![Amid pandemic and climate emergency, global peacebuilders call on governments to invest in peace](/sites/default/files/images/36396494843_7a12dc4c29_k.jpg)
United Nations General Assembly Hall in the UN Headquarters, New York. Basil D Soufi / AFSC
NEW YORK, NY (September 20, 2021) Over 200 international and domestic peacebuilding organizations have issued a joint statement calling on governments to work for peace. The statement highlights the need for a new global partnership to mainstream peace, justice, and inclusion central to efforts to transform our world and respond to the challenges we face. The statement asserts that peace is not an add-on: peace is the way.
The statement, released at the opening of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, calls on governments and the international community to: refocus on peace, justice and inclusion, in development, in crisis response, and in addressing the climate emergency; mainstream and step up investment in peace; prioritize inclusion and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms; and step away from securitized responses.
The statement reads, in part. “As we face the stark human-made realities of a warming planet, we must redouble our peace efforts, to help mediate and navigate the immense shifts in power and resources that will be needed to forestall further avoidable temperature rise, to prevent and resolve the conflicts that may be exacerbated or precipitated by environmental destruction; and to prepare the path to a more sustainable, peaceful, and equitable future.”
The Quaker United Nations Office in New York – an organization that works to promote peace and justice at the United Nations and other global institutions – played a key role in drafting and circulating the statement. The signatories include organizations dedicated to peace from around the world, including faith-based groups, international development agencies, policy organizations, and others.
See the complete statement and signatories here.
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Since 1947, QUNO has worked with diplomats, UN officials, and civil society to support a UN that prioritizes peace and prevents war. QUNO uses Quaker House and its convening power to facilitate off-the-record meetings and bring perspectives from outside the UN system in order to promote peacebuilding and the prevention of violent conflict at a policy level in New York. QUNO also works closely with the American Friends Service Committee and other Quaker Service Agencies in country, and with Friends’ policy offices in Geneva, Washington, and Brussels. For more see http://www.quno.org
The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) promotes a world free of violence, inequality, and oppression. Guided by the Quaker belief in the divine light within each person, we nurture the seeds of change and the respect for human life to fundamentally transform our societies and institutions.