FOLLOW US
D. Burton: Address to Summit 2022, Session III
Written by Hon. Dan Burton, International co-chair, International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace; member, U.S. House of Representatives (1983-2013)
Friday, August 12, 2022
Address to Summit 2022 and Leadership Conference,
Seoul, Korea, August 11-15, 2022
Good morning, distinguished guests and friends. Thank you for that most generous introduction.
In February 2016, former Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives Jose de Venecia Jr. and I were given the great honor to be asked to serve as international co-chairs of the Universal Peace Federation’s International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace.
That was six years ago, and since then, many current and former members of national legislatures have aligned themselves with the world problem-solving and peacebuilding goals of the IAPP – which has grown to 6,730 parliamentarians from 93 countries.
What is the world of the International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace? One of the things we do best is keep our eyes on the parts of the world where war and conflict are taking place. These locations are well-known to all of you – the Middle East, Northeast Asia, including the Korean Peninsula and Taiwan, Ukraine and parts of Africa, Europe and Asia. It seems like there is more conflict than ever in the world, or it may be that this has always been the case but now it is much easier to know what’s going on. Either way, the world is in dire need of peacebuilders, men and women of goodwill who can rise above political concerns and do their best to bring conflicted parties to the table.
I am happy to see so many representatives from Africa at this conference, and to see that the problems you face are being brought to the attention of the world in a truly global forum such as this. It seems that Europe, the United States and the powerful nations of Asia always get the world’s attention. For too long, our colleagues in Africa have endured a lonely struggle. I hope that more members of the parliaments and national legislatures of the African nations will join their global colleagues of the International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace.
On a final note, one of the many co-sponsors of these global conferences of the Universal Peace Federation has been, for many years, The Washington Times, one of the great newspapers in the United States, which was founded in 1982 by two well-known Koreans, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon and his wife, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon. The Washington Times recently celebrated its 40th anniversary of publication. That makes it still a relatively young member of the pantheon of great newspapers, many of which have been around for more than a hundred years. But what makes The Times a worthy member of this elite association of news organizations has been the unbiased quality of its news coverage. The editors always tell their reporters, “Get it first, and get it right.” And they have been doing that every day for 40 years.
As testimony to the accuracy and truthfulness of The Washington Times, they held a celebratory reception recently on Capitol Hill in Washington. Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, from both parties, came by to congratulate the newspaper on its success. To find Republicans and Democrats enjoying each other’s company in the same room these days is quite an achievement.
Thank you for taking time from your busy lives to fly all the way to Seoul, Korea, to deliberate together on the important topics being discussed here. You represent just your one country, but by coming here, you are serving the world. May God bless your efforts.
Thank you very much.
To go to the World Summit 2022 Schedule page, click here.