EU Statement at UN High-Level Forum on the Culture of Peace: Women’s Leadership to Promote a Culture of Peace

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A publication of the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations in New York

Mr President,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States. 
The Candidate Countries North Macedonia, Montenegro*, Albania*, the Republic of Moldova, and Georgia, as well as Armenia, Monaco, San Marino and the United Kingdom align themselves with this statement.

We reaffirm our full support for the Culture of Peace agenda and welcome the focus of the discussion this year on women’s leadership in promoting the culture of peace. 


Frame from the UN video

The EU was born from the ashes of war, with the determination to turn competition into partnership, conflict into cooperation. We have learned to nurture the culture of peace and adopted it as part of our DNA. The principles and values guiding us today are informed by this very experience. 

Today, as a global peace actor, the EU is committed to the peaceful settlement of conflicts, dialogue and diplomacy, as well as respect for international norms and obligations. We stand firm in our conviction that today’s complex challenges can only be resolved through collective commitment and action, through effective multilateralism, with the United Nations at its core. 

Chair, 

Peace can only be achieved and sustained with a holistic approach that tackles the root causes of conflicts. It requires strengthening societies through the promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms, democratic participation and civic space, inclusive and sustainable development, as well as the rule of law and good governance, served by well-functioning justice systems. A comprehensive approach to peacebuilding also requires strengthened coherence between humanitarian action, development and peacebuilding efforts, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. 

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Question(s) related to this article:

What is the United Nations doing for a culture of peace?

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Peace is where the rights and dignity of every person are respected and where all have equal opportunities to thrive, without any discrimination, intimidation or violence, and where diversity and pluralism are celebrated. This requires investments into education from an early age, the empowerment of young persons, the inclusion of those marginalised, as well as gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls – the focus of today’s discussion. 

Chair,

Women play a fundamental role in building and maintaining resilience in societies through their contributions in all aspects of life. Societies can only be strong if they are underpinned by the full and equal contributions of women and girls. 

In times of conflict, women have proven to be at the forefront of prevention, mediation and conflict resolution. Their full, equal and meaningful participation in peace processes, peacebuilding, post-conflict recovery and decisions-making is a prerequisite for sustainable and inclusive peace. The Women, Peace and Security Agenda is central to advancing this goal, and therefore, its implementation is a strategic imperative. 

However, this requires the elimination of structural barriers that women and girls face in society. This includes eradicating discriminatory gender norms, threats, harassment, reprisals and violence against them, including women peacebuilders and women human rights defenders, providing a safe and enabling environment, and taking proactive steps to promote women’s leadership at all levels. 

The EU remains strongly committed to this end. We support women mediators’ networks, systematically include women experts in our mediation support teams, and integrate a gender perspective throughout their work. We also promote women’s participation in peace processes, making sure that at least one third of participants in all EU-supported peace process activities are women. We further support women leaders and experts in directly engaging in negotiation and political processes through dedicated women’s advisory bodies. And finally, we fund women peacebuilders, women-led and civil society organisations and women human rights defenders to advance mediation, conflict prevention and inclusive governance in conflict-affected communities in various regions of the world. 

Chair,

The Culture of Peace agenda remains at the heart of our work as we strive to achieve peace, prosperity and human rights for all. The EU stands firm in this commitment and is taking action to cultivate it today and every day. 

I thank you. 

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Statement of Anwarul Chowdhury at the UN High-Level Forum on the Culture of Peace

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Copied and corrected by CPNN from United Nations transcript and video

Thank you, Madam President. I would like to begin by thanking you for a very powerful and meaningful opening statement. We appreciate that.

I have a special pleasure in welcoming Leymah Gbowee, because she was on previous occasion as the keynote speaker in the high level forum on the culture of peace. I’m very happy she joined us this time again.

I have also great pleasure in welcoming the permanent representative, the new permanent representative of Bangladesh. She is here and I’m very happy that Bangladesh mission is now headed by a woman leader. That’s a wonderful opportunity for me to meet her for the first time in this meeting.

Madam President, in 11 days from today, on 13 September, the United Nations will observe the 27th anniversary of the General Assembly’s unanimous adoption of the Declaration and program of action on a culture of peace. This high level forum convened by you, Madam President, provides the most appropriate setting for the celebration of this remarkable pathway to the global culture of peace as articulated by its apex body.

The theme of this forum rightfully is women’s leadership to promote the culture of peace.


Frame from UN video

If I may add here that you yourself, Madam President, is a true embodiment of the core focus of this theme in your leadership of the United Nations General Assembly as one of its five women presidents, among the 80 individuals gracing this position since the birth of this organization.

Mandated by the UN resolutions, the successive presidents of the General Assembly have been convening the annual high level forums attracting the attention of member states and civil society since 2012, when your predecessor, PGA 66, Ambassador Al-Assad, took the initiative to convene the first forum.

