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B. Cubin: Address to World Summit 2020
Written by Hon. Barbara Cubin, US Congresswoman (1995-2009)
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Address to World Summit 2020, Seoul, Korea, February 3-8, 2020
I represented the state of Wyoming in the US Congress from 1995-2009. Wyoming is a huge state in size with the lowest population of the 50 states. In fact, there is approximately one person per sq. mile in Wyoming. I was the first woman to represent Wyoming in the US Congress. It was a “Good Ol’ Boys” club then. I served for 14 years and learned some things:
- I learned women do not always solve problems the same way men do, but they solve a lot of them.
- I learned that perseverance pays off, especially when men and women join forces.
- I learned that women’s intuition and emotions can be strong assets in solving big problems.
When I was asked to speak about parliamentarians for peace, these were the first things that came to mind:
- Without respect there is no peace.
- Without honesty there is no peace.
- Without trust there is no peace.
- Without love there can be no peace.
Parliamentarians for peace should remember these concepts as we look to how we can personally contribute to peace.
In 2005, the Universal Peace Federation worked closely with parliamentarians around the world in pursuit of lasting peace based on universal principles. In 2016, parliamentarians representing more than 40 nations signed the resolution to form the International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace (IAPP). This took place in the national assembly of South Korea at an International Leadership Conference.
The rationale behind the formation of IAPP is “working together globally to address global problems and conflict.” These goals seem clear for the organization but what should our goals as parliamentarians be personally? How do we accomplish them?
Peace, like war, requires lots of money. Can we personally as parliamentarians ask for any less than to take care of war-torn civilians, support hospitals, and feed the innocent?
After all, most parliamentarians often have the governmental power of the purse. We need to ask for the funds for aid – demand it.
Can we have influence on dictators and political zealots? Not as one, but maybe as a group. Do we have influence with our own federal government?
These are just a few of the questions we personally and as a group need to answer. Get organized. Contact every city councilman you know, every county representative, state legislator, congressman, senator, every priest and pastor, every friend and relative. Tell them action is needed in an area of the world to help establish or protect peace. If we established a hot line so we could communicate with partners around the world, we could stop a crisis from happening. Tell your contacts. The more free people there are who understand a situation, the more local pressure there is for governments to ease or solve an issue.
You parliamentarians are the leaders of this. You have the senior contacts. People will take meetings with you because of your status. Go with information and signed petitions to the people who can make decisions or who will agree and act with you. This is grassroots democracy. Democracy works.
Quoting from the IAPP, “Let us work together going beyond differences of ideology, race, nationality and religion and pursue the path of mutual respect, building a world of lasting and sustained peace that can be bequeathed to future generations.”
I read this to my skeptical young sons. They said, “Yeah, in your dreams, Mom.” I said, “Yes, definitely, always and forever in my dreams.”
To go back to the IAPP Assembly Schedule page, click here.
To go to the World Summit 2020 Schedule page, click here.