By JAMSHED BARUAH<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NEW YORK (IDN) – The UN High Representative for the\u00a0Alliance of Civilizations<\/a>\u00a0(UNAOC), Ambassador Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser has expressed deep concern about \u201cthe catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons and the threat they pose to international peace and security\u201d. Launching the book titled\u00a0A Forum for Peace\u00a0<\/em>and opening a discussion on\u00a0Global Citizenship and the Future of the United Nations\u00a0<\/em>at the UN headquarters in New York, he also stressed the importance of the culture of peace.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0JAPANESE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The book incorporates the proposals made by Daisaku Ikeda, President of the Tokyo-based\u00a0Soka Gakkai International (SGI)<\/a>, to the United Nations over the past 30 years. Themes discussed include the need for abolition of nuclear weapons, global education and human interconnectedness with the environment. The event was sponsored by the UNAOC and organised by Soka Gakkai International (SGI),\u00a0Inter Press Service<\/a>\u00a0(IPS) news agency and the\u00a0Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research<\/a>\u00a0(Tokyo and Honolulu) onFebruary 20, 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Institute\u2019s director Olivier Urbain, who edited the book, said he was impressed by Ikeda\u2019s firm belief in the power of ordinary people and his trust in the potential of solidarity. Ikeda\u2019s promotion for a world without war does not stop with abolishing actual nuclear warheads, but it also deals with the mentality behind the fact that the world still have these weapons, Urban said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s not possible to build one\u2019s happiness on the misery of another human being. The same thing with countries: it is not possible to build true lasting national security on the misery and terror of other countries that are so terrified by the weapon,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Notwithstanding conflicts and threats around the world, Urbain said there was \u201ca tremendous sense of hope\u201d when he read the book. \u201cAs long as we have the space for personal creativity and solidarity, there is nothing that human beings cannot overcome,\u201d he added. The UN, therefore, needs to create channels and mechanisms for people\u2019s voices to be heard and, in so doing, let itself be empowered by the people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is the book that really needs to be read by all of us,\u201d said Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury, former Under-Secretary-General and High Representative, who chaired the event. \u201cNo human being in the world history has written so consistently and so substantively about the work of the U.N.,\u201d he said, adding that many of Ikeda\u2019s proposals, including the empowerment of women and young people in creating peace, have been reflected in the way the global body operates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chowdhury pointed out that Ikeda\u2019s concept of the \u2018Culture of Peace\u2019 is essential to make the world a secure place for future generations, by promoting peace through dialogue and nonviolence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Al-Nasser pointed out that peace and dialogue is also the business of the UN Alliance of Civilizations. \u201cThe peaceful and prosperous co-existence of people and nations is the cornerstone of the United Nations mission. We are bound together as the international community in the belief that \u2013 despite different cultures, languages and religions, there are fundamental shared values and principles that underpin our humanity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are bound together as the UN family because we recognize that it is through the celebration of our diversity, as well as through the promotion of tolerance and dispelling fears of the \u2018other\u2019, that we will build more peaceful world. And we are bound together because we understand that the citizens of world share common problems that require global solutions. This is where \u2018the abolition of nuclear weapons\u2019 and Global Citizenship Education come to play,\u201d the UN High Representative for the AOC added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe International Community regardless of cultural differences has often expressed deep concern about the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons and the threat they pose to international peace and security, Al-Nasser told a gathering of diplomats, journalists, academicians and representatives of non-governmental organisations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The UN Member States had stated in the \u201coutcomes of Disarmament Machinery\u201d that mankind is confronting an unprecedented threat of self-extinction arising from massive and competitive accumulation of the most destructive weapons ever produced. \u201cIt goes without saying,\u201d he added, \u201cthat the non-peaceful use of nuclear power poses a serious threat to humanity exacerbated by the proliferation of these weapons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Against this backdrop, the majority of Member States had repeatedly reaffirmed that \u201cthe total elimination of nuclear weapons is the only guarantee against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons\u201d. This, in their view, should be followed by \u201ca universal, unconditional and legally binding instrument on security assurances to all non-nuclear weapons states\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n