Ashraf AboArfe
His Excellency KSA/ Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s permanent representative to the United Nations Ambassador Abdullah bin Yahya Al-Muallami affirmed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has always been at the forefront of countries towards promoting a culture of peace, stressing that the Kingdom, as an active member of the United Nations, spares no effort to promote respect and coexistence. Between people and play the role of mediator to settle disputes by peaceful means.
This came in the Kingdom’s speech delivered by His Excellency yesterday during the virtual celebration organized by the permanent delegation of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United Nations on the occasion of the second celebration of the World Day of Conscience.
His Excellency stated that this celebration comes at a time when the world needs to reinforce the values of peace and tolerance and strengthen the bonds of humanity, those values and bonds that are based on the foundations of mutual respect that are indispensable, at a time when the world is suffering from the escalation of conflicts and the growing of hate speech. And the forces of evil and extremism that threaten security and stability.
His Excellency indicated that the first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “all people are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and they must treat each other in a spirit of brotherhood,” indicating that it must be emphasized that the conscience of humanity is What makes peoples and nations equal in rights and dignity, as while peace is the essence of humanity, conscience is what leads people to confront evil practices.
His Excellency Ambassador Al-Muallami pointed out that in the absence of full commitment to the principles of international law and the United Nations Charter, the risk of escalating security threats, growing hate speech and extremist ideologies, and terrorist attacks on religious sites will keep us from achieving the main goal of the United Nations in the maintenance of international peace and security. .
He stated that what makes people and societies interconnected with each other is the human conscience that works to strengthen the bonds of human relations, and is based on a number of principles and values, the most important of which are “the principle of mutual respect, the principle of coexistence and acceptance of the other, the principle of justice, equality and preserving human dignity.”
He said: We affirm the importance of strengthening international pluralism and joint action on the basis of mutual respect to face the growing geopolitical challenges and the growing threat of hate speech and extremist threats, and that work must be done to strengthen the work of the United Nations system, which was established with the aim of “saving future generations from the scourge of wars.” And strengthening the pivotal role that the United Nations and its entities and agencies play in promoting peace and supporting vulnerable groups around the world, and enhancing their responsibility towards strengthening the bonds of cooperation between member states. Therefore, the United Nations and its entities bear a great responsibility towards strengthening this cooperation and organizing international relations.
His Excellency added: We must also work through the commitment of member states to fulfill their responsibility to promote a culture of peace based on love and human conscience, and international relations must seek to spread the values of peace and promote sustainable development, including by working with societies and other relevant actors. , The development of reconciliation measures and the encouragement of understanding between individuals and societies.
He stressed that it must be realized that without recognition of the values of coexistence and co-operation, the balance will be disturbed and the world will slide into an ideological struggle among them.
Al-Mouallami reiterated his affirmation that the Kingdom is a pioneering force in promoting dialogue between civilizations and cultures, indicating that the United Nations recognized these efforts through its adoption of the Kingdom’s initiative represented in: “Promoting a culture of peace and tolerance to protect religious places”, which highlights the importance of spreading a culture of peace And the values of tolerance, countering hate speech, and protecting places of worship from extremist attacks.
He said: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is proud of its prominent role in combating terrorism, extremism and intolerance, and as we are aware of our responsibility in combating terrorism as a major player in the international system, we aim to strengthen dialogue between followers of religions and stand against all extremist ideologies and terrorist attacks that seek to destabilize The security of our region and our world.
He added: The belief in basic human rights, its dignity and values, and the belief in equal rights between men and women and equality between large and small countries, including the creation of conditions where justice and fairness prevail, requires us to consecrate a culture of peace on the foundations stipulated in the United Nations Charter. We also affirm the promotion of harmony and tolerance and reaffirm the principles of mutual respect that contribute greatly to stability and peace.
His Excellency concluded his speech by stressing that the International Day of Conscience constitutes an effective means to mobilize the efforts of the international community to promote peace, tolerance, integration, understanding and solidarity in order to build a sustainable world where peace, solidarity and harmony prevail.
