General Assembly Session 55 meeting 49

The President

I should like to inform Members that, in a letter dated 21 September 2000 addressed to the President of the General Assembly, the Permanent Representative of Sweden to the United Nations, in his capacity as Chairman of the Group of Western European and other States for the month of September, requests that the General Assembly hear in plenary meeting a statement by the observer of the Holy See in the debate on agenda item 33.

Taking into account the importance attached to this issue under discussion, it is proposed that the General Assembly take a decision on that request.

May I take it that there is no objection to the proposal to hear the observer of the Holy See in the debate on agenda item 33?

Mr. Chowdhury (Bangladesh)

Good morning to everybody. The General Assembly hall is very sparsely populated as we are about to start the debate on a culture of peace.

There was a time, and not so long ago, when every presentation I made on a culture of peace used to have a section entitled "what is a culture of peace?" We have come a long way since then in a relatively short period of time. Today, there is not only a common understanding of a culture of peace, but also an emerging global movement to carry forward its ideals and actions as identified in the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace.

We commend the Secretary-General for his report contained in document A/55/377 that brings together contributions from the United Nations system on a culture of peace and provides a useful basis for the implementation of the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World. The Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace, adopted by the General Assembly in resolution 53/243 of 13 September 1999, calls for a global movement for a culture of peace and defines the areas of action that should guide Governments, international organizations and civil society in promoting and strengthening a culture of peace.

The Declaration and Programme of Action provide all of us with a clear set of guidelines for action. It is a universal document in the real sense, transcending borders, cultures, beliefs and societies. It identifies actors who have a role in advancing a culture of peace. In addition to States and international organizations, such as the United Nations, it includes religious and community leaders, parents and families, teachers, artists, professors, journalists and students -- people from all walks of life. The areas identified in the Programme of Action -- namely, education, sustainable development, human rights, equality between women and men, democratic participation, advancing understanding, tolerance and solidarity and international peace and security -- have been priorities of the United Nations since its foundation.

As the report of the Secretary-General mentions, "what is new is their linkage through the culture of peace and non-violence into a single coherent concept". It also mentions that this is the first time that "all these areas are interlinked so that the sum of their complementarities and synergies can be developed".

The adoption of a Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace is, however, only the first step. Our success will rest on the strength of our partnership for its implementation. For the success of our movement, we have to build a grand alliance for a culture of peace. Civil society has a very important and definite role in that alliance. Without its proactive role, we can never involve communities and societies in the building of a global culture of peace.

During the ongoing International Year for the Culture of Peace, we have seen such a grand alliance come together. It is heartening to see the culture of peace receiving wider and wider global acceptance, through the efforts of the United Nations, and especially the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); through the national committees and national focal points developed during the year; through projects implemented globally, nationally and locally; through widespread involvement of civil society; through declaratory statements by regional organizations; and through symposiums, workshops and seminars held all over the world. We are witnessing the movement as it gathers a momentum that cannot be reversed.

We look forward to the next Decade for further consolidating a culture of peace. We have to take our movement to our streets where crime and homelessness is endemic; to our schools where children are learning the wrong lessons; to our communities where poverty is excruciating and harmony is only a hope; to our societies where discrimination and exclusion persist; but most importantly, to every human mind, to extinguish the evils of intolerance and prejudice, ignorance and selfishness.

Our work during the next Decade will be to place children at the centre of the movement for a culture of peace. By inculcating a culture of peace in future generations, we secure the future of peace. Bangladesh, as in previous years, will be tabling a draft resolution on this item. The draft will focus on ways and means of placing children at the centre of the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World, as proclaimed in resolution 53/25 of 10 November 1998. The draft resolution will be made available to all delegations, and we will be holding consultations for finalizing it subsequently. Therefore, we would request that the item be kept open after today's general debate for adoption of that draft resolution.

Let me provide the general thrust of the draft resolution that is being put together. First, the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace provides us with a clear set of actions that should form the basis of the activities during the Decade.

Secondly, the objective of the Decade would be, as the Secretary-General has mentioned, to place children at the centre of activities for a culture of peace and to further strengthen the global movement for a culture of peace. The objectives of the Decade could be further advanced through the strengthening of existing partnerships and networks and developing new ones as well as through the full use of new information technology.

Thirdly, during the Decade, UNESCO should continue to play its important coordinating role in the global movement for a culture of peace and should serve as the lead agency for the Decade. It should organize reviews and appraisals of the implementation of the Declaration and Programme of Action during the Decade at mid-point in 2005 and at the end of the Decade in 2010.

Fourthly, other entities of the United Nations system should be closely involved and should engage their own networks of partners for the success of the Decade. In particular, the roles of the United Nations Children's Fund and the University for Peace would be of great significance, given the importance of education in the lives of children and young adults.

Fifthly, closer involvement of the various national committees and focal points, as well as of numerous civil-society actors, including the non-governmental organizations, lies at the heart of the success of the Decade and making it relevant at all levels.

Sixthly and finally, the Decade should have particular significance for the special session of the General Assembly in 2001 for follow-up to the World Summit for Children and for the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, to be held in the same year in South Africa.