Taiping Peace Declaration
Participants from ten countries in Asia and Pacific attending the International Seminar on Making Cities People Friendly in the PEACE PARK of the historic town of Taiping (which means everlasting peace) in Malaysia on 24 September 2001, adopted the Taiping Declaration on the Culture of Peace. In the Declaration, the participants stated the following:
- Express our shock and sadness on the tragic and violent events in New York City and elsewhere and the loss of thousands of innocent lives of peoples of many faiths and from many countries
- Condemn violence and terrorism as a means of settling disputes
- Calls upon the United Nations, governments and all peoples of the world to strengthen their resolve for peace and justice by promoting, protecting and supporting strategies and actions to promote a CULTURE OF PEACE which includes the following:
- Respect All Life - Respect the life and dignity of each human being without discrimination or prejudice.
- Reject Violence - 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.
- Share With Others - Share our time and material resources in spirit of generosity to put an end to exclusion, injustice and political and economic oppression.
- Listen To Understand - Defend freedom of expression and cultural diversity, giving preference always to dialogue and listening without engaging in fanatism, defamation and rejection of others.
- Preserve The Planet - Promote consumer behaviour that is responsible and development practices that respect all forms of life and preserve the balance of nature on the planet.
- Rediscover Solidarity - Contribute to the development of our community, with the full participation of women and respect for democratic principles, in order to create together new forms of solidarity.
- Calls on the United Nations, peace loving governments and people to set up a World Commission on Peace and Justice to examine the roots of the current proliferation of violence and terrorism and to develop recommendations for action that will support a Culture of Peace.
- Call on all peoples of wisdom and power to spread the following messages from 2 great leaders of peace and non-violence:
We must remember that darkness can never overcome darkness and hatred will never overcome hatred. Only light can pierce darkness, only love can soften hatred, only peace can defeat violence.- Martin Luther King
I object to violence… because when it does appear to do good, the good is only temporary - the evil it does is permanent.- Gandhi