Discrimination persists, stirring global conflicts – envoy

Social conflicts related to race, color, sex and religions often result in historical atrocities around the world, said the permanent representative of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the United Nations.

“Notwithstanding the serious steps taken by many countries to implement their international commitments to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, we still witness a growth of contemporary forms of bigotry and racism,” Ambassador Maged Abdelaziz  said at a press briefing during the three-day Special Non-Aligned Movement Ministerial Meeting (SNAMMM) on Interfaith Dialogue for Peace and Development being held in Manila until today.

The envoy said that solidarity among developing countries becomes a necessity to preserve their interests and realize the aspirations of their peoples for progress and prosperity.

In this regard, Abdelaziz cited the leading role of the Philippines in ensuring international peace and security as the SNAMMM host and the President of the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference.

He said: “Sowing the seeds of a culture of peace among peoples and nations through dialogue is instrumental to cement global efforts toward total elimination of the shadow of war and the perils posed by the continued proliferation and stockpiling of weapons of mass destruction. [This is] only possible through a constructive dialogue that promotes mutual understanding and acceptance of the other as an initial but crucial step to overcome historic rivalries, tensions and mistrust.”

He stressed the importance of curbing “the tides of religious extremism, intolerance and violence that threaten to erode our development gains and destabilize national peace and harmony.”

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo  offered the same view, saying that the universal hope of humankind for peace and development is often dashed by small groups of extremists.

“The purpose [of the SNAMMM] is to overcome extremism by bringing them into the fold to push for peace and development through promotion of interfaith, intercultural, inter-civilization dialogue,” Romulo said in a separate press briefing.

The Philippines has proposed during its hosting of SNAMMM the adoption of the Manila Declaration, which would serve as a blueprint for global peace and development . The declaration will contain measures that member countries of the non-aligned movement (NAM) could adopt concerning education, values formation and training on building interfaith partnerships and a culture of peace, sensitizing media, exchange of best practices, enhancing the role of women in interfaith initiatives, and support for national, regional and global interfaith endeavors that advance Millennium Development Goals.

Manila’s hosting of the SNAMMM has gathered representatives from over 120 countries. The NAM member-countries that sent their foreign ministers include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Guinea, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, Singapore, Sudan, Suriname, Timor Leste and Zimbabwe.–Llanesca T. Panti, Manila Times