I had the honor of introducing on behalf of the member states after successfully chairing the nine month long negotiations on the relevant resolution A 53243, which was adopted on 13 September in 1999, as you said.

The global movement for the culture of Peace, GMCOP, a coalition of civil society organizations have been spearheading advocacy initiatives effectively since 2011, as well as in organizing the annual high level forums on the culture of Peace convened by the president of the UN General Assembly from its beginning in 2012, all the way to 2022.

The forum has the distinction of being the only gathering which was addressed by the largest number of Nobel peace laureates, all women, and again, recognize Leymah’s presence here. Six times out of 11 forums.

Also, the forum’s panelists were always gender balanced on most occasions with more women participating.

At the United as the United Nations Under Secretary-General and High Representative for the most vulnerable countries and as the permanent representative of Bangladesh, my work has taken me to the furthest corners of the world.

I have seen time and again the centrality of women’s equality and the culture of peace in our lives.

This realization has now become more pertinent in the midst of the ever increasing militarism, militarization, and weaponization that is destroying both our planet and our people.

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Question(s) related to this article:

What is the United Nations doing for a culture of peace?

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As we all know, the charter of the United Nations when signed in 1945, was the first international agreement to affirm the principle of equality between women and men.

The program of action on culture of peace accords a place of prominence to equality between women and men fourth among its eight action areas.

Women represent more than half of the global population, yet they continue to be underrepresented in leadership positions in every region of the world.

Unfortunately, in recent years, women’s rights are under threat from a backlash of conservatism and fundamentalism around the world.

Let me assert again that patriarchy and misogyny are the dual scourges pulling humanity back from our aspiration for a better world to live in freedom, equality and justice.

On 8th of March 2000, as the president of the UN Security Council, I could initiate and mobilize the council to recognize unanimously in a statement that and I quote, peace is inextricably linked with equality between women and men, end and affirmed the value of full and equal participation of women at all decision making levels. That is when the seed for the UN Security Council Resolution 13 25 was sown.

It was finally adopted on the 31st of October of the same year.

We should never forget that when women, more than half of the world’s 8 billion plus people, are marginalized, there is no chance for our world to get sustainable peace in the real sense.

It is my strong belief that unless women are engaged in advancing the culture of peace at equal levels at all times with men, sustainable peace would continue to elude us.

In various parts of the world, women have shown great capacity as peace builders. At the grassroots and community levels, women have organized to resist militarization, to create space for dialogue and moderation, and to weave together the shattered fabric of society.

As I reiterate time and again, women bring a new breadth, quality, and balance of vision to a common effort of moving away from the cult of war towards the culture of peace.

Women’s equality makes our planet safe and secure.

The slogan of global campaign on women peace and security, which we launched in London in June 2014 reiterates, and I quote, “If we are serious about peace, we must take women seriously.”

Let me end by emphasizing that feminism is not intended to pit women against men or men against women. Feminism is about smart policy, which is inclusive, uses all potential, and leaves no one behind.

I am proud to be a feminist. All of us need to be. That is how we make our planet a better place to live for all.

We should always remember that without peace, development is impossible and without development, peace is not achievable. But without women, neither peace nor development is conceivable.

I continue to emphasize that the culture of peace is not a quick fix. It is a movement, not a revolution, and women always bolster that movement immensely.

Let me conclude by underscoring here an unacceptable reality.

In its 81 years of existence, the United Nations has not yet elected a woman Secretary-General, eight decades plus nine men, not one woman. What an embarrassment, what a shame.

How can an institution that speaks of equality at every podium continues to model inequality at its pinnacle?

The credibility of the event’s advocacy depends on its own reflection in the mirror.

I thank you for your kind attention.

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English bulletin of CPNN September 1, 2026

CULTURE OF PEACE AROUND THE WORLD

This month’s actions for a culture of peace took place on five continents.

In Africa, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah of Namibia continues to work for women’s equality, for youth job opportunities, for land reform for increased housing for the poor. She has promoted community empowerment through grassroots programmes for after school and general development and offered free education targeted at the poor in public universities and technical colleges.

Also in Africa, in Mali, a workshop for 80 educators focused on the culture of peace, social cohesion, and the integration of internally displaced children

In Brazil, teachers and administrators from the municipal school system of Roraima completed a Restorative Justice training course focused on implementing practices that encourage dialogue, active listening, and a culture of peace within schools.

In Paris, the French Junior Chamber of Commerci International is sponsoring a hackathon for 25 young leaders from diverse nationalities for an intensive four-day international experience dedicated to peacebuilding, leadership and collaborative action.

In Washington, where Martin Luther King gave his famous speech, “I have a dream,” thousands of marchers came once again to demand voting rights. They were addressed by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, among others.

