Peace & Justice

Photo: Pope Francis delivering his inaugural keynote speech at the Seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in the Kazakh capital on September 14. Credit: Katsuhiro Asagiri | INPS-IDN Multimedia Director

Kazakhstan, the Centre of a New Route of Global Relationships?

By Kalinga Seneviratne

NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan (IDN) — Pope Francis has raised the prospect of Kazakhstan becoming the centre of a new route connecting the East and West, but this time a route that builds on human relations and respect.

Kazakhstan was once the meeting place of traders and travellers travelling from the East to the West, known as the Silk Route. In the 21st century, the Chinese are trying to revive these routes via railways and highways to promote trade across the world known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

: Kalinga Seneviratne; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 17 September 2022

Photo: Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev speaking at the closing ceremony of the Seventh Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions on September 15 in the Kazakh capital. Credit: Akorda press service.

Kazakhstan: A Bridge Between West and East

By Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kazakhstan

As Kazakhstan hosted on September 14-15 the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, an influential US magazine National Interest published an article by the Kazakhstan President where he dwells on the significance of the two-day congress amid rising global tensions. The following text was re-published by The Astana Times newspaper.

BERLIN | NUR-SULTAN (IDN) — At times like this, we need to build bridges, not walls.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 16 September 2022

Photo: Acting Costa Rican President José “Don Pepe” Figueres Ferrer takes a sledgehammer to the Cuartel Bellavista military barracks, 1948. Source: World Beyond War.ORG

A World Without Armies? Sri Lanka Should Take the Lead

Viewpoint by P. Soma Palan

COLOMBO (IDN) — I am a free thinker and not a qualified celebrity in any field or a public figure of sorts. When the nation is gasping for its very survival due to a chain of unprecedented crises in its history, the President of the Nation seems to be preoccupied with the task of training the Sri Lankan Military in modern warfare. He has got his priorities wrong.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 16 September 2022

Photo: Pope Francis addressing the Inter-religious conference in Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan. Credit: Katsuhiro Asagiri | Multimedia Director

Religious Leaders Gather to Find Ways to Heal a Wounded World

By Kalinga Seneviratne

NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan (IDN) — "The whole world is experiencing the ongoing impact of the pandemic, conflicts, sanctions, climatic change and other global issues. We all see the increase in geopolitical tensions and conflicts across the globe," said Maulen Ashimbayev, head of the Secretariat of the 7th Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions on September 13. He was addressing a meeting of the Secretariat.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Central Asia; 14 September 2022

Photo: Former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milošević addressing the crowd at Gazimestan, Kosovo, 28 June 1989. Source: View East

Looking Back at Yugoslavia with a Critical Eye

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Serbia and Kosovo are at it again. The fragmentation of ex-Yugoslavia appears to be a story without end. Serbia is rejecting US and EU demands to recognize the independence of Kosovo. Belgrade argues that historically Kosovo is a province of Serbia. The ethnic Albanian citizens insist on Kosovo being independent, walking in the footsteps of Bosnia, Macedonia, Slovenia and Croatia.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 13 September 2022

The Culture of Peace Bolsters the Potential for Sustainable Peacebuilding

By Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury

Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury is the Founder of the Global Movement for The Culture of Peace (GMCoP), Permanent Representative of Bangladesh (1996-2001) and Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the United Nations (2002-2007).

NEW YORK (IDN) — 23 years ago today, on 13 September 1999, the United Nations adopted the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace, a monumental document that transcends boundaries, cultures, societies, and nations. It was an honor for me to Chair the nine-month long negotiations that led to the adoption of this historic norm-setting document by the United Nations General Assembly.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 13 September 2022

Photo: A project funded by UNDEF in The Gambia works to enhance Media-Government Relations to Improve Legal Environment for Freedom of Expression. Credit: Gambia Press Union

Is Corruption Among the Leading Force of Governance in Africa?

Viewpoint by Rev. Gabriel Odima*

MINNESOTA USA (IDN) — When electoral fraud began to replace the ballot as means to install rulers like the case of Kenya today, corruption, suppression of human rights and freedoms became the leading force of governance in Africa.

In every country where rulers were installed after fraudulent election, the first casualty became the constitution, political parties including its elected parliament. The United Nations Security Council, the international media, human rights organizations and Washington mounted no serious campaign to forestall what has now befallen the people of Kenya.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 12 September 2022

Image: The Peace Tree. Credit: Kulanshi Art Gallery’s press service. Source: The Astana Times.

World Religious Leaders to Discuss Creative Initiatives in Kazakh Capital

By Saniya Bulatkulova

This article was published in The Astana Times

NUR-SULTAN (IDN) — The five-meter-tall Peace Tree will be built at the capital’s Palace of Peace and Reconciliation as a symbol of the upcoming seventh Congress of World and Traditional Religions, scheduled for September 14-15, reports Khabar TV channel.

The tree reflects the congress concept: the roots represent people’s history, the trunk represents universal human values, and the branches represent the multilateral development of inter-ethnic relations.

: Asia Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 11 September 2022

Image: The Astana Times. Credit: Press Service of the Congress

Congress of World and Traditional Religious Leaders to Address Social Status of Women

Staff Report in The Astana Times

NUR-SULTAN (IDN) — The seventh Congress of World and Traditional Religious Leaders, scheduled for September 14–15, will hold a special session devoted to the social status of women for the first time in the congress’s 20-year history, reported the congress’s press service on September 8.

The congress will focus on the role of leaders of the world and traditional religions in mankind’s spiritual and social development in the post-pandemic period.

: Asia Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 10 September 2022

Culture of Peace: An Answer to Intolerance, Hatred, Conflicts & Terrorism

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – A High-Level Forum on the Culture of Peace, which took place on September 6, had an explicit message to the world at large.

The Forum underlined the importance of peace at a time when Ukraine, a sovereign nation-state, is being annihilated by Russia, one of the world’s major nuclear powers and a permanent member of the Security Council.