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S. Gillani: Address to World Summit 2022, Session VII
Written by H.E. Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani, prime minister of Pakistan (2008-2012)
Saturday, February 12, 2022
Address to World Summit
February 11-13, 2022
Honorable members of parliaments, respected leaders, distinguished executives, respected guests, ladies and gentlemen, Assalamualaikum. May peace be upon you all.
It comes as a great privilege to address this prestigious forum that brings together a unique confluence of world leaders, parliamentarians and experts to discuss and strategize a joint global endeavor for peace, conflict resolution and coexistence on the Korean Peninsula, and also the world at large. I thank the Royal Government of Cambodia and the Universal Peace Federation for the opportunity to share my views with such a discerning audience. I strongly commend the organizers for making this World Summit 2022: Summit for Peace on the Korean Peninsula possible. Global forums like these provide an important mechanism to forge strong partnerships and joint action to address critical issues like global peace and security through dialogue, understanding and consensus. I strongly concur that this Summit will open the way to world peace by envisioning the Korean Peninsula as an economic, cultural, educational, environmental and interfaith hub in the East, and a gateway to a world in which all of humanity can enjoy lives of mutual prosperity, interdependence and shared universal values.
Ladies and gentlemen, the present turbulent times that have forced humanity into a morass of challenges on the peace, stability and human development fronts bring into question the very survival and future of mankind. War is never a solution to settling differences, issues and conflicts. Reliance on military superiority and discretionary recourse to wars has become increasingly dysfunctional. At a time when conflicts continuing in different parts of the world threaten global order, peace, security and development, our challenge lies in delicately balancing the critical equation between peace and development. The writing on the wall is very clear. There can be no human development without peace. Conflicts and confrontations sap and deplete precious economic resources from human development to security, thereby stalling human development. Ending poverty and hunger, ensuring human rights, improving health and education, making cities more sustainable, combating climate change and protecting the environment are all essential sustainable development goals that cannot be achieved without peace. Peace is indispensable for the development and nourishment of our civilization, and it is to be maintained by all means.
Therefore, our joint quest for stability and order, economic and social progress, and respect for human rights, as also set forth in the Charter of the UN, carries a special premium. We must join hands and make concerted efforts to dowse the raging fires of conflicts, animosities and distrust impeding the progress and wellbeing of our people through increased cooperation, harmony and dialogue. It is time to build bridges between minds and hearts. It is time to build convergences and shun divergences. It is time to move from escalation to de-escalation. I firmly believe, ladies and gentlemen, that conflict resolution—building trust and understanding based on mutual respect—must be prioritized as being indispensable to human existence on the planet, as well as to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
Protecting the future for the people of the world presupposes an ethos of responsibility, which in turn rests on the willingness by both the powerful and the disempowered to rely much more on cooperative and nonviolent means to achieve order and change. Pakistan, being a responsible and peace-loving country, is making constant endeavors for ensuring peace and amity for our present and future generations. We believe that conflict and animosity lead to destructive and contagious toxic harvest, inimical to human development and a peaceful world order. Based on this vision, Pakistan seeks to promote regional and international peace and stability by actively promoting cooperative and inclusive development and shared prosperity within the region and beyond. Keeping with its international obligations and its commitment to the UN Charter, Pakistan strongly upholds friendship and cooperation in interstate relations on the basis of sovereign equality, mutual respect, and benefit of non-interference and peaceful settlement of disputes. A case in point is Pakistan’s highly instrumental role as a facilitator and supporter of the Afghan peace process.
Ladies and gentlemen, peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula is closely linked with the peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region and of the world as a whole. Creating an environment conducive for peace to flourish requires strong political will and well-coordinated multi-stratum efforts on intergovernmental, inter-parliamentary and multilateral fronts. I strongly believe that parliamentary diplomacy is an important aspect of regional conflict prevention and peacebuilding initiatives. We parliamentarians, often operating in the context of regional parliamentary forums, can play useful conflict prevention and resolution roles through inter-parliamentary dialogues in building bridges where governmental initiatives have been met with little success. Enhanced inter-parliamentary efforts in tandem with conventional and track two diplomacy can provide a mechanism through which we can make a real difference in promoting shared ideals of peace and reconciliation in not just the Korean Peninsula, but also throughout conflict hotspots in the rest of the world.
However, for this to happen, we must consolidate partnerships at the global, regional and country levels to deepen our efforts for peace. The rapidly changing and increasingly interlinked peace and security environment calls for effective and mutually reinforcing regional and sub-regional partnerships flexible and responsive to the complex realities on the ground. We, the parliamentarians, must collectively work towards promoting inter-parliamentary dialogues and cooperation for fostering and lasting peace.
Ladies and gentlemen, peace is a process, not an event. A peace regime thus represents a comprehensive framework of declarations, agreements, norms, rules, processes and institutions aimed at building and sustaining peace. The process of developing a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula will require devising an effective framework that addresses the central concerns of each party. The task ahead may be difficult, but by no means an impossible feat. I am confident that through concerted efforts, and continuity of dialogue and deliberations through forums such as this, we can devise a mutually agreeable framework of action and broad strategy to ensure lasting peace on and the reconciliation of the Korean Peninsula.
Thank you.
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