The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, has called for stepped-up investment in the education of the world’s 1.8 billion young people to encourage peace-building.
He said in New York, at the General Assembly high-level forum on the Culture of Peace, that the vast majority of the world’s 1.8 billion young people yearn for peace, security and development, but must achieve this through strategic education and re-orientation.
“That is why I am calling for giving young people a seat at the negotiating table.
“It is time to invest in young people as peace-builders. They can make massive contributions to lasting stability,” he said.
The secretary-general also highlighted Syria as “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis today.”
“I have condemned the parties especially the government of Syria for reported grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity,” he said.
Ki-Moon said there is need for political will and funds and challenged all those with influence to rise and work for the greater good of the region and the world.
He said the meeting was designed to highlight the importance of implementation of the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace that the Assembly adopted in September 1999.
According to him, there is the need to further strengthen the global movements to promote a culture of peace.
“To be more than just soothing words, the culture of peace demands courageous practice. Our road map is the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace.
“For more than ten years, we have been striving to carry out this action by promoting education, defending human rights and advancing solidarity,” he said.
He cited late Mahatma Gandhi, one of the great leaders of the Indian independence movement, saying: “There will be no lasting peace on earth unless we learn not merely to tolerate but even to respect the other faiths as our own.”
“Mahatma Gandhi proved that the culture of peace can change the course of history.
“Let us carry on this legacy until we end the terrible suffering in our world and establish lasting peace,” he said.
Gandhi’s grandson, Arun Gandhi, who delivered the keynote address at the meeting, shared some of the knowledge he had learned from his grandfather.
“What I learned from grandfather is that each one of us contributes to violence all the time.
“Many times in ways we don’t even know and recognize,” he said.
“Unless we individually transform ourselves and accept a non-violent way of life, we cannot create peace in the world today,’’ he said.