FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

The annual High Level Forum on the Culture of Peace was held on September 2 at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The UN has published a transcript and video of the Forum, but we have not found a general article from the UN about the event since it occurred.

We have published here four important speeches to the Forum by:

General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock

Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee

Representative of the European Union (name not provided)

Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury

Shown in this frame from the video, from left to right, Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury, Elizabeth Spehar (Assistant Secretary-General for the Peacebuilding and Peace Support Office), General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock, the Secretary for the event and Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee

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

It was Ambassador Chowdhury who inspired the High Level Forum, beginning in 2012, to continue the mission of the 1999 Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of peace. The document was submitted to the UN at that time by UNESCO, and it was Ambassador Chowdhury who was responsible for the process of its adoption by the UN General Assembly. When he was the Bangladesh representative to the UN Security Council in 2001, he introduced Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security

The theme this year was “Women’s Leadership to promote a Culture of Peace”

Many delegations said that their countries are implementing national action plans on UN Security Council Resolution 13 25 on women peace and security. This included the delegations from Kazakhstan, Morocco, Germany, Algeria, Nigeria, Bahrain, Sierra Leone, Portugal, Senegal, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Tunisia and Mexico.

The representative from Angola said that his country will organize later this year on 22 and 23rd of October, the Luanda Biennale, the Pan African Forum for the Culture of Peace and Nonviolence. Previous editions of the Biennale may be found here.

The representative from the EU confirmed their support for the culture of peace, which is of special importance because prior to 2024 they did not support it.

Until 2023 the Forum brought together representatives of the civil society along with UN delegations to debate the culture of peace, as described CPNN articles listed here. Since 2023 then it has been restricted to UN delegations.

Ironically, as one may read in the transcript and hear on the video, the delegations of Israel and Russia claimed that their countries are promoting a culture of peace. No mention was made during the Forum to the ongoing genocide and wars involving the United States, Israel, Russia, Ukraine and Iran. The United States, Ukraine and Iran did not take part in the Forum.

– – – – – –

If you wish to make a comment on this article, you may write to coordinator@cpnn-world.org with the title “Comment on (name of article)” and we will put your comment on line. Because of the flood of spam, we have discontinued the direct application of comments.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

A publication of the United Nations

Remarks by H.E. Annalena Baerbock, President of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at the High-level Forum on the Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace on Wednesday, 2 September 2026,

[As Delivered]

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,
 
80 years ago, our United Nations was created with the express purpose of saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war.
 
Yet our founding mothers and fathers had the wisdom, foresight, and especially experience to know that peace is more than the absence of war.
 
Therefore, they sought to build an institution not focused narrowly on peace and security, but upon the mutually reinforcing pillars of human rights, sustainable development, and peace and security.
 
So while today some call for the United Nations to go “back to basics,” we should remember that the pursuit of a just, sustainable, and lasting peace is, indeed, one of our basics.

It is embedded in the very foundations of this Organization.

Frame from UN video

 
And it lies at the heart of the Culture of Peace: the conviction that lasting peace requires replacing violence with dialogue, division with mutual understanding and cooperation, and exclusion with participation.
 
Since the adoption of the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace in 1999, at the initiative of Bangladesh, this Assembly has continued to advance that vision of a more peaceful, just, and inclusive world.
 
Central to this effort is the full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation of women in peace processes.
 
That is why the theme of this year’s High-Level Forum—”Women’s Leadership to promote a Culture of Peace”—could not be more important and timley.
 
Including women at every stage of the peace process is not just a “nice to have”.
 
It is not doing a favour to women.
 
It is not even simply a matter of fairness.
 
It is fundamentally a question of whether peace succeeds.
 
Research has shown that when women participate meaningfully in peace processes, the probability of an agreement lasting at least two years increases by 20 per cent and the probability of conflict returning is reduced by 37 per cent.
 
That is because women bring the experiences, knowledge, and priorities of half the world’s population to the negotiation table. The society approach.
 
They broaden negotiations beyond the conduct of war and armed actors to the communities and people that are affected by it.

