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Letter from Miroslav Lajčák, President of the UN General Assembly
Recognizing the need to further promote the Culture of Peace, particularly in the current global context, and responding to paragraph 15 of Resolution 72/137, the President of the General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, will convene a oneday High-level Forum on the Culture of Peace, on Wednesday, 5 September 2018, at UN Headquarters, New York.
Background and Objectives
On 13 September 1999, the General Assembly adopted, by consensus and without reservation, Resolution 53/243 on the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace. The Declaration on a Culture of Peace establishes fundamental principles and reiterates political commitment to promote a culture of peace in the millennium. The Programme of Action defines a set of actions to help Governments, civil society, and individuals to foster culture of peace at national, regional and international levels.
Further, the General Assembly by its resolution 52/15 of 20 November 1997 proclaimed the year 2000 as the “International Year for the Culture of Peace” and in its resolution 53/25 of 10 November 1998, the Assembly proclaimed the period of 2001-2010 as the “International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World”.
The General Assembly resolution 72/137 of 11 December 2017, entitled “Followup to the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace”, requested the President of the General Assembly to consider convening a High-level Forum on the Culture of Peace.
Through annual substantive resolutions for the last 20 years as well as annual High-level Forums since 2012, the General Assembly has highlighted the priority it attaches to the full and effective implementation of these forward-looking objectives which are universally applicable and sought after by the vast majority of peoples in every nation.
In keeping with this approach, the 5th September High-level Forum aims to highlight emerging trends that have an impact on the realization of a culture of peace and to enable Member States and Observers and other stakeholders to exchange views on how to further promote a culture of peace. 2
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has put significant emphasis on the promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence. These are essential to pave the way for the international community to engage and march towards achieving the sustainable development goals. To meet this end, we need to sustain peace. Our efforts in sustaining peace should be built upon the three pillars of the United Nations, namely peace and security, human rights and development, in order to have a holistic outcome.
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What is the United Nations doing for a culture of peace?
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At the High-level Meeting on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace convened by President of the General Assembly H.E. Mr. Miroslav Lajčák in April 2018, it was emphatically asserted that “peace is more than a ceasefire. It is more than a peace deal. And, it is more than the absence of war”. For that, there is a need to tackle conflict at its roots. There is a need to invest in achieving sustainable peace. To make peace last long for the benefit of humanity, it is essential to build a culture of peace. The High-level Meeting reiterated that “sustaining peace is not an easy task” and “making peace is harder than silencing the guns”. Therefore, a wideranging discussion on the interlinkages between these two concepts is required, to chart a credible pathway towards sustaining peace for a prosperous and more peaceful world for all.
Participation
Member States and Observers are invited to participate at the highest level possible. The meeting is also open to UN agencies, civil society organisations, including NGOs, the private sector and other stakeholders.
Format
The Forum will consist of an opening session, a plenary segment, an interactive panel discussion and a closing segment.
The opening session and plenary segment will be held in the General Assembly Hall from 10:00am-1:00pm. The panel discussion will take place in the Trusteeship Council Chamber from 3:00pm-5.30pm, followed by closing segment from 5:30pm6:00pm. The opening session and plenary segment will feature statements by the President of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General (TBC), and will hear a keynote address by a preeminent Nobel Peace Laureate.
The plenary segment will comprise of statements by Member States and observers of the General Assembly. A list of speakers will be established in accordance with the established practices of the Assembly. The list of speakers will be open for inscriptions via the e-Speakers module of the e-Delegate platform on 16 August at 12 noon. The time limit for the statements is three minutes.
The panel discussion in the afternoon will focus on the of the 2018 High-level Forum on the Culture of Peace: “The Culture of Peace: A Credible Pathway to Sustaining Peace 3
The panel discussion will feature remarks by distinguished panelists followed by an interactive discussion. The panel will be moderated by Ambassador Anwarul Karim Chowdhury, Founder of the Global Movement for the Culture of Peace and the former Under Secretary-General and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States. There will be no established list of speakers for the panel discussion.
Registration of members of official delegations Official delegations and members of the parties of Heads of State or Government, Vice-Presidents and Crown Princes or Princesses will be registered by the Protocol and Liaison Service. Missions/offices are required to submit their registration requests by using the online system “e-Accreditation” available through the e-Delegate Portal at https://delegate.un.int.
Outcome
A Chair’s summary of the meeting will be circulated to Member States. Further information regarding this meeting will be available on the PGA’s website.