International Bulletin - May 2001
Draft Resolution For The Culture of Peace
Preamble:
- Concerned by the growing level of violence, the numbr of armed conflicts and women's often fragile situation;
- Encouraged by the many courageous and creative women's peace initiatives in many different regions of the world;
- Knowing this United Nations International Year for the Culture of Peace (2000) and preparing for the United Nations Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010);
- Wanting to use this millennium as an opportunity to transform the culture of war and violence to a culture of peace and non-violence;
- Convinced that equality, development and peace are so closely linked that there can be no lasting peace without development and no sustainabvle development without full equality between women and men,
We, those present at the 21st International Conference of the Pan Pacific and Southeast Asia Women's Association in Rarotonga, the Cook Islands, 9 to 18 November, 2000, commit ourselves to:
- Cooperate with UNESCO and all agencies of the UN system to further the UN declaration and Program of Action in a Culture of Peace, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September 1999;
- Inspire our members and our communities to engage actively in, transforming of our societies in line with the six principles of the Manifesto 2000 to:
Respect All Life;
Reject Violence;
Share With Others;
Listen in Order to Understand;
Preserve The Planet; and
Rediscover Solidarity. - Support National and International efforts to ensure children's and women's rights to education, with a view to their empowerment and access to decision making;
- Promote Peace Education in, and outside, school systems to impart knowledge of Human Rights, Democratic processes and skills of non-violence and gender-sensitive conflict resolution;
- Continue to work for the well-being of all people including the most vulnerable groups in society, notably those confronting the root-causes of conflicts and physical violence: discrimination, poverty, injustice, inequality and marginalization;
- Establish a base for women's contribution to foster a "Culture of Peace" in order to strengthen PPSEAWA's action that will develop and implement the women's peace initiatives;
- Request the UN to continue to include the Culture of Peace as a priority item in all action plans and programs on Environment, in view of the fact that so much instant environmental degradation has been caused by war and armed conflict.
Voted and agreed to implement this 16th day of November 2000.
Last Modified: November 29, 2002