And they raise issues that create the conditions for peace to firmly take root—from conflict-related sexual violence and access to justice to economic opportunity and political participation at all levels.
 
Or as the women I who I met at the front lines told me: if women are safe, everyone is safe.
 
Because when more voices and perspectives are included when shaping peace, the outcome will better reflect the realities of the people who will benefit from it, and peace will be more likely to endure.

(article continued in right column)

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

(article continued from left column)
 
History has given us powerful examples of women’s role in peace.
 
In Colombia, women-led advocacy helped ensure that the landmark 2016 agreement between the Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces addressed critical issues, such as victims’ rights, land access, and conflict-related sexual violence.
 
And in Liberia, Christian and Muslim women came together across religious and social divides to pray, organize, and demonstrate for peace.
 
Through the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace, they pushed political leaders and armed actors towards peace by bringing their demands directly to the negotiating process in Accra.
 
I am therefore especially honoured that today we are joined by Ms. Leymah Gbowee, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and one of the pioneering leaders of that movement, to learn from your experience.
 
Ms. Gbowee’s unwavering bravery and tenacity to mobilize communities and demand accountability is not simply an inspiration to admire from afar…it is a rallying call to give women the power to shape peace in every conflict.
 
This Assembly has affirmed that principle time and again.
 
The 2025 Review of the United Nations Peacebuilding Architecture recognized that the full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation of women at all decision-making levels in conflict resolution is key to achieving durable solutions and long-term stability.
 
The Architecture recognizes the role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, in peacebuilding, and in building critical foundations for promoting a culture of peace.
 
Ladies and gentlemen,
 
Our commitments are clear.

The history speaks for itself.

And the data is unequivocal.
 
Yet there remains a profound gap between what we know and what we are doing.
 
At a time when the number of armed conflicts is at a record high, too many negotiating tables still exclude the women that hold the keys to unlocking peace.
 
Frankly speaking, you only have to look at the most recent photos or media coverage of the latest peace negotiations, where there are hardly any women in the room.
 
And also frankly speaking, if we also look at regular governmental consultations these days, so often there is not a single woman present.
 
And even in teams programming the next AI algorithm – even when we know that AI will play a crucial role in the conflicts of the future – still they are not designed with the voices of women.
 
So it doesn’t only start at the end, at the peace negotiation table.
 
It starts here today, in our own meetings, in our own CEO set ups, in our own culture.
 
As said, this is not only a question of injustice, it is a missed opportunity for sustained peace, to leave women out of the group.
 
If we are serious about fulfilling the promise made 80 years ago to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, then our commitments must be matched by our actions.
 
A Culture of Peace is not an abstract aspiration, it is a choice every one of us makes every day throughout societies.

And it is our collective responsibility to build societies…

Where we uphold the principles of the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Where we safeguard justice and dignity for all.

And where we ensure that women are not observers of peace, but are actively building it. Because if women are safe, everyone is safe.
 
– – – – – –

If you wish to make a comment on this article, you may write to coordinator@cpnn-world.org with the title “Comment on (name of article)” and we will put your comment on line. Because of the flood of spam, we have discontinued the direct application of comments.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Copied and corrected by CPNN from United Nations transcript and video

Thank you, Madam President.

Your Excellencies, I’m honored to join you at this high level forum on the program of action on the culture of Peace.

I’m glad to be sharing this space again with you, Ambassador Chowdhury and to other colleagues in the room.

12 years ago, I sat in this very room to speak on the culture of peace.

Frame from UN video

In those moments, we were faced with Ebola in the Mao River basin. ISIS was on the lips of everyone because of the war, the Syrian war was raging and the climate conversation had just ended in Peru, laying the groundworks for the Paris Agreement a year later.

That same year, we were preparing to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 as women peace builders.

In those moments as we prepared, we hoped our world would finally not only recognize our unique skills and potentials in conflict resolution and building peace in our communities, but strategically engage us as partners and thought leaders in the quest for peace in our world.

Fortunately or unfortunately, that would not be the case, and the struggle continues.

