Right to peace for all

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Everyone must contribute to and participate actively in peace building efforts

 

As trees and flowers sway

And the wind runs over my face

It brings in a new ray of hope

That world peace can still return

Peace is glory, peace is dignity,

Peace is love and peace is amity

–Shyamli Suneesh

 

The United Nations announced observance of the International Day of Peace on September 21, 1981, throughout the world as a day devoted to strengthening ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples besides promoting non-violence and ceasefire. This universal day can be an incredible opportunity to celebrate peace, not just as a possibility, but as a reality — not just on one day of the year, but it is every day that we have to dedicate to peace and peaceful coexistence. To establish a culture of peace, there is a dire need to promote a positive and dynamic participatory process where dialogue is encouraged and conflicts are resolved in a spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation.

The day offers people a shared date to think about how individually they can contribute to ensuring peaceful coexistence and tolerance. Therefore, peace should be used as a means to bridge differences which everyone should be encouraged to cross, as now is the time to multiply our efforts towards building peace and social justice. The injustices that take place and violence around us make a loud sound for a booming response. It is however not effective if this response is not brought out positively where some individuals and groups strike out against symbols of injustice and create more of a disturbance rather than tranquility. For the last several years, armed conflicts have caused untold grief to individuals, families and communities in many major parts of Pakistan. Too many conflicts cause unnecessary loss of life and have a devastating impact on structures that maintain societies, such as education, health and justice systems and the maintenance of law and order.

However, something profoundly remarkable is happening in Pakistan that people especially youth, including women, are demonstrating solidarity by reaching out and rallying together for social justice. This powerful force brings with it the potential to create a peaceful and democratic future for Pakistan where all sections of society may exhibit a powerful voice. Embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, democracy supports an environment for a host of political rights and civil liberties. There are many ways to participate in democratic practices, including taking part in dialogue, advocating for civil society empowerment, joining the struggle for gender equality and against discrimination, engaging in civic education and promoting voter registration.

The International Day of Peace demands people to organise events and undertake deeds celebrating the importance of peace in realistic and useful ways. I make it a point to make my contribution to promoting peace by advocating among educationists, especially religious scholars to include the message of peace and social harmony, tolerance, acceptance and coexistence during their teaching or prayer sessions in so that this universal message spreads from the pulpit of all faiths and sects. I sincerely feel that there is a need to evolve unity and consensus on promoting tolerance and acceptance among different communities. May I also take the opportunity to say that among a group of committed individuals, we are also working along with religious leaders, representatives of different faiths and sects, civil society organisations and government delegates who have joined hands for peaceful coexistence, peace, acceptance and tolerance among each other and bridging gaps among various segments of society.

We must believe in our hearts and minds that tolerance is the key to ensure peace. Through signing the Charter of Peace, we ask people from all communities to restore interfaith harmony, to end duality and adopt values from different religions so that we may be able to create an atmosphere where everyone might have religious freedom, and where religion must be used to end differences among different religious communities. All people must restore compassion, respect and tolerance to the centre of morality and religion, to teach each other that any interpretation of the scripture that breeds violence or hatred is illegitimate, to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other religions, traditions and cultures and also to encourage a positive appreciation of religious and cultural diversity, interfaith and intercultural harmony.

Faith must be used to end differences among the masses. Everyone must contribute to and participate actively in peace building efforts. Pakistan is host to a minority population that comprises of various groups but is mostly dominated by Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Zoroastrian, Bahai’s and others and so it is everyone’s responsibility to respect these sections as citizens of Pakistan. Our government and all state institutions will have to show more responsibility to promote, defend and protect religious freedom for everyone and everywhere in Pakistan. Let people of every faith live in peace as they choose, and understand that the state belongs to everyone.

On this International Day of Peace, I pledged to teach our future generations the values of tolerance and mutual respect where we must all make strong efforts for peace and defend it with all our might.

I wish everyone a sustainable peace in their life.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Ir Pakistan the only major country in the world without any major voice on world level politics the 5th Major power must take his due place, countries who are talking that Pakistan is in the pocket must be denied to them! the powerful movement in Pakistan that starts in Lahore that now CAMPED in Capital Islamabad under the Great Leadership of Imran Khan and Allama Qadri Must taken to all over Pakistan, Time has come Powerful Ir Pakistan be Made by faithful Pakistanis

  2. Peace comes by doing justice. So we can say that the practice of justice is the doorway to peace. Wherever justice is scarce, Islaam and Muslims are scarce there. Anyone in whose everyday deeds justice is missing, Islaam is missing from such a person.
    The UN is in no position to bring about the rule of justice, just because our world is run by Mafiosis. The Mafiosis control the Western governments. The Western governments control the U N.
    Why do the Mafiosis control the governments? Just because the people in every country in the world have not organised their own Mafia or Peoples' Union. When, if ever, people will start to organise their union, they will have true democracy. Then the chances are that things will be out of the hands of the Mafiosis. So if people troughout the world do not organise their Union or a Party of the people, by the people in control of the people our world will continue to be run by the Mafiosis. Sorry to give this news but that is the Truth, the whole Truth. For as long as we the people will sleep thieves, robbers and murderers will remain active.

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