In Australia, two peace treaties have been tabled for ratification by the parliament: the Ocean of Peace Alliance; and the Vuvale Union. The Vuvale Union is a treaty between Australia and Fiji, while the Ocean of Peace Alliance is supported by Australia, Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Fiji, French Polynesia, the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, the Republic of Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, the Republic of Palau, the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, the Kingdom of Tonga, Tuvalu and the Republic of Vanuatu.

In Asia, a peace curriculum discussion with Christians and Muslims took place on the slopes of Mount Muria in Central Java. The activity, in collaboration with the Mennonite Central Committee, brought together academics, church leaders, peace practitioners and international partners to formulate a curriculum that is able to instill the values of peace, reconciliation, justice and conflict transformation in theology education in Indonesia.

Also from Asia, we carried an article about Zuhra Bahman, the country director of Search for Common Ground for Afghanistan. As she says, “I do not expect that Afghanistan will become an equitable society in my lifetime, [but] I choose to take small steps each day towards collaboration, towards sustainable development. That’s a foundation the next generation can build upon.”

Finally, and perhaps most important in the face of Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people, there are initiatives of resistance. The Israeli-Palestinian movement Combatants for Peace fights for peace on behalf of the Palestinians in Israel: “We provide physical presence and assistance with food, water, legal support and any other help we can offer to the last remaining communities that are still holding on, in the face of violence by settlers and the Israeli military: demolition orders, threats of displacement, restrictions on grazing, denial of water and livelihoods and so on.”

And Jewish organizations around the world have publicly endorsed the BDS movement and support coordinated nonviolent pressure to end Israeli impunity. As they say, “In Gaza, Israel is carrying out a genocide that has killed tens of thousands of people, devastated civilian infrastructure, displaced the vast majority of the population, and subjected Palestinians to starvation and collective punishment. These crimes demand concrete action from us, in whose name they are being committed.”

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY


Interview with Combatants for Peace

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT


California was mostly solar-powered in May — a global first

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION


Brazil: Restorative Justice program trains educators to foster a culture of peace in municipal schools

WOMEN’S EQUALITY


Building an Afghanistan I may never see
  

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY


Indonesia: Building peace from the slopes of Mount Muria

EDUCATION FOR PEACE


Koulikoro, Mali: 80 educators trained to strengthen peace in schools

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Tabling of the Ocean of Peace Alliance and Australia-Fiji Vuvale Union

HUMAN RIGHTS


Open Letter from Global Jewish Organizations in Support of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions

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USA: Bea Lumpkin and How an Antifascist Rests in Power

. HUMAN RIGHTS .

An article by Stacy Davis Gates in In These Times

When people ask me what it means to be a woman in power, I think about Bea Lumpkin, because power means you don’t wait for permission.

Not power as in proximity to the powerful, or having a seat at a table someone else built. I mean power as in knowing early which side you were on, then spending every day of your life standing on the business of that side.

Bea passed away June 14 at 107 years old. A lifelong communist and the Jewish daughter of Russian immigrants, she married a Black man during the height of the Red Scare in 1949 and raised a family under the restrictive conventions of Jim Crow fascism.


Bea Lumpkin with her husband Frank

The United States in the mid-20th century was a country where inter-racial marriage was still illegal in 30 states, and where the Supreme Court would not strike down those laws until 1967. A federal agent might show up at your door simply because of who you loved and what you believed.

It was the McCarthy era, and the openly Communist Lumpkins were already a target for their activism. But their politics were the least of it. They were an interracial couple in America in 1949. That alone was enough to make them a threat.

In a 2019 article for People’s World, Bea Lumpkin wrote: “In addition to fighting back against school closures and the firing of teachers, it is important to keep the struggle for an anti-racist, multicultural curriculum front and center.”

Bea and her husband, Frank — steel-worker, son of sharecroppers — were undeterred.

To understand what Bea brought to her marriage, and to everything else in her life, you have to understand what she had already lived by the time she married.

Her parents were Russian revolutionaries. Her father was arrested after returning fire on the Czar’s Cossacks when they attacked the synagogue where the Jewish Labor Bund was meeting. Her mother helped engineer his escape.

Bea was born knowing which side she was on, telling the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund in 2025, “I always knew, even when I was 6 years old, how much injustice there was.”

By age 9, she was making solidarity trips in support of striking textile workers. At 14, she lied about her age to get a factory job assembling radio tubes and joined the Metal Workers Industrial Union. At Hunter College, when the school threatened to raise the price of a half pint of milk from five to six cents, she organized a boycott and won. She was later suspended for organizing a conference against war and fascism on campus.

At 19, Bea was one of the organizers hired by the newly formed Congress of Industrial Organizations to organize more than 30,000 laundry workers in New York City. She was a radio technician with the United Electrical Workers and a defense worker during World War II.

