The Nation Newspaper

Tag: World Peace

  • Pope sues for peace in Easter message

    Pope sues for peace in Easter message

    Pope Francis issued a fresh appeal for world peace on Thursday, in an interview published hours before he was due to perform the pre-Easter ritual of washing prison inmates’ feet.

    After leading a mass in St Peter’s Basilica, Francis was scheduled to visit Paliano prison, about 75 km south-east of Rome.

    In previous years, the pope washed feet in a juvenile prison, a centre for the disabled, a high-security jail and a refugee centre.

    “All I want is to call even more strongly for peace for this world subjugated by arm traffickers who profit from the blood of men and women,” Francis told Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

    “Violence is no cure for our broken world,” he added.

    The washing of the feet recalls the gesture that Christians believe Jesus performed on the 12 apostles before the Last Supper. It shows that the man the apostles saw as their leader was capable of the most humble act.

    Francis said the Catholic Church’s duty should be to “stand by the last in line, the marginalized, the discarded,” and added that convicts should not be judged too harshly because “we are all sinners, but Jesus forgives us with his mercy.”

    Easter, falling on Sunday, celebrates the resurrection of Jesus and is the most important Christian holiday.

    In the run-up to it, Francis is scheduled to preside over the traditional Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession on Friday, and lead an Easter vigil on Saturday.

  • Call for new approach to pursue international peaceful order

    Call for new approach to pursue international peaceful order

    Faced with the reality of uncertainty in global cooperation triggered by a chain of political upheavals from the Brexit to elections in the United States and European states, a new approach to pursue an international peaceful order has been called for.

     The call was made on March 14 at the Peace Forum for the 1st Annual Commemoration of the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW) held in Seoul, South Korea by Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), an international peace organization under the UN Department of Public Information (DPI).

    In commemoration of the DPCW proclaimed on the same date in 2016, the forum reaffirmed the importance of global peace movement currently on progress under the Legislate Peace Campaign to establish the principle of international law for peace through the introduction of a UN resolution based on the DPCW.

     Chairman Man Hee Lee of HWPL emphasized that peacebuilding “is not an individual task”, but “is relevant to everyone” as a common purpose of the global community.

    He offered the role of religion as a bridge builder of peace rather than the core of conflict and violence by adding “our orientations must be one for peace. Whether religious secular world it is, there is no exception.”

    In the progress report, Dong Min Im, the secretary general of HWPL, explained the significance of peace projects in HWPL by saying, “The work is to put an end to war in our globe and make a foundation of a world of everlasting peace, which is unprecedented in history.”

    Bup Hye Kim, chairman of Buddhist Central Council for National Unification, offered a picture of concrete action plans of HWPL in achieving peace.

    “Youth and women are the main scapegoats in war, but even in this reality we must face the fact that youth and women are voluntarily standing at the forefront to build the foundation of peace with HWPL”, he said.

    The DPCW with its 10 articles and 38 clauses was drafted by HWPL and legal experts in international law. Based on the spirit of the Charter of the United Nations and Declaration of Human Rights, the DPCW advocates peace as a global order through respect on international law, ethnic/religious freedom, and spreading a culture of peace.

     Efforts of promoting peaceful coexistence with initiatives of HWPL contribute to conflict resolution to raise mutual understanding that can restrain hostility. 

    Seminars and culture events at both local and national levels have been hosted by HWPL with the local community to overcome religious or ethnic boundaries.

    Areas of conflict where threats of life are persistent including Syria, Israel and Palestine are included to raise awareness for peacebuilding.

