International Day of Human Fraternity: Dialogue, peace, tolerance, still the best way forward – Ekweremadu

*Says justice best way to guarantee peace

Former Deputy President of the Senate and member representing Nigeria at the International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace (IPTP), Senator Ike Ekweremadu, says dialogue, peace-building, and tolerance, remain the best way forward in addressing divisiveness and building global cohesion for accelerated international development.

The former Speaker of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS Parliament, stated this, Thursday, on the sidelines of the meeting of the Bureau of the IPTC and President of the United Arab Emirate’s (UAE) national parliament, the Federal National Council, Saqr Ghobash, in Dubai.

The meeting, came on the second anniversary of the “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together”, a joint statement signed by Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, on February 4, 2019.

Ekweremadu, who described hate, intolerance, racial and ethno-religious discriminations and strife as ill-wind that had never favoured anyone, observed that countries of the world desirous of building a great nation had always prioritised justice and tolerance to manage their diversities and make progress.

“Therefore, the International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace will continue to promote the virtues of peace, tolerance, dialogue and consensus building. Importantly, we will also continue to promote the principle of justice because you can never have real peace without justice. We will continue to promote a world where every nation treats her people equitably and where the world treats every part thereof with utmost sense of fairness irrespective of race, region or religion”, the lawmaker said.

In the same vein, the President of the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace, GCTP, the mother body of the 75-nation specialised Parliament, Dr. Ahmed Al Jarwan, described the Document of Human Fraternity as  “a global and historical reference for peaceful coexistence”. He reiterated the commitment of the global body to the cause of global peace and stability.

“The International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace has signed a large number of cooperation and joint work agreements with national parliaments around the world to promote the values of tolerance, peace, tolerance, and security around the world.

“The Global Council for Tolerance and Peace on its part remains concerned with uniting efforts to spread these values through the educational and media systems and is also establishing programmes in tolerance and peace to be taught in various universities around the world. We believe in the importance of education and the great role of the media in achieving the goals of tolerance and peace”, he stated.

In his address, President of the UAE national parliament, Saqr Ghobash, reiterated the commitment of the country to supporting the spread of the values of tolerance and peace, which he said were the values upon which the UAE was built.

Also on the delegation was the President of the International parliament for Tolerance and Peace, Senator Walberto Allende, of the national parliament of Argentina.