Launching the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace (GCTP)

The Global Council for Tolerance and Peace was launched today at a major official ceremony held at the Mediterranean Conference Center in Malta at the joint invitation of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Government of Malta and GCTP.

Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced his support for the council, calling for fighting poverty, injustice, ignorance and discrimination in order to build lasting peace. He affirmed that he believes in the goals of the GCTP, its mission and its ability to make the required change at the global level and that he will not only support it but will work with it, noting the importance of establishing the International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace, stressing the neutrality of Malta and its commitment to human rights, tolerance and peace.

Guterres
The ceremony was attended by the Prime Minister of Malta, a number of ministers of foreign affairs, education, youth and culture from several countries, representatives of the United Nations and a host of ambassadors, heads of international organizations, universities and media. It began with a documentary film that included a speech by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, warning that “our world faces many great challenges, conflicts, inequality, deadly intolerance and security threats, including nuclear weapons. We have the tools and the will to overcome these challenges.
Guterres said: How can we help millions of people suffering from large-scale wars and prospects, almost never-ending? There is no winner in these wars, everyone loses especially that the new global terrorist threat affects us all and destabilizes the stability. Let us put peace first, let peace always be our goal and guide.

Foreign Ministers of Kosovo and Malta
The master of ceremony Joseph Deeb started the day. In addition to the Maltese Prime Minister’s speech, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kosovo Behgjet Pacolli and Foreign Affairs Minister of Malta, Carmelo Abela, who both stressed the importance of launching the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace at this particular time in the face of terrorism, extremism, hatred, racism etc. and the urgent need for joint global action based on the right education of the youth and the empowerment of women to build a better tomorrow for future generations.

Prime Minister of Malta Mr. Joseph Muscat with Mr. Al-Jarwan

Address by the President of the Council
“The danger of terrorism, fanaticism, hatred, racism, ethnic cleansing, sectarian and racial extremism is increasing and growing like cancer … These phenomena go beyond the limits of reason and the borders of nations and threaten the lives of people, citizens of different countries and civilizations, threaten development and security and jeopardize world peace.” Said Ahmed bin Mohammed al-Jarwan, president of the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace. “Convictions are no longer sufficient. It is no longer possible for armies and police alone to combat these terrible phenomena. No country or institution can rely solely on its own capacities to address the problem of terrorism, racism, extremism, violence, and discrimination.
We are here today for this reason, we are here to launch this global endeavor, the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace.”

“This newly created Council is an international organization based on democratic principles and derives from international law and agreements its own system of work.” Added H.E. al-Jarwan.
“The Council signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for cooperation and the building of international partnerships. The Council is composed of eminent international figures who maintain a sound reputation and experience in areas related to peace and tolerance.”
“Among the roadmap in the strategic planning of the Council are the following:
• Establish an international parliament for tolerance and peace, raise tolerance values, promote preventive diplomacy, support regional and global youth initiatives, launch a global prize for those who contribute to the protection of world peace, and develop and implement joint programs, events, and conferences to promote tolerance and peace.”

Al-Jarwan added: “I am honored at the launch of the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace to invite parliaments and think tanks of young people, intellectuals, economists, sociologists and scholars to join this Council in order to spread a culture of tolerance and peace and to be the force of change on the world stage.”
He concluded by saying: “Together, we can build a more tolerant and secure world.
Together we can build a future in which love triumphs over hatred, tolerance over revenge, openness over intolerance, and knowledge over ignorance.”

United Nations
Dr. Louay Shabaneh, UNFPA Director for the Arab Region, confirmed the commitment of the international community to the initiative of the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace, and the partnership with the Council to achieve the goals of development, tolerance and human rights.

Two seminars
Two symposia were held on tolerance and peace, in which a number of researchers representing five continents participated.

President of the House of Representatives
A delegation from the Council, headed by al-Jarwan, visited the President of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Malta, Dr. Angelo Farrugia, who welcomed the efforts of the Global Council, lauding the selection of Malta as its headquarters. He confirmed that Malta has established the concept of neutrality with texts written in its constitution since the 1970s. Adding that Malta is a bridge of communication and openness between many countries due to its geographical location on the one hand and its practice of neutrality on the other.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Malta congratulated His Excellency al-Jarwan on the occasion of the official launch of the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace, wishing the Council success in its mission to instill a culture of dialogue and openness and acceptance of the other and raise the values of tolerance, justice and peace especially among youth around the world.

Al-Jarwan as president
The Constituent Assembly held an extensive meeting yesterday evening, where H.E. Ahmed Al-Jarwan was elected President of the World Council for Tolerance and Peace.