I am one of the thousands of women in Liberia who worked for years to end the Liberian Civil War.
In those years, we worked at the local level in different ways to end the war.

However, I wish I could say our processes were connected.

At the beginning, we were disconnected and it perpetuated a lot of divisions that separated our country and us as women.

Many of us recognize the futility of working separately. So the question we ask ourselves, how can we extinguish the fire of war with drops of water? And how can we extinguish the fire of war with a divisive mentality?

We came together, formed the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace, and Madam President spoke about it earlier on, bringing together Christian and Muslim women.

This marriage was far from easy. There was no honeymoon. We got married and we had to start working.

Our group included women from different income levels, rural and urban areas, ethnicity and faith.

In those early days, we spent many days negotiating amongst ourselves in order to resolve the conflicts that came up. Contrary to popular belief that grassroots women peace efforts lack planning, coordination, and strategy, we as Liberian women, like many other women across the world, were intentional. We planned every day for hours.

We deliberately sought out actors who will further our cause and build strategic alliances in the course of our work.

In that struggle, we inadvertently carried out the first mandate of Article 1 in the Declaration of the Culture of Peace. This article says, education, through education, dialogue and cooperation.

We fostered an environment conducive to peace. It is not easy as peace building is never easy. But in doing so, we expanded our initial goal of ending the Liberian Civil War.

We committed to building a culture of peace in a nation that had been devastated by war. 1 million of our compatriots were internally displaced, 500,000 were refugees. At that time, our population was about 3 million and we have an estimated 250,000 people who lost their lives.

Just to give you a picture that we were able to kill at least almost 10% of our population in 14 years of Civil War.

When negotiations negotiations failed in 1996 and 1999, the women of Liberia were able to contribute to lasting peace.

I can emphatically say 23 years without the resurgence of violence! Last August made it 23 years. in Liberia it is largely due to the communities, specifically the women’s active involvement. Not just in 2003, but from 2003, we have consistently continued to engage, ensuring that peace and the peace process remains on course.

If peace was never handed to the Liberian women, we labored, we persevered and recreated a culture of respect and constructive engagement.

(article continued in right column)

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

(article continued from left column)

This year, our world is in a maze of conflict and global issues: geopolitical instability marred by competition and fragmentation; trade tensions and supply chains disruption; climate and environmental crisis, AI is source of opportunities and concern. False information and information manipulation are deepening political and social divisions and undermining public trust in governments and democratic processes.

In all of these, women continue to suffer.

As we gather to consider the programs of action on the culture of peace, we must consider these three factors.

One, a culture of peace therefore requires more than absence of conflict. It requires inclusion, justice, dignity, dialogue, and in the world that we live in today, dialogue is far from everything that we do. It’s either you agree with me, or if you disagree, we can have a conversation and the willingness to build relationship across political divide, religious, ethnic, and social divides.

In a world of increasing political intolerance, my question to you all Your Excellency, is this possible to achieve?

The second part, a culture of peace becomes possible when women are not simply invited to participate, but are recognized as leaders, decision makers, and builders of a more just and inclusive society. For too long, women’s involvement in these processes has been decorative.

Sometimes I refuse invitations to come to the UN, just saying what Ambassador Chaudhury said, 80 years of male dominance. Now is the time for women’s leadership at the UN.

We continue to see resistance or welfare amnesia in women’s full and effective participation in building a culture of peace and peace building work.

Women across the world have been tested, have been proven worthy of building peace at all levels.

We don’t need to build a strong case on the behalf of women anymore. Unlike many global peace processes, women have the track record.

It is our role now as leaders in this room to help elevate women’s peace building work and review the difference in how national and global peace is negotiated.

Women peace building is not centered solely on deconstructing war. It is about building a culture of peace.

Today’s affirmation is more importantly, a challenge.

The United Nations, as we all sit here, is as strong as its member states. And all of the member state in this room is weak without its people. And by saying people, I mean all genders.

When we have elections in our countries, it’s not just the men that vote. The women vote also.

So it is important that men as well as women play a critical role in creating the culture of peace.

The third part is resources.

