newyork/ information office /20 December2016/ The State of Qatar has stressed its commitment to support all efforts aimed at strengthening dialogue and cooperation between cultures and religions, and encouraging a culture of peace in order to ensure a better future for coming generations in the community and all peoples of the entire world.
Qatar stressed at the same time that the consolidation of peace within societies and between peoples needs a favorable environment and conditions, noting to the important and pivotal role played by the UN Alliance of Civilizations in promoting a culture of peace, dialogue and understanding between cultures and religions.
This came in a statement of the State of Qatar in the United Nations General Assembly plenary meeting in New York on "Culture of Peace", delivered by Al Anoud Al Tamimi, third secretary at the Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar to the United Nations.
She pointed to the role played by the United Nations and Member States to provide an environment that fosters and ensure respect for the legitimate rights of peoples and their dignity, and to provide the requirements of sustainable development to the communities, as outlined in the Sustainable Development Plan "There can be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development." She further emphasised on the important and pivotal role played by the UN Alliance of Civilizations in promoting a culture of peace, dialogue and understanding between cultures and religions, stressing the importance of the continued support of the Member States for the activities and programs of the Alliance, which directly contribute to the promotion of a culture of peace and the promotion of a constructive positive relationships between peoples and nations of different races and religions, noting that the State of Qatar was one of the first countries that supported the alliance.
Al Anoud Al Tamimi indicated that the inclusion of the concept of a culture of peace within the sustainable development goals for 2030, specifically goal no. (16), is an important step to achieve peace and justice for all the peoples of the world, adding that the State of Qatar attaches great importance to this goal.
She also said that Qatar believes in the importance of strengthening communities with peace and justice and attaches importance to strengthening the participation of all segments of society in the process of national development, especially the younger generation.
In the same context, she pointed out that Qatar, in collaboration with a group of countries, is working through "goal 16" to support the Member States in their efforts to achieve this goal by strengthening the reporting of the achievements and challenges faced by states during the implementation process, in order to encourage them to continue.
Moreover, Al Anoud Al Tamimi said that Qatar shares the United Nations to focus on conflict prevention and mediation, through the adoption of a policy aimed at preventing armed conflicts and solving them by peaceful means, as Qatar made significant efforts to resolve disputes through mediation at the request of involved parties, based on the UN Charter.
Regarding the international efforts to combat violent extremism and terrorism, which threaten peace and security in all parts of the world, Al Anoud said that the State of Qatar adopts an approach based on cooperation and addressing root causes that lead to violent extremism, especially among youth, through paying attention to education, building capacity, empowering local communities, providing employment and training opportunities as well as enhancing the economy in addition to encouraging dialogue, embracing tolerance values, fighting against extremism and rejecting sectarian or ethnic discrimination.
Al Anoud explained that due to the negative and dangerous impacts of violent extremism on the minds of children and youth, the State of Qatar, in cooperation with the President of 70th UN General Assembly Session organized the High Level Thematic Conversation on protecting children and youth affected by violent extremism, held in June 2016 in which the State of Qatar's support were announced for the joint venture between the Qatari institution Silatech and the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force which aims at enhancing the capacity of youth in the Arab region and protect them from extremism.
Qatar attaches great importance to enhance and support education, Al Anoud said adding that Qatar launched and supported many educational initiatives at the national, regional and international level, especially in areas suffering from conflicts and wars. The latest of these initiatives are Qatar Upholding Education for Syrians' Trust (QUEST), Educate A Child, Education Above All and World Innovation Summit for Education - WISE.
Al Anoud further added that in the framework of the state of Qatar's commitment to achieve Qatar National Vision 2030, which aspires to intensify and strengthen cultural exchanges with people and to support civilizations dialogue and coexistence between different religions and cultures, in addition to contribute in achieving international peace and security, the State of Qatar harnessed its resources to establish national institutions involved in spreading culture of peace, accepting others, fighting against extremism, and renouncing violence.
She pointed out that among these institutions is Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue, which contributes to push efforts at the international level to combat extremism and hate, build bridges of cooperation and understanding between followers of different religions.
Another institution is Hamad bin Khalifa Islamic Centre in Copenhagen, Denmark that aims to support international efforts to enhance peaceful coexistence between religions.