Author: IGIHE

At the 3rd International Religious Leaders’ Conference, around 300 religious leaders who worked for interfaith dialogues gathered to promote harmony of religions. The participants shared the progress reports of interfaith meetings through HWPL’s WARP offices aiming to enhance mutual understanding and develop peacebuilding by religious leaders.

Rev. Acharya Prem Shankaranand Tirth, Hindu High Priest of Shree Geeta Ashram of Delhi, emphasized the value and importance of the interfaith dialogue based on the scriptures by mentioning, “The WARP Office taught us how to make religions one. The true discussion for harmony is not just comparing the knowledge of each other but it is a discussion in finding one complete truth.”

In addition, Mr. Man Hee Lee, Chairman of HWPL, stressed on the role of the religious leaders in the current global situation and the importance of their mission for world peace. He urged religious leaders to take the lead in realizing religious reconciliation and religious peace through communication. “Religious leaders have to become the just and righteous scale measuring all religious scriptures. They gather all religious scriptures and work to define the trustworthy scripture with a legitimate standard at the WARP Office. Everything that religious leaders discuss must clearly be based on what is written in the scripture, which needs to be comprehensively analyzed and studied for the true alliance of religions.”

At the Region-Specific Discussion for the Implementation of the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW), experts in various fields such as government officials, civil society leaders, and media discussed how implement the peace projects in each region.

The participants conceived peace projects in accordance with local conditions, such as implementing peace education and cultural programs, activating ‘Legislate Peace’ campaigns which are supportive signing campaigns for the DPCW, establishing a peace network, and setting up a road map for peace policy during the roundtable discussion by country or continent. Also, they wrote proposals and signed agreements to implement the projects systematically in their country.

The DPCW, drafted by HWPL advocating international cooperation for global peace, appealed to the participants in terms of inventing peace-specific policy making in countries for the legal foundation to promote peace. “The DPCW serves as a framework of a robust, global infrastructure built by sovereign states on a foundation of tolerance, mutual understanding, and dialogue developed to resist conflict. I believe that we will be able to find out ways to cooperate together with all stakeholders to work toward promoting peace in each of our respective country.” said H.E. Chin Malin, Undersecretary of State of Ministry of Justice.

Representatives of women’s organizations carrying out active peace movement from 53 countries shared the role of women leaders in the enactment of the effective international law for peace and the importance of networking for urging the DPCW in cooperation with International Women‘s Peace Group (IWPG) at 2017 IWPG Network Forum.

Ms. Nam Hee Kim, Chairwoman of IWPG, said “Let us all support the implementation of an international law in order to protect our children from the suffering caused by violence and aggression and instead nurture them in an environment of peace. Peace education should start from within the family. We should become the mothers who can proudly say that we work hard to inherit the world of peace.” urging for the power of the world’s 3.6 billion women in achieving world peace and their role in each field for the purpose of international law enactment.

Mukabalisa who was speaking on Thursday in the celebration of ‘International Day of Peace’ in Rwanda said that attained development in the country is a result of well sustained peace and that few pockets of domestic violence in different households hampers peace and development.

“Rwandans know better the value of peace; we have suffered a lot during insecurity periods that were caused by bad leadership. Through good leadership, we have restored our peace” she said.

She emphasized that disputes among partners, murders and suicides among others, still present challenges in creating harmony.

“We have good leadership and political will but I don’t understand why we still have domestic violence. Parents should remember to talk to children and inculcate love and spirit of work among them,” she advised.

Mukabalisa called on youth to avoid use of drugs and avoid bad behaviors which sometimes lead them into human trafficking and other related activities that destabilize security.

The president of National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC), Bishop John Rucyahana said that parents need to behave properly in front of their children by training them to champion for peace.

This year’s International Day of Peace is celebrated under the theme “Together for Peace: Respect, Safety and Dignity for All”

The First Lady was speaking during the Organisation of African First Ladies’ (OAFLA) high level meet the margins of the 72nd United Nations General Assembly, in New York.

Under the topic ‘Implementing the AU roadmap to harness the demographic dividend in Africa: Ending AIDS by 2030’, Jeannette Kagame reminded officials that they are called to reflect upon how to stay the course with clearly set objectives under the Sustainable Development Goals, and African Union roadmap, to fully eradicate HIV/AIDS.

“Indeed, from primarily affecting adults in great numbers, and leaving millions of orphans in its earlier years, AIDS is now robbing our continent of a powerful generation of young men and women, meant to be the driving force of its societies,” she said.

“Our ability to harness the demographic dividend of our continent heavily relies on the health, and wellbeing of our young people, and so we must strengthen all the actors of our health system, to realise the goal of ‘Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS Free’ by the year 2020” she added.

She said that in Rwanda a lot has been done in health sector, but added that “as a nation that believes in the lasting impact of empowering the youth, we cannot afford to become complacent. So we continue to reinforce these concerted efforts between all stakeholders of our healthcare chain”.

She urged all nations to stay firmly grounded in their commitment to give youth a strong health system and not hinder their abilities, to go beyond great expectations.

He said that the distribution process is still underway and all schools will have gotten computers in five years

“The government has invested much effort and resources in ICT and working towards its inclusion in teaching and learning. We started by providing basic equipment, then after we will provide more facilities like internet to enable students use computers in research,” he said.

He said that the target is in line with the government’s ICT inclusion programme in service delivery

Munyakazi appreciated how the 100 computers at G.S Muhoza have contributed to the delivery of quality of education.

“This is a twelve-year-basic education school and students have access to ICT subjects which gives usassurance that quality education is not limited to city-based-schools, but in rural schools as well,” he said.

According to the Ministry of Education, a total of 20,000 computers have been distributed to 200 schools across the country.

President Kagame appealed to the global family to offer their support to the UN Secretary General in his endeavor to transform the UN into an effective body that caters for all members’ interests.

“The Secretary General deserves our full support, to make the United Nations not only effective, but transformational. We have the tools and the mandates to address global challenges, from climate change, to peace-building, human equality and development. Where we fall short, is in getting things done.”

President Kagame pointed out that as it stands, the UN was not meeting members’ expectations

“Every year, the United Nations channels billions of dollars in humanitarian assistance. The United Nations provides a platform for major international agreements. The United Nations also sets the global agenda on key policy issues, from development, to women’s rights. These are signs of an organisation that is both relevant, and, in many cases, competent. And yet there is a sense, that the United Nations is not meeting our needs and expectations.”

On the reforms initiated by the UN Secretary General, especially in response to sexual exploitation and child abuse, President Kagame said:

“These steps go to the heart of the matter: The deficit of trust and accountability in the international system. To be truly effective at delivering a “decent life for all”, the United Nations must treat all the people it serves with impartiality and respect, and it must be a good steward of the funds entrusted to it. Abuse and waste are therefore not a mere public relations problem, but an existential challenge which must be tackled head-on.”

President Kagame observed that with these reforms, the UN and the AU would be able to work together better especially in the area of peacekeeping, where the two bodies are already involved and working hand in hand in several African countries.

President Kagame also called on the member countries to consider ratifying the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which he said would benefit individual countries in ending the use of dangerous gases and ultimately improve the global climate.