Peace is beyond Words

Dong Huy Cuong,

?

Peace is beyond Words

Dong Huy Cuong,

Secretary General of Vietnam Peace Committee, Vietnam

Distinguished guests,

Dear Comrades and friends,

I am very happy to be here for the second time at the Commemorative Event for the International Day of Peace 2018. I would like to thank the Chinese People’s Association for Peace and Disarmament (CPAPD) for the great efforts you have put in organizing this event and the generous hospitality you offer as well as for giving me a chance to speak here today.

Please allow me to convey to all of you here the warmest greetings from the Vietnam Peace Committee and Vietnamese people.

I would like to highly appreciate the initiative of CPAPD and Chinese people’s organisations to organize this meaningful event. I strongly believe that the event will be a good chance to honor the value of peace and discuss ways to maintain peace, thus contributing to building peace for people from every corner of the world.

Comrades and friends,

Peace, as we know, is of great significance to the world, to every country, every society, every community, and every single person. The importance of peace is beyond words. Building peace is one of United Nations’ priorities, as affirmed in its SDG16 (Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels). Peace is the foundation for social development and a fundamental human right which allows people to enjoy their own rights and pursue their own dreams.

Having experienced prolonged wars, Vietnamese people do understand the value of peace. More than 40 years since the war ended, peace seems to be a dream that we have yet to have. There are still millions of war victims, especially victims of Agent Orange still suffering agony pain. In addition, there are still people being killed by unexploded bombs and mines in all parts of the country and this problem may take us hundreds of years to address. That is why Vietnamese people in general and Vietnam peace movement in particular have spared no effort to promote the value of peace, as well as joining hands with peace movements in the world to contribute to building and maintaining peace.

Comrades and friends,

I am quite happy that since the last time I attended this event in 2016, the world has seen signs of positive changes with the adoption of the legally-binding Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the recent developments in the Korean Peninsula. I am sure that all people’s organizations worldwide, including CPAPD and other Chinese organizations have been making great efforts to contribute to such positive changes.

However, the situation in the world remains complicated. President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, terrorism, religious fundamentalism, populism, separatism, xenophobia, the refugee crisis, the rise of the far right wing, as well as growing tension resulting from conflicts and disputes in ‘hot spots’ continue to evolve in complex and dangerous ways that negatively impact people, communities and states and lead to multiple threats, insecurities and violent conflicts in the world.

Last but not least, the modern lifestyle is another threat to peace. Nowadays, people are doing things to destroy our Mother Earth. Many people put “profit”, “money” very high in their priority list, even before health, love, family, friends and other moral values. They ignore the harms they can cause as they are earning money.

Comrades and friends,

I am very happy to attend this meaningful event, where people’s organisations worldwide can sit together to discuss ways to build and maintain peace in the world. I would like to make some comments and recommendations for people’s organisation worldwide, who wish to make greater contributions to building peace.

First, I would like to echo CPAPD’s effort to strengthen our peace network to create synergies in the struggle against all threats to peace, as emphasized in the theme of this event: “Work together to Build a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind and a World of Lasting Peace and Universal Security”.

Second, I would like to propose we strengthen peace education. As a famous saying by Gautama Buddha that “Peace comes from within” and Mahatma Gandhi that “if we want to reach real peace in the world, we should start educating children”, it is a must that we educate our people of a peace culture. It will encourage people to live in harmony with each other, with the nature and it is also a way we remove the “terrorist ideology” from our society.

Third, I would recommend that we work closely together to deal with differences and conflicts in the spirit of mutual respect and solidarity and in compliance with international law. Peace is not only the absence of conflicts but also the way we handle conflicts in peaceful means for the common goal of building peace.

May I wish for an enormously fruitful event, for a beautiful world of peace, and for the good health and happiness for all of you.

Thank you for your attention.