In 1948, she stood alongside Paul Robeson at a labor rally in New York. She marched with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Marquette Park. She stood alongside the Black Panthers on Chicago’s West Side. Legend in our movement holds that she once babysat a young Fred Hampton.

She bore witness to the state killing striking workers during the 1937 Memorial Day Massacre in Chicago, where 10 were killed and 90 injured when police shot into the crowd. She knowingly took risks to win justice and to marry the love of her life.

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Questions related to this article:

How can we carry forward the work of the great peace and justice activists who went before us?

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Bea was many things that our politics too often tries to reduce and sort into separate boxes. She was a mother, and she was an educator who started her classroom career at age 47. She was a mathematician who published groundbreaking scholarship on the multicultural roots of math and science because her students demanded to see themselves in what they were learning. She was a feminist who co-founded the Coalition of Labor Union Women in 1974. She was a fierce advocate for climate justice in her 100s.

Bea’s existence resisted reduction because it undersells the enormous impact of her life. She wasn’t an “-ism.” She was a force of nature. The labor movement Bea entered as a teenager in the 1930s was fighting for things we now take as bedrock: the right to organize, the minimum wage and the eight-hour workday. She was raised to believe that her existence was to make the world a more just place for everyone. For Bea, the struggle was never a sacrifice. It was a joy.

As a Black woman leading a labor union in this particular moment in America, when the rights Bea’s generation bled for are being dismantled in real time, when public education is under assault, when the multiracial coalitions she built her life around are being deliberately fractured,
I find myself asking what Bea would do.

She would be at the rally, on the picket line and knocking doors. She would be organizing young people and old people in the same room. She would be furious and unrelenting, yet jubilant and optimistic. She didn’t slow down by choice. Her body made that decision for her.

Bea taught us the discipline of showing up, and the refusal to leave a struggle to someone else.

She embodied the understanding that justice is not something you wait for, but something you build, generation by generation, in union halls and church basements, and on picket lines, no matter the weather. Well into her 100s she attended every monthly delegate meeting and protest and caucus meeting for the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and oftentimes got there without any support or assistance. I can close my eyes and see that black fanny pack, red CTU cap, and fist held high in proud defiance.

She was our friend, and we are going to miss her.

Roberta Wilson, a longtime organizer with the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), gave 80 years of her life to educating students.

Our union also lost in these same days of grief one of our longtime members, Roberta Wilson.

Roberta came north from Thomson, Georgia, as part of the Second Great Migration that helped build Chicago. She gave 80 years of her life to her faith, to educating her students, to organizing her block club, coat drives, and food pantry, and to creating a scholarship fund that sent Black children from Chicago’s West Side to college.

Black history.

Where Bea showed us how to fight, Roberta showed us how to hold, and how to be the root system of a community that allowed everything above ground to grow.

They are the women on whom this movement is built.

Excerpt from her book, Joy in the Struggle: My Life and Love by Beatrice Lumpkin, International Publishers, 2018. Free for any DSA or Union member

‘So how do I feel about fighting for the same issues again and again? My reply is, “Yes, I am tired of the system that puts profits first. But I am not tired of fighting capitalism. Each fight brings us in touch with wonderful fellow-fighters. Each fight hastens the day when organized workers and their allies will be strong enough to get rid of capitalism and begin to build socialism. Yes, there is joy in the struggle.’ —

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The author, Stacy Davis Gates, is president of the Chicago Teachers Union and the Illinois Federation of Teachers.

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HUMAN RIGHTS, North America

Thousands march in Washington as leaders warn of voting and civil rights rollbacks

. HUMAN RIGHTS .

An article from Reuters (reproduced by permission)

More than six decades after Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps ‌of the Lincoln Memorial and declared his dream for a more just America, thousands gathered in Washington on Friday to warn that voting rights and other freedoms he fought and died for are once again under threat.

Civil rights leaders invoked the same demands he made from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial two and a half generations ago: that the fight for equality remains unfinished.

The event, called “March on Washington 2026: Defend the Vote,” drew several thousand people to the National Mall, including union members, students, members of Black Greek-letter organizations, and attendees of all ages who traveled from across the country.


Photo from video accompanying the article

The march comes after the Supreme Court weakened a key provision of the Voting Rights Act this year, setting off a string of redistricting battles across the South, with Republican-led statehouses moving quickly, in some cases within days, to redraw congressional maps in time for midterm elections in November.

“We know in this fight we’re fighting powerful forces, but this is why we rally today,” said Marc Morial, president and CEO of the civil rights organization National Urban League. “This is why we seek to bring Americans together of goodwill from all races, from all sections of the country to push back as forcefully as we can.”

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Questions related to this article:

The struggle for human rights, is it gathering force in the USA?

How can we be sure to get news about peace demonstrations?

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The gathering was organized by Al Sharpton’s National Action Network and Martin Luther King III ‌and Arndrea Waters King’s Drum Major Institute, alongside more than 90 community partner organizations, including the NAACP and National Urban League.

