The South Korean based christian organization on peace building and promotion (HWPL) has recently held a youth-led peace campaign in South Sudan as to help locals to voluntarily seek practical solutions to achieve lasting peace.
Since the peace agreement with government forces and rebel last December in South Sudan, this movement for peace has been started.
In May at over 100 cities in 50 countries including South Sudan, Japan, the United States, India and Iraq, worldwide peace campaigns named ‘5th Annual Commemoration of the Declaration of World Peace’, have been carried out to advocate peace-building led by grassroots such as youth, citizens, civic groups, and media.
The Declaration of World Peace was announced by an international peace NGO affiliated with UN ECOSOC, Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL) to call for all members of society to work together as peace messengers in 2013.
In South Korea that had the recent inter-Korean summit breaking a decade of the turbulent period of tension, the event with the theme of ‘Realizing Peace on the Korean Peninsula’ was held simultaneously in 12 cities on May 25, when the declaration was announced.
It aimed to seek ways to interact freely with North and South, based on the citizen-centered peace activities, and to encourage citizens to take an active role in the progress in peace-building on the Korean peninsula.
Chairman Mr. Lee emphasized that the role of politicians to support DPCW, “All the public have to make the politicians to build peaceful world. If politicians insist that they love the nation and public, they should agree on all articles of DPCW. President, politics are only existed for the nation and public, hence they have duty to do what the public want(peace).”
International Peace Youth Group (IPYG), the host organization affiliated with HWPL, has collected ‘peace letters’ from government officials, social representatives, and citizens with the contents of world peace and reunification of the two Koreas.
According to IPYG, the supporting letters for peace in Korean peninsula received from the global family will be delivered to the two leaders of the two Koreas.
The peace campaign held in Zain football field in South Sudan, was carried out with the peace walk and letters for peace composed of students, government personnel, people from NGO members from different stratums were gathered to support peace by writing letters and also walked together for promoting culture of peace to the community.
This annual peace walk is the fourth time in South Sudan for raising awareness of peacebuilding through youth leadership and commemorating the Declaration of World Peace.
Regarding the approach to peacebuilding, Emmanuel Lobijo Justine, the chief executive director of Junub Open Space, said, “The DPCW is a very important tool as it has all that is needed for a peaceful world. Not just I am fully in support of it, but I encourage everyone to support it.”
Responding to the necessity of establishing a legal framework to eradicate disputes or armed conflicts, HWPL proposed the ‘Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW)’ which embodies the value of the ‘Declaration of World Peace’, as a solution of world peace not only to the political, religious, and educational leaders of the international society but to youth, women, and media.
The DPCW consisting of 10 articles and 38 clauses addresses principles of conflict resolution and international cooperation for peace-building such as respect on the international law, peaceful dispute settlement, and spreading a culture of peace.
Civil society throughout the world is carrying out peace education, peace culture projects, and ‘Legislate Peace Campaign’ to establish a legally binding international law for peace and to create a peaceful environment in the society in cooperation with HWPL.
UM– USEKE.RW
