United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for a global \u201calliance of peace\u201d In a world where \u201cold evils \u2014 anti-Muslim bigotry, antisemitism, persecution of Christians, xenophobia, and racism \u2013 are receiving new leases on life\u201d, as he highlighted the UN Alliance of Civilizations\u2019s efforts to show the way on how to act in solidarity.<\/p>\n
The UN chief was speaking at the opening of the 9th Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations (AOC) which aims to improve understanding and cooperative relations among nations and peoples across cultures and religions.<\/p>\n
The Forum is taking place in Fez, Morocco.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe forces of division and hate are finding fertile ground in a landscape marred by injustice and conflicts,\u201d said Guterres, calling for the creation of an alliance of peace through recognizing \u201cdiversity as richness\u201d and investing in inclusion; and making sure that \u201call of us \u2013 regardless of race, descent, origin, background, gender, religion, or other status \u2013 can live lives of dignity and opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Holy Quran teaches us that God created nations and tribes \u2018so that we might know one another\u2019,\u201d said UN Secretary-General, urging at this time of peril, to be inspired by the essence of these meanings and \u201cstand together as one human family \u2013 rich in diversity, equal in dignity and rights, united in solidarity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miguel Angel Moratinos, the AOC High Representative, said that \u201cinternational conflicts cannot be the sole consequence of religion, culture or civilizations. It must be stated bluntly: there is no clash of civilizations, as prepounded by American political scientist Samuel Huntington, \u201cThere is a clash of interests and a clash of ignorance.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the High Representative, the world is not facing a clash of civilizations, because the world of the 21st century is global and interconnected. Hence, \u201cwe are one humanity facing multiple global challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe recent crises affecting the international community have shown us that there are no borders that can stop viruses and wars, whether they occur in Europe or in any other corner of the world,\u201d Moratinos stated, noting further that, \u201ca regional war, the war in Ukraine has affected the peace and stability of the entire international order.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the face of defending tolerance, let us defend mutual respect. In the face of defending coexistence, let us defend living together: \u201cconvivencia\u201d [coexistence].<\/p>\n
Indeed, he said: \u201cIn the face of defending minorities, let us defend the equal rights of all citizens; In the face of exclusion and separatism, let us defend inclusion and fraternity; In the face of only a dialogue of civilizations, let us engage ourselves in an Alliance of Civilizations, in a collective commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Forum takes place against the backdrop of an extremely complex global context marked by myriad challenges, ranging from the surge in violent extremism, terrorism, xenophobia, hate speech to racism, discrimination, and radicalism, among others.<\/p>\n
Over 1,000 representatives from nearly 100 countries participated in the event, including Advisor to the King of Morocco, Andre Azoulay, who delivered a powerful message of solidarity on behalf of th4e King, focusing on the importance of finding pathways to peace, unity and solidarity, and how Fez and wider Morocco embodied these values.<\/p>\n
\u201cMorocco is built around a model of openness, harmony and synergy that has seen the convergence of Arab-Islamic, Amazigh and Saharan-Hassanian confluents, and that has, at the same time, been enriched by African, Andalusian, Hebrew and Mediterranean tributaries,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In his remarks to the Forum, Azoulay explained that Morocco was committed from the beginning has been committed to this avant-garde and has remained there with constancy through: Firstly, promoting openness as a pillar of the culture of peace; secondly, living religion as a vehicle of peace; thirdly, working for development \u2013 in the broadest sense of the term \u2013 as an ingredient for peace.<\/p>\n
\u201cPolitics speaks to citizens, religion speaks to their souls, dialogue speaks to their civilizations\u201d, he stressed, adding that there is really no point in carrying out major projects \u201cif we do not manage to go beyond this first link in the chain of \u2018living-together\u2019, in the name of a single humanity, which puts back human beings at the center of its concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the margins of the Forum, the PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival, a joint initiative between UNAOC and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), with a network of over 50 partner organizations worldwide that support the creative efforts of young people and distribute their videos worldwide, took place today.<\/p>\n
This festival aims at encouraging and empowering youth to explore the pressing social issues of migration, diversity, social inclusion, and the prevention of xenophobia and to share their creative vision with the world.<\/p>\n
During its work on Tuesday, the 9th Global Forum adopted the Fez Declaration, which stressed, among others, the importance of the central role of education, women as mediators and peace-makers, combating discrimination and intolerance based on religion or belief anchored in human rights, sport as a vector for peace and inclusiveness, balancing migration narratives through programming, the role of religious leaders in promoting peace, coexistence and social harmony, reinvigorating multilateralism through culture of peace and on countering; and addressing online hate speech.<\/p>\n
The Declaration also commended the international initiatives, including those by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designed to promote the safeguarding of cultural heritage in time of peace and in the event of armed conflicts, and encouraged the members of the Group of Friends of the Alliance of Civilizations to condemn the unlawful destruction of cultural heritage and religious sites.<\/p>\n
It underlined also the positive impact that migration can have on countries of origin, transit and destination, including through promoting cultural pluralism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for a global \u201calliance of peace\u201d In a world where \u201cold evils \u2014 anti-Muslim bigotry, antisemitism, persecution of Christians, xenophobia, and racism \u2013 are receiving new leases on life\u201d, as he highlighted the UN Alliance of Civilizations\u2019s efforts to show the way on how to act in solidarity. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":296964,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-296958","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n