Speeches
- Written by: Ana Catalina Soberanis Reyes, Political Advisor, UN Development Program, Guatemala
The 1945 Constitution of UNESCO declares that "since war begins in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that defenses of peace must be constructed." Nevertheless, after many years, that objective is far from being attained, now that conflicts within nations are supplanting wars between states.
- Written by: Hon. Jenekai Alex Tyler, Speaker, House of Representatives, Liberia
Liberia, Africa’s oldest independent republic, has been plagued with a myriad of political, economic, social, and at times, religious problems that conspired over the years to subject its citizens to numerous obstacles that did not permit sustainable growth and viable national progress.
- Written by: Dr. Alwi Shihab, Special Envoy to the Middle East, Office of the President, Republic of Indonesia
- Written by: Congressman Jose de Venecia, Jr., Chairman, CDI-Asia Pacific
- Written by: Lynn R. Walsh
Where are we headed? What is happening to our youth, marriages, and families today? Divorce is around 48 percent in the US but the break-up rate for cohabitation is 85 percent. Forty percent of the children in the US will grow up without their father. Sex is used as a recreational sport.
- Written by: Rev. Dr. Chung Hwan Kwak, Chairman, UPF
Father Moon has always wanted to see the United Nations affirm the highest spiritual truths and live for the sake of others, thereby becoming a God-centered UN or a “Parent UN.” The trademark of such a United Nations is not national self interest, but service, cooperation, and the promotion of reconciliation and harmony among religious, racial, and ethnic groups, as well as among nations, building one family under God.
- Written by: Rev. Paul A. Murray, President, Vision Ministries International
The world is looking for leadership to bring us out of the economic, political, and religious conflicts that are besieging us on every front. No one world leader can do this. No political mechanism can sustain this weight of such change, for our history is filled with the rise and fall of many kingdoms.
- Written by: H.E. Leonid Kravchuk, First President of Ukraine, Head of Ukrainian Peace Council
- Written by: Mrs. Ida Odinga, Chief Executive Officer, Spectra East Africa, Kenya
- Written by: Hon. Gen. Malimba N. Masheke, Former Prime Minister of Zambia
Poverty is a scourge or a curse that has engulfed the entire continent of Africa. The majority of our people wallow in abject poverty and are craving for help. Chaos and confusion reign supreme on the African continent. The levels poverty has assumed have reached alarming proportions and dimensions.
- Written by: Prof. Dr. Din Syamsuddin, Chairman, Muhammudiyah, Indonesia
This gathering for peace is timely because we are now facing very threatening challenges to human civilization. The opposite of peace is more than war; the real opposite of peace is the absence of peace.
- Written by: Rabbi Justus Baird, Director, Multifaith Education, Auburn Theological Seminary, New York, USA