Supplied Content (Edited)
Auckland, June 8, 2019
A Peace Walk in Auckland has attracted worldwide attention, signalling the need for peace and harmony among communities.
Organised by Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL) in East Auckland on May 26, 2019, the Peace Walk marked the Sixth Annual Commemoration of the Declaration of World Peace and the Peace Walk.
HWPL is an international peace NGO affiliated with the UN ECOSOC and the UN DGC; and the International Peace Youth Group (IPYG).
Events celebrating the annual event were held around the world in 126 centres in 77 countries, including New Zealand, Australia, India, China, Germany, Russia, South Africa, the Philippines, and United States of America.
The Christchurch massacre
With the New Zealand theme of ‘We are One,’ youth groups, cultural performance groups, religious groups and members of the public gathered in Auckland to celebrate the many diverse cultures and religions of the city.
In light of the recent tragic events in Christchurch, the aim of the event was to focus on the priority of achieving a peaceful culture in our communities through the DPCW.
The highlight of the event was the Peace Walk around Lloyd Elsmore Park in Pakuranga, where citizens with diverse backgrounds wearing cultural dress and holding national flags, gathered and walked together for peace.
New Zealanders joined with the global community in huge numbers across the world, to walk and urge for peace and harmony for all.
Messengers of Peace
The global theme of the event was “The World’s Call for Peace, Urging Support for the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW).”
When the Declaration of Peace was first proclaimed on May 25, 2013, the Peace Walk of global citizens was initiated with the slogan “Let every person in this world become a messenger of peace.” Since then, the Peace Walk has been carried out simultaneously in various places all over the world in May each year to promote the role and participation of people in the international community for the achievement of peace and spreading a culture of peace.
The Walk in Seoul
In South Korea, more than 150,000 people took part in the ‘Peace Letter Campaign’ to call for the support of the DPCW to develop it into a legally binding document.
The DPCW, the legal instrument created as a result of the original Declaration of World Peace, addresses principles of conflict resolution and international cooperation for peacebuilding, such as the respect for international law, peaceful dispute settlement, and spreading a culture of peace.
HWPL Chairman Man Hee Lee spoke of the significance of the DPCW.
“The DPCW that permeates the will of global citizens, asks the global community to become one under peace, with respect, for mutual coexistence. This Declaration advocates that everyone cooperate for building peace so that there will be no more production of weapons which kill, and no more invasions of other countries. As the national leaders support the 10 articles and 38 clauses of the DPCW, and religions harmonize for peace, the global community can take the road to peace,” he said.
Peace Letter Campaign
International Peace Youth Group General Director Young Min Chung. Who is leading the ‘Peace Letter Campaign’ worldwide, said, “Many people are taking part in this work and have found confidence in the DPCW, knowing that this hope of peace can be realised for sure. The DPCW has principles for prevention of conflicts, dispute settlement, and maintenance of a world of peace. In addition, it gives practical solutions allowing the possibility of realisation. It has been only three years since the DPCW was proclaimed, but we have gathered a lot of support at the national level as well as support from the citizens all across the globe.”
Ghana’s Ambassador to South Korea Difie Agyarko Kusi, encouraged the active participation of the civil society for the enactment of the DPCW.
“I can’t think of any one region in the world where there isn’t some conflict playing out or erupting. We should all, therefore, be grateful to HWPL for being in the forefront of the crusade to ‘construct the defences of peace in the minds of men’ with their push for the adoption of the DPCW by the international community,” she said.
