with every one in every of us – except we’re able to combine peace and non-violence as a part of our day by day existence, we can’t count on our communities, our nations, our planet to be peaceable. We must be ready and assured in resolving the challenges of our lives in a non-aggressive method. In in the present day’s world, extra so, the humanity’s creed must be based mostly on interior oneness and outer variety.

Enhancing Member States engagement

To accord an enhanced profile to the idea of the tradition of peace, since 2012, successive UN Common Meeting Presidents convened an annual UN Excessive Stage Discussion board on The Tradition of Peace to supply an inclusive, participatory platform for UN Member States, civil society, media, non-public sector and different events to change concepts on the implementation of the Declaration and Programme of Motion.

Since 2012, when the primary UN Excessive Stage Discussion board was convened by the President of the 66th Session of the Common Meeting Ambassador Nassir Al-Nasser, the UNGA mandated this annual Discussion board as “a possibility for renewing the commitments to strengthen additional the worldwide motion for the tradition of peace.”

On the international stage, the World Motion for The Tradition of Peace (GMCoP), a coalition of civil society organizations, have been spearheading advocacy initiatives successfully since 2011 in addition to in organizing the annual Excessive-Stage Boards on The Tradition of Peace convened by the President of UN Common Meeting.

Peace and Tradition of Peace

Many deal with peace and tradition of peace synonymously. After we converse of peace, we count on others specifically politicians, diplomats, or different practitioners to take the initiative whereas once we converse of the tradition of peace, we all know that preliminary motion begins with every one in every of us.

SDGs and the Tradition of Peace

The UN Common Meeting selected the tradition of peace earlier than the Millennium Improvement Objectives. SDGs got here 15 years later. Many would recall that Objective 16 – the so-called peace objective – was virtually dropped when the creating nations wished to incorporate a reference to the tradition of peace.

A compromise excluded it in order that the negotiated Objective 16 could possibly be agreed with out it. Bangladesh introduced the reference to the tradition of peace in Objective 4 in its goal 4.7 which recognized tradition of peace and non-violence in addition to international citizenship in instructional context.

All eight areas of motion within the tradition of peace programme are mirrored in varied SDGs. I can nevertheless say with satisfaction that the Tradition of Peace would outlast the SDGs and make extra deep-rooted and longer-lasting contribution to a sustainable and peaceable planet of ours when the UN observes the thirtieth anniversary of The Tradition of Peace.

Let me finish by outlining the three built-in mainstream for the approaching years bolstering the worldwide motion for the tradition of peace.

Schooling for international citizenship

Primary: training. All instructional establishments want to supply alternatives that put together the scholars not solely to dwell fulfilling lives but additionally to be accountable and productive residents of the world. This could extra appropriately be known as “training for international citizenship”. If our minds could possibly be likened to a pc, then training offers the software program with which to “reboot” our priorities and actions for transition from pressure to cause, from battle to dialogue.

Equality of girls’s participation

Quantity two: ladies. As I all the time say emphatically – “With out peace, growth can’t be realized, with out growth, peace is just not achievable, however with out ladies, neither peace nor growth is feasible.”

Youth and kids

And quantity three: youth and kids. It’s important to acknowledge the empowerment of younger individuals as a serious aspect in constructing the tradition of peace. Younger individuals of in the present day ought to embrace the tradition of peace in a method that may not solely form their lives however can even form the way forward for the world.

For this, I imagine that early childhood affords a window of alternative for us to sow the seeds of transition to the tradition of peace from an youth.

Means ahead

As former Secretary-Common of the United Nations and Nobel Peace laureate Kofi Annan had profoundly mentioned, “Over time we now have come to appreciate that it’s not sufficient to ship peacekeeping forces to separate fighters. It isn’t sufficient to have interaction in peace-building efforts after societies have been ravaged by battle. It isn’t sufficient to conduct preventive diplomacy. All of that is important work, however we would like enduring outcomes. We want, in brief, the tradition of peace.”

How will we construct and promote the tradition of peace? To show the tradition of peace into a worldwide, common motion, probably the most essential aspect that’s wanted is for each one in every of us to be a real believer in peace and non-violence. So much could be achieved in selling the tradition of peace by way of particular person resolve and motion.

By immersing ourselves in a tradition that helps and promotes peace, particular person efforts will–over time–mix and unite, and peace, safety and sustainability will emerge. That is the one method we will obtain a simply and sustainable peace on the earth.

The tradition of peace is just not a fast repair. It’s a motion, not a revolution.

The seed of peace exists in all of us. It should be nurtured, cared for and promoted by us all to flourish. Peace can’t be imposed from exterior – it should be realized from inside.

Ambassador Anwarul Okay. Chowdhury, is Former Everlasting Consultant of Bangladesh to the UN; President of the UN Safety Council (2000 and 2001); Senior Particular Adviser to UN Common Meeting President (2011-2012) and Former Beneath-Secretary-Common and Excessive Consultant of the UN.

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