Statement by Mr. Tareq Md Ariful Islam, CDA ai and Deputy Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN, for the introduction of the draft resolution entitled “Follow-up to the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace” (A/73/L.43) under the Agenda Item-15: Culture of Peace Venue: General Assembly Hall, Time and Date: 1000 hrs, 12 December 2018

I have the honour to introduce the draft resolution entitled “Follow-up to the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace” contained in document A/73/L.43.

Culture of peace is an aspiration of all humankind. Promoting and inculcating a mindset of a culture of peace is at the core of the creative management of differences and divisions. The culture of peace can become a credible pathway to sustaining
peace.

Over the years Bangladesh remained committed to the values and principles enshrined in the UN Charter and worked alongside the international community in promoting and protecting peace. Government of Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina remains committed to the issue, and underscores the importance of a ‘whole-of-society’ approach in our national context for promoting a culture of peace.

Since 1999, Bangladesh has been facilitating this seminal resolution for 19 years in a row. We thank delegations for their active participation in the informal consultations on the draft Resolution once again this year.

We take note of the growing interest in addressing a range of pertinent issues through Resolutions under this agenda item. The recurrent reference to this original Resolution in the new ones further consolidates Member States’ commitment to the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace.

This year, the draft Resolution has the following salient additions:

First, the draft Resolution acknowledges the PGA’s high-level event held on 05 September 2018 under the theme “The Culture of Peace: A Credible Pathway to Sustaining Peace”. The event provided an opportunity to the Member States to deliberate on the interplay and complementarity between these two seminal notions at the UN. The Chair’s Summary of the event has been duly noted, which we believe can be a useful reference material for our collective work towards a surge in peace diplomacy.

Second, in the spirit of the PGA’s high-level event, the draft Resolution, the draft resolution recognizes that efforts towards peacebuilding and sustaining peace need to take into account the promotion of a culture of peace and vice versa. It further acknowledges the potential contribution of the UN peacebuilding architecture to promoting a culture of peace, pursuant to the GA Resolution 72/276 on “Follow up to the Secretary General’s Report on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace”. We believe there is scope for further exploring and streamlining this issue through informed consultations in all relevant fora.

Third, in further recognition of the contribution of a culture of peace towards a comprehensive and balanced approach to combating terrorism, the draft Resolution contains a reference to GA resolution 70/254 of 12 February 2016 on Secretary-General’s Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism. It is worth recalling that the GA resolution 72/284 on the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy Review reaffirms the enduring relevance of the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace;

Fourth, the draft resolution encourages Member States, United Nations entities, regional and subregional organizations and relevant actors to consider instituting mechanisms to involve youth in the promotion of a culture of peace, tolerance and intercultural and interreligious dialogue, among other issues. This provides an opportunity to further explore the promotion of a culture of peace in the context of the ongoing discourse on youth, peace and security pursuant to the Security Council Resolution 2250;

Fifth, while recognizing the important contribution of the relevant UN entities in promoting a Culture of Peace, the draft resolution makes particular reference to the recent work of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAoC) and its Group of Friends. This reflects Member States’ continued support for UNAoC’s contribution to promoting a culture of peace through the entire spectrum of its activities.

Mr. President,
We shall be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace on 13 September 2019. To this end, the draft Resolution requests the President of the 73rd session of the General Assembly to give special attention to its appropriate and befitting observance by holding the High-Level Forum on that date next year, which will be an opportunity for renewing our shared commitment to further strengthen the global movement for the culture of peace. We look forward working together with the PGA’s Office to make the event a success.

We sincerely thank those delegations that have already co-sponsored the draft resolution and encourage others to follow suit prior to its consensus adoption soon.

I thank you.