Building a Community with a Shared Future for Humankind and Pioneering a New Era of World Peace

Liu Cheng, Director

?

Building a Community with a Shared Future for Humankind and Pioneering a New Era of World Peace

Liu Cheng, Director

Institute of International Peace Studies, Nanjing University

The United Nations General Assembly has set 21 September as the International Day of Peace every year to be observed by all member countries. Maintaining world peace and security is the original intention and primary mission of the United Nations and the common aspiration of mankind. The theme of this year's International Day of Peace is "The Right to Peace - the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 70". The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.These elements have laid the foundation for freedom, justice and peace in the world. On 28 December 2016, the UN General Assembly adopted the draft resolution ofthe Declaration on the Right to Peace, emphasizing that peace is an important condition for the promotion and protection of all human rights for everyone. In his speech before the International Day of Peace this year, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pointed out that peace can take root only when people are free from hunger, poverty, oppression and prosperity. Nevertheless, we are still in an era full of challenges, and in some places for some people, peace is still very far away.

A peaceful society is one in which everyone is equal and everyone can obtain justice. Peace will shape a sustainable environment, which will also help promote peace. We need not only a peace without war, but to build also a positive peace, which means that everyone in the world has a happy and dignified peaceful life. To this end, we must spare no effort to reduce the harm to mankind caused by war and other direct violence, and to eliminate the suffering caused by poverty, hunger, disease, gender inequality, environmental damage, social injustice and discrimination, etc. so as to achieve a comprehensive, lasting and genuine peace and create a harmonious and symbiotic global environment.

This vision of peace is the greatest and most challenging human project, requiring sustained efforts and unremitting exploration by the whole mankind. As Chinese President Xi Jinping said in his speech at UNESCO headquarters: Through cross-border, cross-space, cross-civilization educational, science and technological and cultural activities, let the seeds of the peace concept take root in the minds of the people of the world and let the planet we live together produce one peaceful forest after another. We advocate: The first is to achieve direct and positive peace. Care for the basic needs, survival, happiness, freedom and identity of all peoples is beneficial to the body, mind and soul of oneself and others. The second is to achieve strucutred positive peace. Equality replaces deprivation and freedom replaces oppression. The way to realize this substitution is dialogue in stead of infiltration, integration in stead of division, unity in stead of isolation, participation in stead of marginalization. The third is to achieve positive peace culturally. To replace the legitimacy of violence with the legitimacy of peace, to promote the construction of a community with a shared future for humankind and open up rather than inhibit the different tendencies and talents of human beings.

Peace means a revolutionary change, a win-win cooperation system and a sustainable development concept. In today's globalization, interdependent international power view, common interests view, sustainable development view and global governance concept connect the "circle of friends" that covers the whole world. Peace is the direction people hope for and is a forward-moving trend. Peacemaking, peacemaintaining, peace- building and a peace culture advocating are increasingly becoming the major agenda for innovative consideration and declaration of peace for vigorous action of various countries and international organizations.

Chinese civilization advocates "harmony always precious". In the face of today's world situation, since the eighteen CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping puts forward an important idea of "building a community with a shared future for humankind" and the Belt and Road Initiative as well as its practice, the core of which is "building a beautiful world with lasting peace, universal security, common prosperity, openness and inclusiveness. China is demonstrating to the world with concrete actions its will and determination to unswervingly take the road of peaceful development and to work hand in hand with various countries in the world to safeguard peace.

Nanjing is a peace-loving city, but it also suffered the destruction of the most brutal war in the 20th century. The painful traumatic memory of the war has made Nanjing people more aware of the value of peace. The history of suffering must be kept in mind and the pursuit of peace is the best commemoration. Ever since, Nanjing has adhered to the concept of peaceful urban development, and its government unites with universities, society and citizens to carry out peace research, education and activities at various levels, in multi-dimensions and multi-fields. History shows that peace can only last on the basis of the non-violent conflicts-resolution; peace is a creative transformation of conflicts through the joint efforts of all of us; peace is essentially a thought and force of mutual respect, mutual understanding, mutual need and mutual support. In this sense, we commemorate the International Day of Peace precisely to promote such thought and force.

Nanjing is a globally recognized international city of peace. Nanjing University is the center of peace studies in China, with the only "UNESCO Chair for Peace Studies" in China. Nanjing has set up new think tanks and educational research institutes such as the Nanjing Institute of Massacre History and International Peace and the Institute of Peace Studies, which hold domestic and international actvities such as international forums, seminars, Sino-Japanese Peace Dialogue and Summer Camp with the theme of peace all the year round, actively promote the construction of Peace Memorials and parks, and so on. Promoting the concept of peace among people particularly among young people has made positive contributions to advocating and practicing peace.

The Chinese people love peace, yearn for peace and cherish peace. We should sow the seeds of peace, work with people all over the world to build a community with a shared future for humankind and pioneer a new era of world peace.

(Edited excerpt of the paper to the observant event in Nanjing 2018)