Building A Culture of Peace
演讲人：Anwarul Chowdhury安瓦尔·乔杜里
The subject of this symposium on International Relations-"Building Culture of Peace"-is not only timely，it is of great significance in today"s world of turmoil.In recent times，we have seen new conflicts breaking out in many parts of the world.For some of the old ones where we thought we were looking at light at the end of the tunnel-things have gone to the opposite direction.It is therefore important that we take a close look at out approaches toward bring peace to strife torn lands and bridging the Gulf of hatred.we have to find out where we went wrong.And we have to find better ways to establish peace .
We need to remember that in the hate-and violence-filled Twentieth Century，we saw the power of non-violence in the sacrifice of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King.Forces for hatred and intolerance claimed their lives but not there souls.
The dawning of the New Millennium give us a cope to take lessons from our past in order to build a new and better tomorrow.One lesson learned is that to prevent history repeating itself，the values of non-violence，tolerance and democracy will have to be inculcated in every woman and man，children and adults alike.
I am sure that some of you have heard in many times ，but I would like to quote from the UNESCO Constitution because of its continuing relevance andvalue "：
Since wars begin in the minds of men，it is in the minds if men that the defenses of peace must be constructed."The flourishing of a culture of peace will generate the mindset that is a prerequisite for the transition from force to reason，from conflict and violence to dialogue and peace.Culture of peace will then provide the bedrock to support a stable，progressing world，a world that is finally at peace with itself .
The first step toward examining the road to peace should star t with an appreciation of the changing nature of conflict.Gone are the days of war between states for conquest，extension of spheres of spheres of influence in the name of pure ideology.The cold war is history，today"s wars are about setting border disputes，controlling resources，capturing power，retaining tribal or clan dominance or continuing instability in neighboring states and regions to profit in muddy waters .
These days we call them"civil conflict"or"civil strife"but there ideology nothing civil in the way they are conducted，genocide，rape，lynching，hacking off limbsof innocent civilian are common，most disturbing ideology that often these atrocities are directed to people living in the same community or neighborhood.Hatred and intolerance have blurred the vision of the perpetrators.
Today"s world and its problem are becoming increasingly more interdependent and interconnected due to globalization and advanced in communication，in science and technology.Interdisciplinary of the world，if not addressed with sanity，can change into a social，economic，nuclear or environmental catastrophe.The magnitude of these problem requires all human being time work together in finding new solutions .
The need for a culture of peace is evident as we reflect in how our civilization has succumb.From time to time，to the human frailties of greed，ambition，xenophobic myopia，cruelty and selfishness，we have seen that heinous acts are often committed under the veil of public mandates when in fact they respond to the wishes be they economic，political，military，or even religious of the few that have the power，at other times，atrocities are committed out of a mistaken fear of the unknown.
The efforts at peace and reconciliation have to be based on an understanding of this new reality.Global efforts towards peace and reconciliation is to be pursued with a collective approach.The United Nations as the most unversed body is best suited to undertake that role.
It must take the lead in fulfilling its charter obligation of maintaining international peaceand security worldwide.In the responsibility that the United Nations must shoulder，stronger focus on prevention and peace building is essential，even more so in these tough times for the organization.The United Nations needs to be more than a fire brigade rushing to put out the conflagrations or muchmore longer-term than a buffer zone.
Dialogue，trust and reconciliation must be the foundation of the Twenty-First Century global community.
To realize the objectives of a peaceful and secure world in future，we need to create a movement that creates a culture of peace and non-violence in the world and promotes dialogue among civilizations.A movement that ensure that amity world replace atrocity，harmony would overcome hatred and stability would remove suspicion.
As the Secretary-General of the United Nations，Kofi Annan has said "the dialogue among civilizations must be peaceful.It must occur not just between societies but within them.It must be a dialogue of mutual respect，based on a framework of shared values-values such as those found in the United Nations Charter，like equality，justice and dignity-within which different traditions can co-exist.Such a dialogue can serve as an inspiration to all humanity.It can help us learn from each other.It can help us rise above the intolerance and conflicts that blighted our history and undermined human progress."The adoption of the Programme of Action on Culture of Peace by the United Nations was only the first step.Our success rests on the strength of our partnership for its implementation.For the success of our movement，wehave to build a Grand Alliance amongst all，particularly with the proactive role and participation of civil society.
