NEW YORK, Sep 13 (IPS) – This opinion piece is being revealed precisely on the date when twenty-five years in the past immediately the UN took its most forward-looking stride in guaranteeing a peaceable planet for all of us because the signing of the Constitution of the United Nations in 1945.
The UN Constitution arose out of the ashes of the Second World Conflict and the UN Declaration and the Programme of Motion on a Tradition of Peace emerged within the aftermath of the long-drawn Chilly Conflict.
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 probably the most important 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. By way of this landmark adoption, the Common Meeting laid down humanity’s constitution for the brand new approaching millennium.
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 many years, my focus has been on advancing the tradition of peace and I’ve continued to commit appreciable time, power, and energy to do 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 are 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 should 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 arrange 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 world, particular person to world—represent the best way 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 group, 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 certainly one of us – except we’re able to combine peace and non-violence as a part of our day by day existence, we can’t anticipate our communities, our nations, our planet to be peaceable. We needs to be ready and assured in resolving the challenges of our lives in a non-aggressive method. In immediately’s world, extra so, the humanity’s creed needs to be primarily based on internal 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 offer an inclusive, participatory platform for UN Member States, civil society, media, non-public sector and different events to alternate 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 chance for renewing the commitments to strengthen additional the worldwide motion for the tradition of peace.”
On the world degree, 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 communicate of peace, we anticipate others particularly politicians, diplomats, or different practitioners to take the initiative whereas once we communicate of the tradition of peace, we all know that preliminary motion begins with every certainly one 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 purpose – was nearly dropped when the creating nations needed to incorporate a reference to the tradition of peace.
A compromise excluded it in order that the negotiated Objective 16 might 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 world citizenship in instructional context.
All eight areas of motion within the tradition of peace programme are mirrored in varied SDGs. I can nonetheless 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.
Training for world citizenship
Primary: schooling. All instructional establishments want to supply alternatives that put together the scholars not solely to stay fulfilling lives but additionally to be accountable and productive residents of the world. This could extra appropriately be known as “schooling for world citizenship”. If our minds might be likened to a pc, then schooling gives the software program with which to “reboot” our priorities and actions for transition from power to cause, from battle to dialogue.
Equality of girls’s participation
Quantity two: ladies. As I all the time say emphatically –
“With out peace, improvement can’t be realized, with out improvement, peace will not be achievable, however with out ladies, neither peace nor improvement is feasible.”
Youth and youngsters
And quantity three: youth and youngsters. It’s important to acknowledge the empowerment of younger individuals as a serious component in constructing the tradition of peace. Younger individuals of immediately ought to embrace the tradition of peace in a means that may not solely form their lives however may also 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 formative years.
Means ahead
As former Secretary-Common of the United Nations and Nobel Peace laureate Kofi Annan had profoundly mentioned, “Through the years we’ve come to comprehend that it’s not sufficient to ship peacekeeping forces to separate combatants. It’s not sufficient to have interaction in peace-building efforts after societies have been ravaged by battle. It’s not sufficient to conduct preventive diplomacy. All of that is important work, however we would like enduring outcomes. We’d like, briefly, the tradition of peace.”
How will we construct and promote the tradition of peace? To show the tradition of peace into a world, common motion, probably the most essential component that’s wanted is for each certainly one of us to be a real believer in peace and non-violence. So much will be achieved in selling the tradition of peace via 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 means we will obtain a simply and sustainable peace on the earth.
The tradition of peace will not be a fast repair. It’s a motion, not a revolution.
The seed of peace exists in all of us. It have to be nurtured, cared for and promoted by us all to flourish. Peace can’t be imposed from exterior – it have to 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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