FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION
The following is adapted from emails received from Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury, Former Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the UN
Dear activists — The 71st session of the UNGA has adopted its resolution on the follow up of the UN Programme of Action on Culture of Peace on 23 December by consensus with a final total of 102 co-sponsors.
(Click on image to enlarge)
Ever since the initiative taken in 1997 to include a separate agenda item on the culture of peace and the UNGA decision to do so allocating the item to the plenary of the General Assembly, every year the Assembly has adopted by consensus a comprehensive, self-standing resolution on the culture of peace.
The text of the draft resolution issued by the UN as an L. document is attached. Attached also is the full list of 102 Member States which joined Bangladesh as co-sponsors making it possible for crossing the century mark.
[Editor’s note: Conspicuously absent from the co-sponsors are the United States and its principal allies such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, Japan, Australis.]
Please note additional elements and changes over the resolution (A/Res./70/20) adopted last year in the following:
– preambular para 9 (adding the two UN proclaimed days in addition to International Day of Non-Violence at the proposal of Armenia);
– preambular para 17 (adding the increased interest, particularly of the Member States to make country statements in its Plenary segment of the High Level Forum and the President’s Summary issued for the first time in the Forum series);
– operative para 6 (adding reference to vulnerable children in the of the UNICEF’s Early Childhood Peace Consortium);
– operative para 8 ( adding “global citizenship” overcoming insistence by Myanmar and Cuba on referring to only “active citizenship”),
– operative para 12 ( adding the International Day of Non-Violence to the International Day of Peace requesting all to accord increasing attention to their observance); and
– operative para 13 (requesting the Secretariat to support the effective organization of the High Level Forum).
Wishing you all the best for 2017 in every way
— Anwarul Chowdhury