MANIFESTO 2000 FOR A CULTURE OF PEACE
AND NON-VIOLENCE
[To encourage people to sign this Manifesto 2000
they wrote: Your signature, with those of many Nobel Peace Prize
winners and heads of state, will be part of the one hundred million
signatures to be presented to the United Nations General Assembly
in September 2000].
Paris, March 4 1999 {No.99-38} - The "Manifesto 2000 for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence," produced by a group of Nobel Peace Prize laureates - with the help of UNESCO, within the framework of preparations for the International Year for the Culture of Peace - in the year 2000 - was launched publicly in Paris today by Nobel Peace Prize laureates Mairead Corrigan Maguire (Northern Ireland), Rigoberta Menchú Tum (Guatemala) and Adolfo Pérez Esquivel (Argentina) in the presence of UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor and numerous personalities.
The Manifesto is addressed to individuals and to civil society.
It is to raise awareness among people around the world who, in
signing the Manifesto, will commit themselves to adhere to the
values of peace, tolerance and solidarity and undertake to translate
the values, attitudes and modes of behaviour which underpin the
culture of peace into daily action.
UNESCO, as the United Nations system co-ordinator for the preparation
of the International Year for the Culture of Peace, has undertaken
to disseminate the Manifesto 2000 all over the world. It is also
launching a solemn appeal to all organisations, institutions
and governments to adhere to the Manifesto. The aim of this undertaking
is to collect 100 million signatures by the time of the United
Nations millennium General Assembly in September 2000.
Here is the full text of the Manifesto:
The year 2000 must be a new beginning for us all. Together we
can transform the culture of war and violence into a culture
of peace and non-violence. This demands the participation of
everyone. It gives young people and future generations values
that can inspire them to shape a world of dignity and harmony,
a world of justice, solidarity, liberty and prosperity. The culture
of peace makes possible sustainable development, protection of
the environment and the personal fulfilment of each human being.
Recognizing my share of responsibility for the future of humanity,
especially for today's children and those of future generations,
I pledge - in my daily life, in my family, my work, my community,
my country and my region - to:
1. respect the life and dignity of every person without discrimination
or prejudice;
2. practise active non-violence, rejecting violence in all its
forms: physical, sexual, psychological, economical and social,
in particular towards the most deprived and vulnerable such as
children and adolescents;
3. share my time and material resources in a spirit of generosity
to put an end to exclusion, injustice and political and economic
oppression;
4. defend freedom of expression and cultural diversity, giving
preference always to dialogue and listening rather than fanaticism,
defamation and the rejection of others;
5. promote consumer behaviour that is responsible and development
practices that respect all forms of life and preserve the balance
of nature on the planet;
6. contribute to the development of my community, with the full
participation of women and respect for democratic principles,
in order to create together new forms of solidarity.
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The Manifesto 2000 on the Internet: http://www.unesco.org/opi/eng/unescopress/www.unesco.org/manifesto2000
INTERNATIONAL YEAR FOR THE CULTURE OF PEACE UNESCO 7, place de Fontenoy - F-75352 Paris 07 SP - FRANCE
- The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the year 2000
"International Year for the Culture of Peace." A group
of Nobel Prize Peace Laureates produced the Manifesto 2000 on
the occasion of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
All the signatures affixed to MANIFESTO 2000 will be presented to the General Assembly of the United Nations for the millennium in September 2000.- (source: http://www.unesco.org/opi/eng/unescopress/99-38e.htm)
Back to the Newsletter Back to World Church Index - (source: http://www.unesco.org/opi/eng/unescopress/99-38e.htm)