  • Lee calls for implementation of cessation of war convention

    Lee calls for implementation of cessation of war convention

    The Chairman of Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL) Man Hee Lee has appealed for the implementation of an International Convention on the Cessation of War and Achievement of World Peace.
    He made the call at the 1st Annual Commemoration of September 18th World Alliance of Religions’ Peace Summit (WARP) held in Seoul, Republic of Korea on 17-19 of September.
    Chairman Lee emphasized that “our future generations can inherit peace only if the international law experts do their part,” and urged them to “make good laws to make the world a better place.”
    The Summit was attended by about 300 people including not only those in the various fields that had participated in the summit of the previous year but also international law experts.
    In order to create an institutional framework for the realization of peace, a draft convention on the cessation of war was presented. This presentation was witnessed by the youth, women, and journalists, as each group holds an important role in achieving peace.
    The Summit 2014 was attended by about 2,000 guests including former and current heads of state, religious leaders, youth, women, and journalists from around the world and its outdoor events (World Peace Walk and Pre-event) by about 30,000 people.
    It was a summit of an unprecedented scale, where all participants came together and made promises that laid the foundation for world peace. Notably, former and current heads of state and religious leaders showed their determination to realize world peace by signing the Agreement to Propose the Enactment of International Law for the Cessation of Wars and World Peace and the Unity of Religions Agreement respectively.
    Below are the four highlights of the summit :
    1. Moving forward – International law experts modify the draft convention on the cessation of war
    To fundamentally resolve international armed conflicts, HWPL invited international law experts, as suggested by Chairman Man Hee Lee, and presented the Convention on the Renunciation and Cessation of War and International Armed Conflicts, which was drafted by members of the HWPL Peace Advisory Council. Through discussion and modification by the HWPL International Law Peace Committee, the draft convention will be improved into a complete and applicable international convention. Furthermore, HWPL aims to send the final convention to heads of state around the world and have it ratified, and to go through the deliberative process of the UN so that the convention will be fully adopted and implemented. Also, it was proposed that UN agencies should monitor and oversee the enforcement of the convention by each state. The convention will include provisions on inter-religious conflict as well.

    Group photo of all attendees
    Group photo of all attendees

    At the afternoon session of the international law conference, Chairman Lee emphasized that “our future generations can inherit peace only if the international law experts do their part,” and further requested them to “make good laws to make the world a better place.” Moved by Chairman Lee’s earnest appeal, the international law experts suggested setting a specific schedule for drafting and finalizing the convention.
    1. -Launching the HWPL International Law Peace Committee
    This day, twelve international law experts including Dr. Fathi Kemicha (former member of the UN International Law Commission), Prof. Ibrahim Aljazy (President of the International Law Association, Jordanian Branch, and former Minister of State for Legal Affairs of Jordan), and Prof. Enver Hasani (former President of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo) were appointed as members of the HWPL International Law Peace Committee. They pledged to work together for the implementation of an international convention on the cessation of war. As the first step for this purpose, the participants discussed practical ways to draft the most essential provisions based on the draft convention that HWPL prepared in advance.
    2. Inter-religious conference for resolving religious conflict

    During the HWPL World Alliance of Religions’ Peace (WARP) Office Presentation Meeting and Religious Leaders’ Conference, the role that religious people hold in the peace movement and the current state of the religious world were addressed. The HWPL WARP Office is a gathering of religious leaders and scholars where they study religious texts and realize that peace can be achieved in the religious world only through religious unity and the answer to peace is within the Creator who gives life to this earth. To find that answer along with people of all religious backgrounds, HWPL began to hold dialogue sessions at HWPL WARP Offices for comparing religious texts. As of September 11th 2015, 104 offices have been established in 53 countries. This day’s session stressed the role and importance of religious figures in achieving world peace and further instilled in each participant a sense of responsibility and commitment to world peace through the unity of religions.
    3. Establishing roles of the youth and women in the direction of the implementation process of the international convention
    Chairman Lee addressed the importance of the youth and women in the implementation of the international convention on the cessation of war. He stressed that they should raise their voices to monitor the implementation process of the convention. For this purpose, the IWPG and IPYG presented the Statement to Urge for the Implementation of an International Convention on the Cessation of War, which all participants signed to strengthen their determination. A worldwide online signature campaign will be launched soon as a means of implementing and expanding the project. Ms. Nam Hee Kim, the chairwoman of the IWPG, said in her speech that, “When the ability of international law experts, heavenly wisdom of HWPL, and work of the youth and women come together, all wars on earth will be brought to an end. Along with all women of the world, members of the IWPG will support the work of international law experts.”