Many speakers talked about it. The Assistant Secretary-General talked about resources.
We use billions to make war we cannot use peanuts to build peace. Now is the time if we’re serious about building a culture of peace and involving women, we must give them the necessary resources.

But let me just emphatically state here that I’m really very proud of women across the world, despite the shrinking spaces, The shrinking resources, despite the political pushback that we’ve received, women are no longer waiting because we recognize that with or without donors funding, we become the ones who bear the greatest brunt in every crisis.

So we continue to work to keep our communities and our society stable.

So I think we must continue to applaud the efforts of women. While the world continues to watch and wait, women continue to do amazing work in their different countries.

I sincerely believe that the ultimate goal of all of our activities globally is to create a culture of peace that promotes respect of rights of others in the world where we all live in harmony.

This goal is achievable.

However, it will take hard work, thinking outside of the box, political will and sincerity.

I will end with this, giving each and every one of us in this room a homework And the homework is, as you go home today, look at your children, look at your community, look at your nation.
Think about the culture of peace and ask yourself, can we continue to do peace building without the hands of everyone?

Can we continue to operate our world, leaving women behind?

If we’re serious about building a culture of peace for our children and the next generation, we must sit and answer these questions sincerely.

Thank you, Madam President.

– – – – – –

If you wish to make a comment on this article, you may write to coordinator@cpnn-world.org with the title “Comment on (name of article)” and we will put your comment on line. Because of the flood of spam, we have discontinued the direct application of comments.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

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. 

(article continued in right column)

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

(article continued from left column)

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. 

– – – – – –

If you wish to make a comment on this article, you may write to coordinator@cpnn-world.org with the title “Comment on (name of article)” and we will put your comment on line. Because of the flood of spam, we have discontinued the direct application of comments.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

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.

(article continued in right column)

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

(article continued from left column)

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.

– – – – – –

If you wish to make a comment on this article, you may write to coordinator@cpnn-world.org with the title “Comment on (name of article)” and we will put your comment on line. Because of the flood of spam, we have discontinued the direct application of comments.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Excerpt from UN Meetings Coverage and Press Releases

The Assembly adopted the draft resolution titled “Follow-up to the A/80/L.77/Rev.1) by a recorded vote of 169 in favour to 2 against (Israel, United States), with no abstentions.

Through that text, the Assembly reiterated that the Programme’s objective is to strengthen the global movement for a culture of peace and called on all concerned to renew their attention towards this end.  In that regard, the Assembly’s President was requested to consider convening a high-level forum during the eightieth session devoted to the Programme’s implementation.

Bangladesh’s representative, who introduced the draft, highlighted his country’s 25-year role in facilitating this initiative and said that the resolution has long served as a platform for reaffirming a shared commitment to peaceful coexistence.  “Investing in a culture of peace is an investment in our survival,” he urged.  

However, while the representative of the United States said that his delegation supports such a culture, he opposed the draft because of its “politicized, controversial and distracting references”.

Action paragraphs of the resolution:

1. Reiterates that the objective of the effective implementation of the Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace is to strengthen further the global movement for a culture of peace, and calls upon all concerned to renew their attention to this objective;

2. Invites Member States to continue to place greater emphasis on and expand their activities promoting a culture of peace at the national, regional and international levels and to ensure that peace and non-violence are fostered at all levels;

3. Invites the entities of the United Nations system, within their existing mandates, to integrate, as appropriate, the eight action areas of the Programme of Action into their programmes of activities, focusing on promoting a culture of peace and non-violence at the national, regional and international levels;

4. Commends the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for strengthening efforts to mobilize all relevant stakeholders within and outside the United Nations system in support of a culture of peace, and invites the Organization to continue to enhance communication and outreach, including through the culture of peace website;

5. Also commends the practical initiatives and actions by relevant United Nations bodies, including the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) and the University for Peace, as well as their activities in further promoting a culture of peace and non-violence, in particular the promotion of peace education and activities related to specific areas identified in the Programme of Action, and encourages them to continue and further strengthen and expand their efforts;

