World Female Leaders Urge for Implementation of International Law for Peace and Cessation of War
Seoul, 20 Dhulhijjah 1437/22 September 2016 (MINA) — Amid heightened tensions in the international community due to armed conflicts and terror attacks in multiple regions, world female leaders convened in Seoul, Monday, urged the international community for an international legal measures for peace and the cessation of war to pave the way for global peace and a reunified Korean Peninsula.
In a statement, echoing this movement, The International Women’s Peace Group (IWPG, Chairwoman Nam Hee Kim) urged for the implementation of an international law for peace and cessation of war during its 2016 IWPG Network Forum held in the Grand Ballroom of Hotel Grand Intercontinental Seoul on September 19 to mark the 2nd Annual Commemoration of the WARP Summit.
Themed The Role of 3.6 Billion Women in Realizing Peace and Cessation of War, the Forum was joined by approximately 900 female leaders from home and abroad and 100 female university students representing the leaders of the next generation.
Among some 900 female leaders at the Forum were Teiraeng Maamau, First Lady of Kiribati; Awut Deng Acuil, the Minister of Gender, Child and Social Welfare of the Republic of South Sudan; and Anna Cervenakova, a human rights lawyer at the Czech Helsinki Committee.
The Forum was held to take a leap forward for peace by promoting the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW), announced on March 14 under the initiative of HWPL (Heavenly Culture, World Peace, and Restoration of Light) and working for its adoption at the UN and its development as an enforceable international legal instrument.
In her remarks, Nam Hee Kim the Chairwoman of the IWPG said as she greeted the participants, “the UN and the entire international community must expand the role of women in building peace and security,” and noted that the key factors that form the backbone of the SDGs, with 2030 as the target year, are embodied in the DPCW (the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War).
She also remarked that the best measure for women to protect women themselves is to urge for the adoption of the DPCW and the implementation of international law for peace and cessation of war.
Speakers at the 2016 IWPG Network Forum were Man Hee Lee, Chairman of HWPL; Edita Tahiri, Incumbent Minister for Dialogue of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo; Lee Yunsook, Former Minister of Political Affairs II (Women’s Affairs) of the Republic of Korea; and Leokadiia Gerasymenko, President of Women’s Union of Ukraine.
HWPL Chairman Man Hee Lee said in his speech, “[Women gathered here] must be the key to peace and open the hearts of the 3.6 billion women worldwide,” and added, “once you go home, please talk to your political leaders and urge them to support the implementation of international law for peace and cessation of war.”
Edita Tahiri, Minister for Dialogue of the Government of Kosovo, remarked, “For those like us who never again want to see war and genocide against their people, peace has a very special meaning,” as she invited the audience to take an active role in putting an end to the history of wars and open an era of peace.
Lee Yunsook, Former Minister of Women’s Affairs of Korea, shared her family story of separation by war and urged for the adoption of the DPCW at the UN for its implementation as part of international law for everyone who is suffering because of war as she did.
Leokadiia Gerasymenko, President of Women’s Union of Ukraine, reported on the current state of women and children afflicted by war in Ukraine and stressed that “the implementation of international law based on the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War is a must for the UN.”
Peace committee
Following the Forum, 109 women from 16 countries were appointed to the IWPG Peace Committee. The Committee is to promote IWPG peace movements and galvanize support from female communities in respective refions for the DPCW and its adoption as an international legal instrument.
The IWPG is a non-profit peace NGO which has 200 branches worldwide collaborating with approximately 100 affiliate groups in its peace works.
The IWPG is a non-profit, non-governmental international organization for peace that has 200 branches around the globe and 100 affiliated groups.
It is currently working with the International Peace Youth Group (IPYG) and leading campaigns to support the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War, initiated and proclaimed by HWPL on March 14, and is pushing for the Declaration’s development into a legal binding international measure recognized by the UN. (L/R05/R07)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