    4. Discussing the mission of journalists for peace
    A total of 17 journalists from 13 media organizations in 14 countries attended the 1st Annual Commemoration of the WARP Summit. During the press conference on the 17th and HWPL Media Forum on the 18th, they shared the publicity work they have done as HWPL Publicity Ambassadors and discussed the mission of journalists in achieving peace. The journalists in attendance, who swiftly deliver the news of peace to the world, said that issues that the media of each country face should be resolved for such good news to be spread more widely. Also, they brought up the necessity of creating various TV and radio programs to arouse the youth’s interest in peace. Furthermore, they suggested that media coverage on international law that the public can easily understand is needed.
    For the 1st Annual Commemoration of the WARP Summit, high-tech filming equipment including helicopter cameras were used to broadcast historical moments where prominent leaders discussed world peace, enabling over 30,000 people in 60 countries to watch them live online. On the 19th, the last day of the event, “Inside WARP Summit,” a newsletter that introduces about the programs of the first day, was provided to each participant and delivered the news regarding the opening ceremony and each session. This event was more than just an international peace conference; it was a harmonious combination of culture and technology that took the cultural events to the next level.

  • Religious leaders discuss world peace

    Religious leaders discuss world peace

    The third World Alliance for Religions Peace (WARP) meeting was recently held in Lagos, Nigeria under the theme “Peace Reflected on the Concept of Good and Evil in the Scriptures.”

    The alliance of religious leaders is working towards the cessation of wars and world peace as coordinated by the Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL).

    The 1st WARP Office meeting held under the topic “Peace in the Scripture and this time, with more specific topic.

    Discussants at the meeting were Most Rev Dr. Anthony Macfonse Osmond Akinnugba of the Byzantine Orthodox Church, Archbishop; Imam Abdullahi Shuaib, C.E.O/Imam of Zakat & Sadaqat Foundation; Jognson Akin Atere the Anglican Church bishop and Sheikh Abduraahman Sulaiman Adangba of Al-fatihul Quareeb Islamic society of Nigeria National.

    The meeting, which also held in Lagos state, Nigeria had in attendance several religious leaders who converged to compare religious scriptures and the definitions for peace according to each religious scripture.

    Nigeria is composed of 50 percent of Islam, 40 percent of Christianity and 10 percent of indigenous beliefs. Recently the damage of lives happened due to religious conflicts.

    In the midst of this situation, it was stimulating that religious leaders gathered in one place to discuss peace together.

    On July 30th, the HWPL WARP Office meeting began with the introduction of participants and watching a highlight video of the purpose and recent activities of Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL).

    And religious leaders presented on the topic of good and evil freely in the favorable atmosphere. They spent time understanding respective religion in one mind with o, x quiz.

    Imam Abdullahi Shuaib (Zakat & Sadaqat Foundation, Imam / CEO) said “I attended the 3rd HWPL Lagos Meeting today. It was a successful outing. We also appreciate all the supports given by the HWPL Head Office.”

    Mr. Man Hee Lee, the chairman of HWPL also said in his speech: “Let us all become the messengers of peace and leave it as an inheritance for the future generations.”

    The International Peace Youth Group (IPYG) and the International women’s Peace Group (IWPG) with a mother’s heart to protect precious lives are two wings of HWPL that spreads peace and works towards the enactment of an international law.

    He traveled around the world eighteen times stating that we should achieve the unity of religions for the cessation of wars because the cause of wars comes from the differences of religions.

    Through his efforts, the 85 HWPL WARP offices meeting are being held in 51 countries while 70 former and current presidents of states and 200 judges Advisory Council members are working on the articles to enact the international law to realize the substantial peace.

    In the future his going on foot is looked forward to.