“Defending the vote means defending the foundation of our democracy,” said King III in a statement. “Sixty-three years after my father stood at the Lincoln Memorial, we are called to march again, not only in remembrance, but in action.”

According to the organizers, the march aims to “confront the systemic rollback of civil rights at this critical moment,” referring to President Donald Trump’s efforts to curb mail-in voting, weaken anti-discrimination protections across the federal government and fundamentally shift what civil rights are.

“We stand on the same ground because the work is not finished,” Sharpton wrote in a letter to supporters. “The right to vote, the very foundation of our power, is being chipped away in statehouse after statehouse. When the vote is weakened, every other right grows fragile with it.”

The program began at 9 a.m. ET with confirmed speakers U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

“Black unemployment is up, Black homeownership is down and Black political representation is under assault with Jim Crow-like tactics all throughout the South — challenging times,” Jeffries said, referring to the system of state and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the American South until the 1960s.

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HUMAN RIGHTS, North America

Senegal: Red Cross youth mobilize against violence in Vélingara

. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION .

An article in Le Quotidien

On August 17, nearly a hundred young volunteers from Senegal, The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau gathered for the 19th edition of the Red Cross International Twinning Camp. Under the theme “United Youth, Violence Banished,” these first responders are engaging in training sessions, civic actions, and cultural exchange to promote peace in a sub-region facing rising levels of antisocial behavior.

Vélingara served as the capital of peace and solidarity for the day. Faced with a resurgence of brawls involving bladed weapons, tensions surrounding distorted traditions like the *Kankourang*, and political incivility, the Red Cross chose to respond through civic engagement. The Departmental Prefect presided over the official opening ceremony on August 17, joined by patrons, numerous guests, and around a hundred young volunteers aged 2 to 35.

Coming from Dakar, Ziguinchor, Sédhiou, and Kolda—as well as neighboring countries like The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau—these young people transformed Vélingara into a hub of integration.

In his address, the Prefect highlighted the significance of the event: “Vélingara is a living symbol of grassroots sub-regional integration. Through this twinning initiative, the town reaffirms its vocation as a land of refuge, peace, and solidarity.” “Our states share administrative borders, but our peoples share a common history, shared cultures, and identical challenges—such as managing migration flows or climate crises.”

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(Click here for the original article in French.)

Question for this article:

Can a culture of peace be achieved in Africa through local indigenous training and participation?

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A mix of first aid, environmental action, and leadership training

On the ground, the volunteers were kept busy. The packed program combined health awareness, civic engagement, and personal development: HIV/AIDS screening sessions and a community cleanup day (*set-setal*) at the Sinthiang Houlata neighborhood market; courtesy visits to families living near the camp to promote a culture of peace; the construction of eco-friendly benches for the host school; and public first-aid simulations accompanied by leadership workshops designed to hone young people’s public speaking skills. The event also featured an integration day—complete with the playing of national and Red Cross anthems—as well as sports competitions and cultural evenings showcasing regional diversity.

Civic engagement versus the disengagement of elected officials

While the event was a resounding success in human terms, the organizers had to overcome significant logistical hurdles. Crossing the Gambian border proved complicated due to the lack of parental consent forms for several minors.

However, the local Red Cross leaders’ deepest regret concerns the lack of support from policymakers. Not a single mayor in the area responded favorably to requests for financial or material assistance. The supervisors lamented this lack of gratitude—albeit diplomatically—noting that these same local authorities frequently rely on volunteer first responders for their own events without ever providing funding.

Despite these obstacles, the camp stands out as an essential strategic tool. By standardizing intervention methods and establishing cross-border relief networks, these young people demonstrate that solidarity remains the best defense against the slide into violence.

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Africa, DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION

Koulikoro, Mali: 80 educators trained to strengthen peace in schools

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An article by Studio Tamani

A workshop focused on the culture of peace, social cohesion, and the integration of internally displaced children opened this Monday, August 24, in Koulikoro.


Training of educators in Koulikoro on strengthening peace in schools, August 24, 2026. Photo credit: Studio Tamani

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Question for this article:

Where is peace education taking place?

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Over the course of five days, 80 educators—including school principals and parents—will build their capacity regarding school safety, the integration of displaced children, and the improvement of learning outcomes.

The event is organized by the Koulikoro Education Academy with support from JCA [Japanese Agency for International Cooperation], through UNICEF.

(Click here for the original version of this article in French)

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Africa, EDUCATION FOR PEACE

Tabling of the Ocean of Peace Alliance and Australia-Fiji Vuvale Union

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An article from the Foreign Ministry of Australia

Ministerial statement 11 August 2026

At a time of great uncertainty, risk and contestation, the Albanese Government recognises that Australia cannot afford to be a passive observer of the profound changes occurring around us.

