‘We Need Peace’: Global Forum Concludes With Hope And A Plan

By Eileen Travers in Cascais, Portugal

27 November 2024 

“There was a strong call for peace, putting an end to violence and conflict, and calls for diversity and fighting against discrimination,” said the UN Alliance’s High Representative Miguel Ángel Moratinos at the closing session.

The three-day forum drew participants from more than 150 countries, Mr. Moratinos said, also announcing that the 11th Global Forum will be held in Saudi Arabia.

Reflecting on some outcomes, he pointed to the global gathering of young people at its Youth Forum and the adoption of the Cascais Declaration to chart a path forward towards peace while tackling such myriad 21st century challenges as artificial intelligence and chronic spirals of conflict.

“The Cascais Declaration is not just a document. It is the commitment of all of us,” the High Representative said.

Learn more about the UN Alliance of Civilizations and its Global Forum in our explainer here.

What will the Cascais Declaration deliver?

The Cascais Declaration, adopted unanimously on Tuesday, puts forward a set of innovative pledges to forge peace amid current turbulent times.

The 25-paragraph declaration noted, among other things, the potential use of AI as a tool to advance intercultural and inter-religious dialogue and stressed the importance of combatting disinformation, misinformation and hate speech while strengthening information integrity.

It also underscored the importance of intergenerational dialogue for peace, sustainable development and human rights.

Read more about the Cascais Declaration here.

‘Everybody listens to each other’

“Here, everybody listens to each other,” Mr. Moratinos told journalists at a press conference after the Global Forum concluded, commending the wide variety of panels, discussions and events that unfolded with a common spirit of mutual respect.

For many participants, it was a chance to see that up close. Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh Ahluwalia, 85, co-chair of the Peace Charter for Forgiveness and Reconciliation, based in Birmingham, United Kingdom, said it was the first time he ever attended the Global Forum, emphasising that the UN Alliance of Civilizations was founded to create peace, which is “what we need”.

“Only yesterday, I heard the news about a ceasefire [in Israel and Lebanon],” he told UN News. “When you’re talking about peace, vibrations can move out to other places. I was happy. There’s a ceasefire. These killings have to stop.”

More broadly, he wondered what development can occur in places like Gaza without peace, asking “who does not want peace?”

“We live in the same world, we have the same aspirations, we have the same challenges wherever we go,” he said, “and we have to collaborate to have an impact.”

From Cascais to the world

Many participants said they are taking common messages and positive energy shared throughout the forum to their communities across the planet.

Suri Jera, 15, from the Guarani Indigenous Peoples of Piaçagüera in Brazil, was in Cascais to receive recognition for appearing in the documentary tackling xenophobia Mundos Cruzados (Crossed Worlds) at the PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival.

Indeed, racism, discrimination and what she described as an invisibility are daily experiences for her community, she told UN News.

“The United Nations has a voice for people like us who are suffering,” she said. “They put together forums like this one, which are essential to build partnerships.”

‘First ray of hope for peace’, UN chief says

UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who opened the 10th Global Forum, held a media stakeout on Wednesday afternoon with Portugal’s Prime Minister in Lisbon, the capital, explaining that “yesterday, I had an auspicious sign”.

“It was the first ray of hope for peace that I received in the midst of the darkness of recent months, and I received it in Portugal: the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon,” he said.

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