New York, United States—UPF Vice President Dr. Tageldin Hamad chaired a high-level roundtable at the United Nations during a Summit of Parliamentarians.
The summit, “On the Role of Parliaments for Promoting the Culture of Peace and Implementing the SDGs,” was held on September 4, 2018.
The Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Global Ethics (IPCGE) organized the event, which was co-sponsored by the Permanent Missions of Sri Lanka and Benin as well as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Global Ethics promotes the alignment of national legislation with the implementation of U.N. resolutions on the culture of peace, environmental ethics and social justice. Its primary aim is to motivate parliamentarians to adopt legislation for mandatory education on the culture of peace and the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a fundamental measure to prevent terrorism and violent extremism.
IPCGE wants religious, academic, media and civil society leaders to implement the proposed legislation with the support of U.N. institutions as envisaged in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Plan of Action to Prevent Radical Violence.
The September 4 program began with welcoming remarks from two ambassadors to the United Nations: H.E. Dr. A. Rohan Perera from Sri Lanka and H.E. Jean-Claude Felix do Rego from Benin.
The keynote speakers were Hon. Eric Houndete, deputy speaker of the Parliament of Benin; Hon. Dr. Wijeyedasa Rajapakshe, minister of higher education and cultural affairs of Sri Lanka; and Hon. Jean Max Rakotomamonjy, president of the National Assembly of Madagascar.
High-level speakers—including French Senator Samia Ghali; Hon. Jordi Xuclà, a member of Spain’s Council of Deputies; and Nigerian Senator Ibrahim Mantu—addressed the global, legislative and national frameworks for the education for the culture of peace and the SDGs.
UNESCO liaison officer Ms. Lily Gray and Mr. Matthew Hodes, director of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, also offered remarks. H.E. Federico Mayor Zaragoza, a former director-general of UNESCO, spoke to the audience through a video message.
Participants represented the fields of religion, civil society and the private sector.