Photo from Instagram

The Ocean of Peace: Vision to Treaty  weighs the benefits and risks of turning the Ocean of Peace Declaration, endorsed by Pacific leaders in 2025, into a legally binding agreement.

The paper proposes negotiating a new regional peace and security treaty as a Protocol to the Treaty of Rarotonga.

Peace is never a given.

And we are not here to just occupy the space.

For the past four years, we have been building Australia’s future in our
region.

A future built through partnerships, not coercion.

A future built by the countries and peoples of our region.

And that is why, from the outset, the Albanese Government has listened to our region, engaged with respect and humility, and acted on our shared priorities.

We are investing in being the partner of choice for our immediate region, including the Pacific.

We are using all tools of statecraft to invest in Pacific relationships, trust and regionalism.

Embracing Pacific leadership and backing initiatives that make our region safer, more prosperous and more resilient.

And we could not have had a better partner in this than Fiji.

Under Prime Minister Rabuka, Fiji has crafted and tirelessly championed a vision of our Blue Pacific as an ‘Ocean of Peace’ that the Pacific family has embraced.

As Prime Minister Rabuka described it:

“a region in which strategic competition is managed; where stability is the touchstone of regional relationships; and where coercion is eschewed.

A region where differences are resolved peacefully’.

Fiji is a leader in our region, and one of only three Pacific island countries with a military.

Australian and Fijian service men and women have stood shoulder to shoulder in two world wars, in deployments to support our region’s security, and in peacekeeping missions across the world.

And it is in the shared pursuit of peace, stability and prosperity, that we deepen our partnership.

I know Prime Minister Albanese was deeply moved to receive Fiji’s highest honour – the Companion of the Order of Fiji – on the same day as signing these landmark treaties.

As the name of our treaty suggests, Australia and Fiji are one family, one Vuvale.

Australia was honoured to accept Prime Minister Rabuka’s proposal for the Ocean of Peace Alliance.

An Alliance is the highest act of trust between two nations.

This is Fiji’s first Alliance and only Australia’s fourth.

It will build ever deeper levels of interoperability.

We will, plan, train, exercise and deploy together, strengthening our combined capability, to enhance our respective sovereignty and to ensure our nations’ and our region’s security at a time of fracture and of disruption.

The Vuvale Union Treaty is equally important.

It will be a multi-generational endeavour to integrate our economies, our security and our peoples.

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Question for this article:

Where in the world are zones of peace?

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It is backed by more than a billion dollars of investment over a decade, including grants and loans.

On Security: together, we will elevate our fight against the scourge of transnational crime and illicit drugs.

With an investment of $181 million, the AFP will work hand in hand with the Fiji Police Force to disrupt criminal networks and strengthen intelligence to interdict drugs before they reach Fijian or Australian shores.

We will support Australian doctors and nurses to enhance specialist training for Fiji’s health workers, boosting Fiji’s response to fastest-growing HIV outbreak in the world.

Under our economic pillar, we will finance nation-building infrastructure – ports, and major climate adaptation projects – strengthening Fiji’s role as a regional hub.

And we will back Fiji’s economic diversification agenda, supporting secure digital infrastructure, enhancing critical infrastructure investment screening, and increasing supply chain resilience.

Our final pillar is our People.

Australia and Fiji are linked by deep personal connections, including more than 100,000 people in Australia with Fijian heritage.

Our multifaith, multicultural communities and First Nations peoples share a strong bond.

For thousands of years, Australia’s First Nations peoples have maintained connections across our region.

During World War II, Fijian missionaries, skilled farmers, builders and sailors, worked alongside the Yolŋu people and elders still recall the esteem with which they were held.

The theme of this year’s Garma festival was ‘Bukmak’ – a local Yolŋu word meaning “everyone”.

The same name was gifted to the Bukmak Forum established through the Vuvale Union.

The Forum will bring together government, traditional, faith and business leaders as our two nations build a shared future.

Yolŋu elder Djapirri Mununggirritj travelled forty hours from Yirrkala to stand with our Prime Ministers at the Treaty’s signing.

And a Fijian delegation, including Fiji’s Minister for Women, Sashi Kiran, and traditional leaders, joined this year’s Garma festival.

This reflects the spirit of shared history, purpose and vision that drive the partnership between Australia and Fiji.

And the foundations upon which we have now chosen to elevate our bilateral relationship.

Colleagues, these two treaties tabled in Parliament today will transform our relationship, far beyond what was contemplated when we started this journey together.

They will form a durable structure for generations of the future.

I have just returned from Fiji where Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers reaffirmed our Leaders’ call to give practical effect to the Blue Pacific Ocean of Peace Declaration.

And these are the first two treaties to answer that call.

As Prime Minister Rabuka has said, these treaties reaffirm Fiji and Australia as trusted partners working together not only to benefit each other, but as contributors to a more stable, peaceful and resilient Blue Pacific continent.

