As the UN prepares for International Day of Peace (21 September),  Soroptimist International UN Representatives in New York attended the United Nations High Level Forum on the Culture of Peace. In this week’s SoroptiVoice blog, Paulette Forbes-Igharo reports on the Forum, with photographs by her fellow UN Representative Yoko Komori Olson.  Yoko also met Deputy Executive Director of UN Women, Lakshmi Puri, at the event

Friday, 6 September was a momentous day at the United Nations  Headquarters in New York, as  dignitaries and proponents of world peace gathered to deliberate on how to develop and sustain a Culture of Peace throughout the world.  This gathering was convened by the President of the 67^th Session of the General Assembly, His Excellency Mr. Vuk Jeremic.  The topic  was “The Culture of Peace as the Agenda for a New Global Civilization: Where are we now?”

H.E. Mr. Vuk Jeremic, and H.E. Mr. Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General of the UN opened the forum.  The Keynote Speakers were His Holiness Patriarch Irinej of Serbia; Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed, National Director, Office for Interfaith and Community Alliances, Islamic Society of North America; and Elie Abadie, M.D., Rabbi, The Edmond J. Safra Synagogue.

What is a Culture of Peace?  According to the United Nations Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace (1999), it is “a set of values, attitudes, traditions and modes of behavior and ways of life based on:……respect for life, ending of violence and promotion and practice of non-violence through education, dialogue and cooperation”.

One of the founding principles of the UN, set out in its charter, was to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war” and a recurring point was that Member States of the General Assembly have adoped a Programme of Action on the Culture of Peace.

During the day’s presentations and discussions, the following points emerged:

• Having a Culture of Peace is vital for our existence and that a culture of peace is simply not simply an absence from war.
• Cooperation and collaboration are necessary values for the foundation of this new society. 
• Everyone can make a contribution; each and every one of us must be a peacemaker.
• Conscious efforts must be made for peace to exist.   
• Encouraging diversity is an enabler of a Culture ofPeace.
• Economic development is necessary for peace to be sustainable – peace and development are dependent on each other.   Poverty and lack of opportunity deprive people of their dignity.
• Peace, security and sustainable development are intertwined.
• Education from various levels and perspectives is important  – compassion and tolerance are important aspects of education for global citizenship. 
• The youth and the use of technology must be mobilized in the development of a Culture of Peace.
• The critical causes of conflict must be addressed and women must be involved in conflict resolution.
• There must be a holistic approach to peace – it must be integrated with all other agendas of the UN – all sectors have a role to play.

The presentations were informative and inspiring.  We learned the background that lead to the United Nations Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace, the processes and the challenges.  We were informed of the present state of affairs and the things that must to be done for us to arrive globally at the acceptance of the beliefs and values required for this culture.  But, more importantly, the point that was repeatedly emphasized is that without the practice of these beliefs and value a culture does not exist.

Soroptimist  International  must continue to play its part in  building a culture of peace.  On an international  level, we will continue to call for women to be included in  conflict resolution, peace mediation and negotiation. Clubs  can also make an important contribution, particularly  through education, continuing and building on work to  promote tolerance, understanding and non-violence in their  communities.    

The conclusion from the Forum was that the time has come for this peace and it is our responsibility to ensure that it is realized.  H.E. Ambassador Chowdhury declared, “We need to send the message that there is no place for war on our planet.”

Images: top left – Soroptimist UN Rep Yoko Komori Olson with Deputy Executive of UN Women Lakshmi Puri; top right – UN Rep Paulette Forbes-Igharo at the Forum; bottom: opening session of the UN High Level Forum on the Culture of Peace.

Read more on Soroptimist International and International Day of Peace, including action ideas and examples of SI’s work to educate for peace.