Recommendations of the Second World Forum for the Culture of Just Peace

Following the first World Forum for Culture of Peace, held on June 13, 2019, in the Hague, Netherland, and whose main focus was the protection of Cultural Heritage in Iraq and Yemen, Abdulaziz Albabtain Cultural Foundation organized the Second World Forum for the Culture of Just Peace, 3-4 March, 2022, in cooperation with the Presidency of the Republic of Malta.

The Forum was under the auspices of His Excellency Dr. George Vella President of Malta, and with the presence of; His Excellency Ilir Meta President of Albania, Her Excellency Vjosa Osmani President of Kosovo and His Excellency Stjepan Mesić Former President of Croatia, and with the participation of His Excellency Antonio Guterres the UN Secretary General via a written message and His Excellency Abdullah Shahid the President of the United Nations General Assembly via a videotaped message, as well as Speakers of Parliaments; His Excellency Anġlu Farrugia Speaker of the Parliament of Malta, His Excellency Marzouq Al-Ghanim Speaker of the National Assembly of Kuwait, His Excellency Mohamed Nasheed Speaker of the Parliament of the Maldives and His Excellency Hanno Pevkur First Vice-President of the Parliament of Estonia, key parliamentary figures and civil society representatives.

The participants during the two-day forum pointed out that without institutional mechanisms, clear educational programmes, and tools for developing leadership competencies the Just Peace and sustainable stability for the people cannot be achieved.

The speakers were unanimous in stating that” We started the New Year confronting many challenges, old and new. Heightened international tensions, socio-economic and political instability, compromised global supply chains, climate change, refugee and humanitarian crises, and a continuing COVID-19 pandemic loomed over our existence.

They also emphasized that the war between Ukraine and Russia is unacceptable “we cannot achieve just peace if we still live in a world of wars.”

The participants finally called for:

 A more direct involvement of world leaders, NGOs, regional organizations, and institutions maintaining the Culture of Just Peace as well as universities think tanks.

 Ensuring effective role of responsible leadership to bring harmony and just peace in societies.

 Reinforcing preventive diplomacy in order to maintain the global Culture of Just Peace.

 Gender empowerment of women and girls and assigning more importance to their role in all aspects of life, as they constitute 50% of our societies.

 Making sure that young people have an effective voice.

 The respect for different beliefs and multi-faith societies in different countries.

 The control on the distribution of small arms and light weapons.

 Accentuating the power of dialogue because just peace cannot be simply taken for granted.

 The necessity of identifying and eliminating the root-causes of conflict and of physical violence.

 The promotion of the dignity of every human being and the recognition of the values of understanding, dialogue as well as solidarity.

 Regarding the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, they called for an immediate ceasefire and diplomatic solutions to stop the war.

 Implementing the UN 2030 Agenda of sustainable development goals relating to goal sixteen about peace, justice, and strong institutions.