We know that in these unprecedented and dangerous times, we are stronger together.

And everything we do will also be aimed at supporting our Pacific region.

Investments in Fiji will flow on to the Pacific family, which relies on Fiji as a regional hub for transport, logistics, education and healthcare.

Mr Deputy President, these two treaties send an unequivocal signal of our commitment to each other and to the Pacific family.

They will help realise the vision of an Ocean of Peace to make us all more secure, prosperous and resilient.

I commend the Ocean of Peace Alliance and Vuvale Union treaties to the Senate for consideration.

Media enquiries

Minister’s office: (02) 6277 7500
DFAT Media Liaison: (02) 6261 1555

[Editor’s note: Click here for a copy of the Blue Pacific Ocean of Peace Declaration. Note that it commits to cultivating a culture of peace grounded in the Pacific Way. As described here, it is supported by Australia, Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Fiji, French Polynesia, the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, the Republic of Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, the Republic of Palau, the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, the Kingdom of Tonga, Tuvalu and the Republic of Vanuatu]

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DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, East Asia, FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Indonesia: Building peace from the slopes of Mount Muria

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

An article by Teguh Karyanto from Anabaptist World

Wiyata Wacana Christian Religious College (STAKWW), in collaboration with the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), held a peace curriculum development discussion with Christians and Muslims on the slopes of Mount Muria, Central Java, on May 6, 2026. — Ellia Christin Wardhani

The demonstration that led to the Aug. 13, 2025, demonstration  in Pati, Central Java, is a reminder that the need for education that builds a culture of peace is becoming increasingly urgent. Differences in interests and views can easily develop into violence if not managed through dialogue and peaceful conflict resolution. This condition shows that peace is not just an ideal, but a skill and value that needs to be built in social life.

Building on this awareness, the Wiyata Wacana Christian Religious College (STAKWW), in collaboration with Mennonite Central Committee, held a peace curriculum development discussion on the slopes of Mount Muria, Central Java, on May 6. This activity brought together academics, church leaders, peace practitioners and international partners to formulate a curriculum that is able to instill the values of peace, reconciliation, justice and conflict transformation in theology education in Indonesia.

Through the development of this curriculum, STAKWW and MCC hope to prepare church and community leaders who not only have a strong theological understanding, but are also able to become agents of peace who bring dialogue, strengthen reconciliation and build a more just and harmonious coexistence in a pluralistic society. Here are five things about peace service.

1. STAKWW Pati initiates peace curriculum development

This discussion is a strategic step for STAKWW in developing a curriculum that is relevant to the challenges of the pluralistic life of the Indonesian people. The participants had a dialogue about concepts, learning materials, teaching methods and the implementation of peace education in the context of the church and society. This activity is expected to produce a curriculum that is not only academic, but also shapes the character of students as peacemakers. Through collaboration between academics, practitioners and church leaders, this curriculum is designed to be able to respond to the needs of community service and empowerment in a contextual manner. This discussion found topics of nonviolent learning and conflict transformation.

2. The slopes of Mount Muria become a space for peace reflection

The choice of location on the slopes of Mount Muria, which is on the north coast of Java, has its own meaning. The region, which is known as a place for a tradition of dialogue, tolerance and harmonious community life, was the right space for reflection to discuss the values of peace. The calm atmosphere encouraged participants to hold deep conversations about the importance of education as a means of social transformation. In addition to being a place for discussion, the beautiful natural environment also invited participants to reflect on the relationship between spirituality, concern for others and responsibility for creation. This learning experience that is integrated with the local context strengthens the participants’ commitment to bring the values of peace into their daily lives and ministry.

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Question for this article

Religion: a barrier or a way to peace?, What makes it one or the other?

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3. MCC shows commitment to peace education

This activity received support from Mennonite Central Committee, which is strongly committed to promoting peace, reconciliation and community development. MCC’s support for the development of a peace curriculum in Indonesia, as well as strengthening cooperation between theological educational institutions and international networks, are building a culture of peace. Through this partnership, STAKWW Pati has the opportunity to enrich a global perspective while developing an educational approach that remains rooted in the local Indonesian context. Continued collaboration is expected to encourage the birth of various educational, research and community service initiatives oriented towards peaceful transformation.

4. Cross-generational and cross-institutional collaboration

The discussion brought together lecturers, researchers, church leaders, students and international partners in an open-dialogue atmosphere. Various experiences and perspectives were shared to enrich the preparation of the peace curriculum, so as to be able to respond to the challenges of social conflict, cultural diversity and the needs of the church in building a peaceful coexistence. Such cross-background interactions create mutually enriching learning spaces, where each participant can contribute based on their experience and expertise. Through collaborative dialogue, participants also identified various learning strategies that encourage students to become agents of peace who are able to bring reconciliation in society.