6. Stresses the importance of addressing the underlying drivers of violence and conflict to promote a culture of peace;

7. Encourages Member States, United Nations entities and other relevant actors to adopt a holistic approach to the cross-cutting dimensions of peace, development, humanitarian action and human rights in order to prevent the recurrence of conflict and violence and build lasting peace;

8. Underlines that early childhood development contributes to the development of more peaceful societies through advancing equality, tolerance, human development and promoting human rights, and calls for investment in early childhood education, including through effective policies and practices, towards promoting a culture of peace;

(article continued in right column)

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

(article continued from left column)

9. Encourages Member States, United Nations entities, regional and subregional organizations and relevant actors to
consider instituting mechanisms to involve youth in the promotion of a culture of peace, tolerance and intercultural and interreligious dialogue and develop, as appropriate, an understanding of respect for human dignity, pluralism and diversity, including, as appropriate, through education programmes, that could discourage their participation in acts of terrorism, violent extremism as and when conducive to terrorism, violence, xenophobia and all forms of discrimination;

10. Encourages the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations to increase its activities that focus on peace education and global citizenship education in order to enhance an understanding among young people of values such as peace, tolerance, openness, inclusion and mutual respect, which are essential in developing a culture of peace;

11. Encourages the United Nations peacebuilding architecture to continue to promote peacebuilding and sustaining peace activities, as outlined in its resolutions 72/276, 75/201 and 80/11, and to advance a culture of peace and non-violence in post-conflict peacebuilding efforts at the country level, and recognizes the important role of the Peacebuilding Commission in this regard;

12. Emphasizes the critical importance of an inclusive, resilient and sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and in this regard calls upon States to promote the values of a culture of peace, inter alia, in countering rising inequalities, discrimination, exclusion, hate crimes and violence;

13. Urges the appropriate authorities to provide age-appropriate education in children’s schools that builds a culture of peace and non-violence, including lessons in mutual understanding, respect, tolerance, active and global citizenship and human rights;

14. Encourages the involvement of media, especially the mass media, in promoting a culture of peace and non-violence, with particular regard to children and young people;

15. Commends civil society, non-governmental organizations and young people for their activities in further promoting a culture of peace and non-violence, A/80/L.77/Rev.1 26-08769 7/7 including through their campaign to raise awareness of a culture of peace and the peaceful settlement of disputes;

16. Encourages civil society and non-governmental organizations to further strengthen their efforts to promote a culture of peace, inter alia, by adopting their own programme of activities to complement the initiatives of Member States, the United Nations system and other international and regional organizations, in line with the Declaration and Programme of Action;

17. Invites Member States, all entities of the United Nations system and civil society organizations to accord increasing attention to their observance of the International Day of Peace on 21 September each year as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence, in accordance with its resolution 55/282 of 7 September 2001, and of the International Day of Non-Violence on 2 October, in accordance with its resolution 61/271 of 15 June 2007;

18. Requests the President of the General Assembly to consider convening a high-level forum, as appropriate, and within existing resources, devoted to the implementation of the Programme of Action on the occasion of the anniversary of its adoption, during the eightieth session, and requests the Secretariat to provide the required logistical support for its effective organization within their respective mandates and existing resources;

19. Invites the Secretary-General, within existing resources, in consultation with the Member States and taking into account the observations of civil society organizations, to explore mechanisms and strategies, in particular strategies in the sphere of information and communications technology, for the implementation of the Declaration and Programme of Action and to initiate outreach efforts to increase global awareness of the Programme of Action and its eight areas of action aimed at their implementation, including through public information activities by the Department of Global Communications of the Secretariat;

20. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its eighty-third session a report, within existing resources, on actions taken by Member States, on the basis of information provided by them, and those taken system-wide by all concerned entities of the United Nations to implement the present resolution;

21. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its eighty-first session the item entitled “Culture of peace”.

– – – – – –

If you wish to make a comment on this article, you may write to coordinator@cpnn-world.org with the title “Comment on (name of article)” and we will put your comment on line. Because of the flood of spam, we have discontinued the direct application of comments.