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An article by CPNN based on the videos of the forum at UN Web TV part 1 and UN Web TV part 2
The United Nations held its annual High Level Forum on the Culture of Peace on August 2.
The following article is based on the videos of the Forum because it seems that the United Nations did not publish a general article about the forum. There is a UN webpage for the Forum, but it contains only the concept note, the program, video excerpts, three photos and a link to the 1999 resolution on a culture of peace.
Scene at beginning of Forum, taken from UN video. (Note that in previous years, the room was filled with representatives of civil society and Member States)
A concept note with background about the culture of peace was published this year prior to the forum by the President of the General assembly saying that it would be dedicated to the theme “Promoting Culture of Peace in the Digital Era.”
The program consisted of a three-hour opening session beginning at 10:00 with four presentations available in the UN journal.
H.E. Mr. Dennis Francis, President of the UN General Assembly began by commemorating the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace, and thanking the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh for its continued stewardship of the High-Level Forum. He quoted Mahatma Gandhi that “there is no way to peace, peace is the way,” and Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammed Yunus that “Peace should be understood in a human way – in a broad social, political way. Peace is threatened by unjust economic, social and political order, absence of democracy, environmental degradation and the absence of human rights.”
Mr. Guy Ryder, Under-Secretary-General for Policy also spoke about the “enduring legacy” of the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace, and he looked forward to the Declaration on Future Generations to be agreed upon at the Summit of the Future.
Mrs. Lily Gray, UNESCO Liaison Office to the UN said that the digital age demands that we update and refine the concept of a culture of peace, and she referred to UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence.
Ms. Andrea Carstensen, Representative of Global Youth Caucus on SDG 16 referred to the Secretary-General’s New Agenda for Peace, and Security Council Resolution 2250 — unanimously adopted in 2015 and reaffirmed in 2018. The resolution acknowledges the traditionally-overlooked role of youth in peacebuilding and conflict resolution and calls for the inclusion of young people in decision-making processes at all levels.
Then followed a plenary session with statements by 31 countries, the European Union and 2 observers, the Holy See and the Sovereign Order of Malta. Their statements are available here.
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What is the United Nations doing for a culture of peace?
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As you may see from the list of countries, there were statements posted from eight countries in Latin America, seven from Asia and five from Africa, but no remarks from the United States or from its allies in Japan, Canada or Australia. China did not issue a statement but is represented, along with 17 other countries, by the statement of Venezuela On Behalf of the Group of Friends in Defence of the Charter of the United Nations
The statement by the European Union in favor of the culture of peace is published here separately because it marks a welcome change from their previous opposition to the culture of peace.
Vietnam and the Holy See also published articles on the Internet about their statements.
In the afternoon there was a one-hour panel session from 15:00 until 16:07 that can be seen in the second video listed above.
The panel session was moderated by Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications. She introduced remarks by the following four panelists:
Mr. Felipe Paullier, Assistant-Secretay-General for Youth Affairs.
Ms. Naureen Chowdhury Fink from the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism. Her remarks are published here. According to Wikipedia, the NGO was founded in 2017 by a consortium of companies spearheaded by Facebook (now known as Meta), Google/YouTube, Microsoft and Twitter (now known as X). It provides a database of videos and images related to terrorism.
Mr. Francisco Rojas Aravena, rector of the University of Peace. His remarks are published here.
Ms Amanda Dixon from the NGO Heavenly Culture, World Peace and Restoration of Light. Her remarks are published here. She spoke about her organization, saying “Our 94-year-old chairman, a global messenger of peace, established our organization over a decade ago to leave peace as a legacy to future generations.” According to Wikipedia, HWPL was founded in 2013 by Lee Man-hee in South Korea, and is classified as a sect according to eight listed sources.
Comments were then requested from the member states and observers, for which there were two: Costa Rica and the NGO Man Up Campaign.
The floor was given again to the four panelists for their final remarks.
Concluding remarks of the panel session were delivered by the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh, Mr. Muhammad Abdul Muhith. He returned to the opening theme of the Forum, commemorating the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace, and looking forward to the Pact to be agreed upon at the Summit of the Future. He thanked all of the Forum participants with a specific mention of the organization Heavenly Culture, World Peace and Restoration of Light.
A closing session at 16:45 is listed in the UN Journal, but there was no video of this published on the UN Web TV, no account in UN News and no statements published in the UN journal.
This year’s Forum continues a trend that began with the Forum last year. Unlike the first ten Forums from 2012 to 2022, when Anwarul Chowdhury was involved in the planning, there is very little role for the civil society and not much media coverage, not even by UN News.
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