5. Building a generation of peacemakers

Through this activity, STAKWW affirmed its commitment to produce graduates who not only have theological competence, but also become agents of peace in society. The peace curriculum is expected to be the foundation for the birth of church and community leaders who are able to build dialogue, strengthen reconciliation, and present the values of love, justice, and peace in the life of the nation and state. Through an integrative learning process, students will be equipped with the knowledge, skills, and character needed to respond to various social problems wisely and constructively. Thus, STAKWW hopes that its graduates can make a real contribution to the realization of an inclusive, harmonious, and empowered community in facing various challenges in the future.

The discussion on the development of the Peace Curriculum at STAKWW is an important milestone in strengthening the role of theological education as a means of social transformation. With the support of MCC and the collaboration of various parties, this initiative is expected to give birth to a contextual peace education model, rooted in Christian values, and able to make a real contribution to the realization of a peaceful, inclusive and civilized Indonesian society.

More than just curriculum development, this initiative is a long-term investment to shape a generation of church leaders, educators, and agents of change who are able to build dialogue, manage conflicts constructively, and bring about reconciliation in a pluralistic society. From the slopes of Mount Muria, STAKWW and MCC affirmed their commitment to continue to knit a web of peace through education, so that the values of love, justice and respect for the dignity of every human being can be realized in the life of society, nation and state.

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Teguh Karyanto is a pastor at Javanese Mennonite Church (GITJ) Pesantenan Pati, lecturer of Wiyata Wacana Seminary Indonesia, secretary of GITJ Synod, member of Global Anabaptist Higher Education Network (GAHEN) and specialist of Mission Commission under Mennonite World Conference (MWC).

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East Asia, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Building an Afghanistan I may never see

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from Search for Common Ground

This series highlights voices of peace from around the world, to help you find yours.

This month’s Voice of Peace is Zuhra Bahman, Search’s country director for Afghanistan.

I am 43 years old. In my lifetime, I have seen many shifts in the governance of my country. Clashes between traditionalists and modernists have always been present. But as I reflect on the last five years since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, and on my country’s history as a whole, two clear truths emerge.


TFirst, Afghans are resilient. There is no denying the current realities our people must navigate. Schools and universities are closed to girls and women. Rules regulate day-to-day behavior—a challenge especially for women and those living in urban areas. Foreign aid continues to dwindle, which is devastating for a country as dependent on aid as ours has been. Important trade routes have closed, even as the population has surged by 10% due to forced returns. We exist geographically between Iran, who is engaged in a major global conflict, and Pakistan, with whom Afghanistan is in active conflict. Each of these realities brings enormous challenges.

But conflicts and crises also can generate tremendous innovation and creativity. 10,000 women have registered businesses in Afghanistan—10x the number in 2021 before the Taliban came into power. According to the World Bank, small businesses are the single largest employer of women in the country. Organizations have shifted to provide free vocational and on-the-job training to girls and women, enabling continued economic and societal growth. Just a few days ago, I met a woman whose company manages the cargo systems for 400 newly established online businesses in one city—all led by women. These innovations are displays of tremendous resilience. They are also acts of resistance.

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Question related to this article:
 
Prospects for progress in women’s equality, what are the short and long term prospects?

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Second, collaboration is possible—and essential. In three years, Kabul will be the world’s first modern capital city without access to clean water. Our underground reserves are nearly depleted. Critical issues like these affect all Afghans, whether or not your values align with the Taliban’s. I recently spent several days training a group of men and women on climate justice. One fellow facilitator was a highly educated woman who served as an advisor on climate issues to the previous Republic government. Her beliefs, values, and lifestyle are far from how the Taliban wants society to function, yet here she was, working alongside the head of the Taliban-run National Environmental Protection Agency. Their discussions produced a policy document that will inform climate decisions for the entire nation.

These people are supposed to be in violent conflict with one another. But when they come together with a focus not on winning but on solving a shared problem, they’re able to create positive change that endures. Change can come through sudden shocks to a system, but it never lasts. These sorts of shocks—which often come from external sources, use violent means, and destabilize a society through increased polarization—have been part of Afghanistan’s history from the beginning. But true, sustainable change must be collaborative. It must be generational.

I do not expect that Afghanistan will become an equitable society in my lifetime. Staying here means I will likely never reach my full potential as a woman who aspires to lead. This is a very hard thing to accept. A sudden shock might help me achieve my professional potential, my political ambitions, my personal freedoms, but it would not last. It would be reversed through another shock, another change of government, another round of violence. So instead of repeating this cycle, instead of playing by those win-lose terms where in fact everyone loses, it is far better to invest in something sustainable.

I choose to take small steps each day towards collaboration, towards sustainable development. That’s a foundation the next generation can build upon.

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South Asia, WOMEN'S EQUALITY