The United Nations General Assembly recently adopted through consensus a
resolution based on proposals offered by the Iranian President Hassan
Rouhani who called for a World Against Violence and Extremism. During his
first address to [the 68th annual session of the UN] General Assembly,
Rouhani warned the world against various risks arising from the spread of
war and extremism. He added that new horizons should be opened to humanity
in order to help peace overcome war, justice prevail over injustice,
freedom overcome dictatorship and progress get ahead of backwardness. In
order to help the world achieve these remarkable goals, he proposed that
the General Assembly should take practical measures against violence and
extremism. As a result, the General Assembly adopted a resolution on
December 18, 2013, which was considered a suitable response to the warning
and call of the Iranian president. After the UN General Assembly adopted a
resolution on the basis of Iran’s proposal for the promotion of dialog
among civilizations – as a result of which the year 2001 was named the
year of dialog among civilizations – this was the second time that the
world body has adopted a resolution proposed by an Iranian president. This
time around, however, the theme is to promote a global fight against
violence and extremism.
By Gholamali Khoshroo, Senior Editor and vice president of the Encyclopedia of Contemporary Islam
A careful review of the world history will reveal that war and violence
have been regular associates of human societies and there have been many
occasions when conflicts and bloodshed have pushed human life to the brink
of annihilation and doom. Divine prophets as well as great philosophers
and thinkers have endeavored a lot throughout the human history to
eradicate aggression and tyranny. Despite those efforts, human thirst for
power and shortsighted benefits has regularly caused human societies to
fall prey to the nightmare of destructive wars.
Peace is the opposite of war. It has its roots in respect for human rights
and attention to their dignity and freedom. Therefore, for the peace to
establish, tolerance and patience in addition to interaction, friendship
and mutual respect are considered as requisites. To let other people’s
voices be heard, and engaging in constructive and equal dialog are among
prerequisites for the establishment of global peace. Differences and
variations are necessities of human life. However, the important point is
respectful interaction and promotion of dialog among human beings through
which the existing differences will give birth to blessings, instead of
being sources of conflict and differences. The aforesaid General Assembly
resolution has paid special attention to four main topics:
1. To renounce and condemn all measures which originate from the culture
of tyranny, dictatorship and extremism. Such measures, inter alia,
include:
a. The use or threat of force against territorial integrity and political
independence of nations;
b. Condemnation of any form of assault against cultural and religious
places and the massacre of civilians, including women and children; c.
Condemnation of any effort made to foster ethnic, racial and religious
hatred, which will lead to discrimination, hostility and violence; d.
Condemnation of all types of terrorist activities and violent behavior in
any form and under any excuse.
2. Strengthening and support for measures taken to control violence and
protect dignity and freedom of mankind. As a result, the General Assembly
resolution, which is based on Iran’s proposals:
a. Reaffirms the need for taking steps to pave the way for the promotion
of dialog among civilizations, religions and groups while showing respect
for freedom of speech;
b. Stresses the importance of tolerance in cultural and social life of
humans and the necessity of understanding each other and promoting
bilateral respect;
c. Stresses the importance of fighting all forms of discrimination against
women and providing support for women’s rights in all areas, and
preventing discrimination and injustice against them;
d. Highlights the necessity of promoting a culture of reform and
moderation in the areas of social and political relations; and
e. Underlines the necessity of protecting basic human rights at all levels
and forms, especially the human right to live in peace and dignity.
3. The resolution has also considered mechanisms for the achievement of
the aforesaid goals, which include:
a. Taking a comprehensive and nonselective approach to all human societies
and adopting non-discriminatory measures toward different cultures,
religions and communities;
b. Promoting dialog among people on the basic factors that promote
extremism as well as on the cultural and economic causes of violence; c.
Promoting public awareness and dissemination of general information on the
importance of tolerance and human rights in the political and social life
of humans; and
d. Eradication of poverty, reduction of inequalities, and paying more
attention to economic and social developments.
4. In addition to highlighting the role of states and international
organizations in fighting extremism and violence, the resolution has also
put special emphasis on the unique role of the civil society and
nongovernmental organizations. In addition, it stresses role of the mass
media in depicting the true picture of cultures, nations and religions as
being of special importance. The Secretary-General of the United Nations
[Ban Ki-moon] has been required to present a report on the implementation
of this resolution to the next annual meeting of the General Assembly and
also to help countries achieve the goals specified in the resolution.
The adoption of this resolution is important in that despite efforts made
by warmongering extremists, it will help the name of Iran to shine again
as a country whose main goal is to promote friendship and fight violence
and extremism across the world. Promotion of peace and achievement of
sustainable development as well as bolstering Iran’s international
standing and protecting the rights of its people call for the creation of
a suitable international atmosphere. To do this, Iran should introduce
itself as a practical supporter of tolerance and dialog and a pioneer in
fighting extremism and violence. The conflagration caused by ethnic
violence is raging through the Middle East region. Therefore, Iran
shoulders a heavy responsibility in this regard as it should play a
constructive and effective part in putting out this devastating blaze.
For original see:
http://www.iranreview.org/
