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World Summit 2022: Opening Plenary
Written by Yvo Bruffaerts, Coordinator, UPF West Europe
Friday, February 11, 2022
Seoul, South Korea—World Summit 2022 (Summit for Peace on the Korean Peninsula) was held February 11-13, 2022, with global leaders calling for an end to the Cold War’s last remaining vestige—the divided Korean Peninsula. Because of quarantine measures and travel limitations, the Summit was held combining 20% in-person participation and 80% online platforms all around the world. Dignitaries engaged in interactive sessions, including the 157 nations with diplomatic ties to one or both of the Koreas. Twenty incumbent heads of state and government attended either in-person or virtually from Albania, Cape Verde, Cambodia, Côte d’Ivoire, Congo, Guatemala, Kosovo, Liberia, Nigeria, Paraguay, Philippines, São Tomé and Príncipe, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, and United States.
In addition, more than 80 video recordings were received from high-level personages who are collaborating through UPF’s associations—heads of state, first ladies, parliamentarians, religious leaders, media, business leaders, and prominent figures in the cultural arts—but were unable to travel due to pandemic restrictions.
World Summit 2022 was hosted by UPF Co-Founder Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, and Co-Chaired by H.E. Samdech Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia, and H.E. Ban Ki-moon, former Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Opening Plenary (Feb. 11)
After a video introduction to World Summit 2022, vocalist Kim Jeongjin graced the participants with a beautiful performance. TV host and former Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) announcer Mr. Young-il Shin served as emcee.
Participants in the Interfaith Water Ceremony and Prayer for Peace were Pastor Paula White-Cain, Head of Paula White Ministries, U.S.A.; Samdech Dr. Khy Sovanaratana, Deputy Secretary General of Sangha Judicial Council, Cambodia; Hon. Kim Youngwan, Vice Chairman of the Christian Federation of Korea; and Rev. Gi-seong Lee, President, Family Federation for World Peace and Unification-Korea.
Pastor Paula White-Cain, speaking on behalf of Christianity, thanked the Universal Peace Federation and the Washington Times Foundation for sponsoring this historic event and H.E. Samdech Hun Sen, Prime Minister of Cambodia, for supporting Mother Moon’s work for peace. She quoted Ephesians 6:12: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” She said that the spiritual battle we are waging can only be won with truth and love. Spiritual and political leaders must cooperate to complete the task of making a peaceful world, as they are called by God to restore and reconstitute this nation of Korea. She emphasized that Mother Moon has always kept that dream.
Samdech Dr. Khy Sovanaratana, representing Buddhism, said that peace is achievable only when each and every individual “is peace.” Peaceful persons, peaceful families, peaceful communities, peaceful societies, peaceful countries and a peaceful world—one leads to the other. Peace is in the minds of people, as the preamble to the UNESCO charter states, and it is also what the Buddha said more than 2500 years ago. We can coexist harmoniously only if we have a peaceful mind.
Speakers
Dr. Yun Young-ho, Co-Chair, Executive Organizing Committee, World Summit 2022, said that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, tremendous difficulties are arising in politics, economics and society. There is also the temptation to pursue populist and self-centered policies that could lead to greater division and conflict among societies and nations. In particular, in the Asia Pacific region, the fight for hegemony between the superpowers greatly influences the situation on the Korean Peninsula. Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon is advocating that a heavenly unified world can be realized only when we recognize that God is in a parental position to humanity and when we prioritize the unity of Korea. More than 10,000 VIPs were invited to the World Summit 2020, on the themes of interdependence, mutual prosperity and universal values, to realize lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula and to unify this divided peninsula. Since then, despite the pandemic, various online platforms have been used, such as the seven Rallies of Hope. Live broadcasts hosted by the IAPP, ISCP, IAPD, IMAP, IAAP, as well as Think Tank 2022 sessions, have been gathering more than 2,200 stakeholders and experts from all over the world to bring viable policies and suggestions for realizing peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen, Co-Chair, World Summit 2022 and recipient of the Founder’s Special Sunhak 2022 Achievement Award, called attention to the fact that this year marks the 72nd anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War, which ended with only an armistice treaty in 1953. He said we urgently need an end-of-war declaration on the Korean Peninsula. World Summit 2022 has gathered leaders and experts from more than 157 countries to share their wisdom and vision on peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in the Asia Pacific region. Part of the program was the One-Million Person Rally for the Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula. H.E. Samdech Hun Sen explained that the UPF, in cooperation with the Asian Cultural Council and the Asian Vision Institute based in Cambodia, is developing an ecofriendly Mekong Peace Park to promote the value and culture of peace. We must use peaceful dialogue. We cannot use war to end war, he said. This Summit is taking place in the shadow of heightening geopolitical rivalry and multiple crises caused by the pandemic. Peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula are some of the most pressing and complex global issues that need to be addressed. This Summit will deliver two key outcome documents, namely, the Seoul Resolution 2022 on “Toward Sustainable Peace and Prosperity on the Korean Peninsula,” and the initiative on “Two States toward One Nation: One Peninsula, One People, One Culture.” His Excellency Samdech Hun Sen then declared the opening of World Summit 2022.
Livestreamed from the Korean National Assembly, Hon. Lim Jong Seong, Deputy Speaker, congratulated the opening of World Summit 2022. He expressed his gratitude to Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon and all distinguished guests for joining this meaningful event for establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula and addressing global crises. He hopes that the pending bill HR 3446, cited as the “Peace on the Korean Peninsula Act,” which was signed by 35 representatives, will pass the South Korean Congress. The bill seeks, amongst others, a formal end to the Korean War, the signing of a peace agreement and the formation of an alliance liaison office.
Hon. Newt Gingrich, U.S. Speaker of the House (1995-1999), thanked the UPF, and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon in particular, for their continued effort and dedication to find a way forward to peacefully bring together the people of North and South Korea and to extend to them human rights and the opportunity of freedom. He said that many Americans are committed to helping, including a very large number of Korean Americans who are increasingly winning public office and having an impact in Congress. Parliamentarians worldwide have indeed a major role to play in leading the entire human race toward a more peaceful and free future with religious liberty for all. Every time he comes to Korea, he is astonished at how far the Korean people have carried this country towards prosperity, modernity, and towards being one of the leading scientific and technological powers on the entire planet. It is a great tribute to the human spirit. Being the son of a U.S. Korean War veteran, he now knows that the sacrifice the U.S. made has more than paid for itself. Preserving freedom on the peninsula is one of the most important pillars of American foreign policy. However, it is important to look beyond just defending freedom. It has been inspirational to see the Universal Peace Federation gain momentum on every continent, as more and more countries express an interest in working for a more peaceful future. This world summit, he said, is bringing together people dedicated to peace and freedom.
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