Inter-Parliamentary Alliance for Human Rights & Global Peace

The Levant Initiative for Global Peace

The Levant Initiative for Global Peace

The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance for Human Rights & Global Peace and The Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Global Ethics present a proposal for Track III Cultural Diplomacy as a model for achieving peace and reconciliation in all areas of conflict around the globe.

Overview

Throughout the years since the founding of the United Nations in 1945, many multinational treaties on issues such as human rights, terrorism, international crime, refugees, disarmament, commodities and the oceans have been enacted through the efforts of the United Nations to achieve sustainable global peace and stability.

The U.N. organs, agencies, programs and bodies work tirelessly to implement the goals of the United Nations as specified in the U.N. Charter including: keeping peace throughout the world; developing friendly relations among nations; helping nations work together to improve the lives of poor people; encourage respect for each other's rights and freedoms; Serving as a center for harmonizing the actions of nations to achieve these goals.

In order to succeed in these efforts, it was essential to create a framework for the implementation of the General Assembly Resolutions on the Culture of Peace and Global Ethics. The General Assembly has passed a series of resolutions towards the creation of a global Culture of Peace, some related also to the Mideast conflict. These resolutions form the foundation for a Culture of Peace, especially necessary in areas of conflict as well as in all societies and nations.

Among these are the following resolutions:
  • Promotion of Religious and Cultural Understanding, Harmony and Cooperation (58/128);
  • Elimination of All Forms of Religious Intolerance (59/199);
  • The United Nations Millennium Declaration; the principles of the United Nations Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations (.53/22);
  • The Declaration and Program of Action on a Culture of Peace, (A/Res/53/243);
  • Global Agenda for Dialogue Among Civilizations (A/Res/56/6);
  • The Declaration of Madrid (December 2000);
  • the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World (2001 - 2010) (A/RES/53/25);
  • Protection of Religious Sites (2001) (A/RES/55/254);
  • Promotion of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace (2005) (A/60/L.4);
  • "Promotion of Interreligious Dialogue" (2004) A/RES/59/23;
  • United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People 2007

Mission

Nevertheless, these UN resolutions are still not being fully implemented or incorporated in the efforts to achieve peace in the areas of conflict and there are currently over thirty armed conflicts recognized by the U.N. raging around the globe.
The Levant initiative will endeavor to promote the implementation of these resolutions by engaging religious leaders, parliamentarians, academic leaders, and civil society representatives, who search for common values and principles in the arenas of religion, law and education, to work together and individually implement the United Nations resolutions for the Culture of Peace through fostering initiatives, project and collaboration such as in the field of education, communication and legislation.

The initiative will serve as a milestone and model to achieve peace in areas of conflict and in all societies and nations. It is by giving these sectors a voice that we can hope to find a solution to the Mideast conflict and other areas of conflict in the world, which have eluded all efforts thus far. The initiative aims to apply this model for all areas of conflict around the globe.