UN accepts HRH Premier’s initiative; declares International Day of Conscience

Manama, July 29 (BNA): In a new international achievement, to be added to the achievements of His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, which reflects his standing and appreciation worldwide, the United Nations adopted a draft resolution submitted by the Kingdom of Bahrain on the 5th of April of each year to be an “International Day of Conscience. This comes in response to the outstanding initiative suggested by HRH Premier in order to motivate the international community to resolve conflicts peacefully. The announcement by the United Nations marks a new international achievement for the Kingdom of Bahrain. At the same time, it reaffirms the prestige His Royal Highness the Prime Minister enjoys in recognition of his initiatives and efforts aimed at the promotion of world peace, international solidarity cooperation, and sustainable development. The adoption of the draft resolution is an international recognition of the keenness of Kingdom of Bahrain, under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, to play an active role and a clear contribution to every international effort aimed at advancing humanity, achieving lasting security, stable peace and sustainable development throughout countries of the world. “The adoption of April 5thas an International Day of Conscience is a tool of mobilising the international community's regular efforts to promote peace, tolerance, integration, and understanding in order to build a sustainable world, based on peace, and solidarity and harmony, said the United Nations in the preamble to the resolution adopted by the General Assembly at its 73rdsession in July. The International Organisation called upon all Member States, organisations of the United Nations system, other international and regional organisations, the private sector, civil society and individuals to celebrate this day appropriately, so as to support the building of a culture of peace with love and conscience in accordance with the culture of their local and regional communities. The United Nations urged all Member States to continue promoting a culture of peace with love and conscience in order to help ensure peace and sustainable development, including through working with local communities, by providing services to others and encouraging amnesty and compassion among individuals. The patronage of HRH the Prime Minister of the launch of the International Day of Conscience at the United Nations Headquarters in Vienna in April as the first initiative of its kind as part of the global cooperation aimed to promote a culture of peace, love and conscience. The Federation of World Peace and Love (FOWPAL), in cooperation with the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Bahrain in Vienna, had launched the International Day of Conscience at a ceremony attended by a large crowd of political, diplomatic and social figures, with a view to encourage governments and organizations to observe an “International Day of Conscience” as a means of motivating the international community to resolve conflicts in a peaceful manner. The Prime Minister sent a message, which can be considered the first document in the world in this regard, in which he stressed a number of principles that were translated in the United Nations resolution on the 5th of April of as an international day of conscience. His message reflected an integral vision calling for concerted efforts of the international community to activate the role of human conscience in achieving security, peace and stability in different parts of the world. In his message, HRH the Prime Minister said that "This day is an occasion to emphasise the need to unite the will of the international community to end the suffering of millions of people in many regions of the world, continue efforts to preserve the right to a secure and stable life and to sustain development that promotes human well-being. “The celebration reflects the strong will of the peoples of the world to make the world conscience one of the cornerstones on which to advance the international collective action towards a more secure, peaceful and stable world.", HRH added. "The world conscience must be more positive in facing all the reasons that undermine global security and stability," he said. He stressed the importance of sticking to peaceful means to solve international problems and conflicts, in order to eliminate the causes of tension that hinder development efforts in the world. He said that the international community should work in accordance with more integrated and comprehensive policies in confronting the problems of some countries in the world, especially poverty, destitution and disease. "We believe in the importance of the international community's efforts to develop a comprehensive vision to address the security, political and economic challenges," he said. "We must start with peace and provide the causes of security and stability for all countries and we must take each other's hands to live in the peace and security we seek.", HRH added. His message called for a comprehensive vision of world peace that respects rapprochement and communication as one of the cornerstones of the world's development and progress. It is based on a fundamental axis: peace, security and stability as noble human values that deserve to work for and must prevail for the prosperity of humankind. Looking at the high values contained in the message of His Royal Highness the Prime Minister, His Highness's approach and vision can be drawn to a more secure and developing world, including: First, it must be emphasised that there is a correlation between the availability of security and peace, on the one hand, and the development that the peoples of the world aspire to, on the other, which requires that the system of collective action focus on laying the foundations of this peace and ensuring its continuation by looking at the causes of conflicts and towards peace and stability. Second: Emphasising that peaceful means are the best way to deal with international problems and conflicts. War and conflict lead to the spread of devastation, chaos and destruction that hinder the efforts of States in the field of development and put them years back. Third: Emphasising the importance of the efforts of the international community to achieve all that supports reconciliation among peoples on the basis of mutual respect, understanding and partnerships that support the efforts to face the problems of poverty, destitution and disease in some countries of the world. Fourth: To call upon the international community to shoulder its humanitarian responsibility in facing the tragic situations that many peoples are experiencing as a result of conflicts, food shortages, drought, epidemics and others, which must be detrimental to the human conscience and strengthen its will to address and treat them radically. HRH the Prime Minister, while announcing his initiative to celebrate the "Day of Conscience", which has turned into a pioneering initiative in the name of the Kingdom of Bahrain, he depended on a set of basic principles that are consistent with the values that he adopts and believes in as tools to provide the appropriate reasons for a world free of tension and conflict. HRH believes that such an atmosphere would enhance the ability of peoples to achieve development in all its dimensions. HRH Premier was able to move the concept of "global conscience" into a full-fledged strategy that outlines a way to enhance cooperation among the different parties in the international community to fulfill their duties towards strengthening global peace and stability. Welcoming the initiative of His Royal Highness the Prime Minister and its adoption by the United Nations on 5 April of every year as a universal day of conscience, are a confirmation that he was aware of the importance of the world conscience as one of the pillars that must be activated should the world want to live in peace, security and stability. This realisation was not born of that moment, but is based on a solid basis of regional and international respect that he receives from the world in recognition not only of his local accomplishments but also of his numerous supporting standings in all that achieves peace and coexistence in different parts of the world.