In this present era where the safety of individual lives is constantly
threatened by widespread conflicts, peace-building is demanded in order to
develop a system that promotes the values, norms, and culture of peace for all
countries, communities, and individuals. All of these criteria are based on the
shared principles of coexistence and interdependence of the global community.
‘HWPL’s 6th Annual
Commemoration of the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW)’ was held online on 14 March 2022 with about 4,000
participants in 134 countries. The theme of this event was titled,
Institutionalizing Peace: Building a Legal Foundation for Sustainable Peace.
HWPL has endorsed the combined efforts of governments and civil
society that lead to the institutionalization of peace in each society. The DPCW
proclaimed in 2016 has provided a guide to citizen-led peace advocacy in line
with international organizations including the UN, the African Union (AU), and
the EU that have all stressed normative guidance as a standard for substantial
conflict resolution with the participation of women and youth.
As for the need to “build
a legal foundation for sustainable peace,” Dr. Kamal Hossain, the President of
International Law Association (ILA) Bangladesh Branch said, “The precondition
for achieving peace is securing peoples’ inalienable rights, which include
equality before the law, equal protection of the law, non-discrimination,
freedom to associate, freedom to assemble, and freedom to express.”
In addition, Ms. Anna
Cervenakova, a member of HWPL International Law Peace Committee, mentioned “In
the world’s ongoing crisis, governments question themselves, what kind of
action would be the best action to take in order to overcome the emergency
crisis. The need for human development, by overcoming the public health
emergency, climate change, economic decline, and restrictions on human rights,
brings us to the point of how these burdens are solved by the institutions of
the governments. Much of the burden of the work is, therefore, on the side of
the governments, so it is important to note what are the priorities in their
institutional agenda.”
As one of the
speakers, Rommel Santos Diaz of President of the Dominican Federalist
Foundation said that government offices including the Senate, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, and Attorney General’s Office in the Dominican Republic have
been working with NGOs for the purpose of the state’s decision-making for
public policies on citizen security and human rights based on the DPCW.
Responding to prevalent threats from religious
conflicts, Shafiek Nolan, Imam of Westridge Mosque expressed, “The DPCW
emphasizes the importance of peace between religions and the cessation of
religious conflict. The monthly scripture dialogue hosted by HWPL particularly aims
to create a platform to break down misunderstandings of religious scripture and
practices, mirroring the values expressed in the DPCW.”
Chairman Man Hee
Lee of HWPL said that wars and conflicts continue to occur since “wars can be
triggered if it is allegedly necessary according to the current international
law, which is why this cannot put an end to war.” He highlighted that all
members of the global village need to be united as one as “messengers of peace”
to “certainly create a thing (international law for peace) that can bring about
peace.”
The DPCW
presents principles of peace to be promoted by the international society such
as prohibiting the use of force, fostering religious freedom, and civic
participation to spread a culture of peace. It highlights that sustainable
peace can be achieved through all members of the global society by identifying
not only nation-states, but also international organizations and all citizens
as the main actors in building peace.
Meanwhile, on
February 28, HWPL issued a statement on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that
includes refugee protection and global youth solidarity against war and is
delivering it to 192 countries. For the full text of the DPCW or Statement
Regarding Russia and Ukraine, you may visit: www.hwpl.kr
#HWPL
#PEACE #PEACE_EDUCATION #WARP_OFFICE #IPYG #DPCW_1038 #IWPG
Thank you for this informative read and all you do. The Chairman of HWPL, Man-hee Lee, is a Korean War veteran who has travelled the world 31 times meeting politicians, Heads of State, religious leaders and international law experts to discuss the DPCW and gain the support of citizens around the world. 21 international law experts were involved in the drafting of the DPCW. HWPL currently has support in 192 different countries with over 600,000 members working to help establish peace throughout the world. It is a miracle that a 92-year-old man can spearhead such a peace movement. Kudos to Chairman Lee.
ReplyDelete