Ban-ki Moon for joint efforts to promote tolerance
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ISLAMABAD, Nov 15 (APP): UN
Secretary-General Sunday called for restraint among societies and communities,
pledging to mobilize joint efforts against intolerance.On the International Day
for Tolerance, Ban-Ki Moon said joint efforts were necessary for most vulnerable
communities, and for all humanity.“Let us work together to promote tolerance.
Globalization would continue to bring people closer together as internet
chatrooms and social networking sites enable us to connect with people we will
never meet. Global branding and the growth of international social and cultural
movements expose us on a daily basis to the tastes, opinions and habits of our
fellow men and women.
We have more ways than ever to
communicate with each other and to benefit from cross-cultural exchanges,” he
added in his message on the International Day of Tolerance.
“Yet globalization also carries
the risk of creating a more uniform world, eroding the diversity that is one of
humankind’s greatest strengths”, he added.
He said tolerance does not mean
indifference or a grudging acceptance of others. Rather, it is a way of life
based on mutual understanding and respect for others, and on the belief that
global diversity is to be embraced, not feared, he added.
“The United Nations promotes
tolerance on many fronts. It is part of our work for peace, conflict prevention,
democratization and human rights. Through the Alliance of Civilizations and
UNESCO’s many educational and inter-cultural initiatives, we promote dialogue
and combat intolerance and extremism. And we continue to press ahead with the
articulation of laws and standards, such as the adoption of the Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007 and the creation that same year of the
UN Forum on Minority Issues”.
In 1996, the General Assembly
invited Member States to observe the International Day for Tolerance on 16
November, with activities directed towards both educational establishments and
the wider public.
This action came in the wake of
the United Nations Year for Tolerance, 1995, proclaimed by the Assembly in 1993
(resolution 48/126).
The Year had been declared on
the initiative of the General Conference UNESCO. On 16 November 1995, the UNESCO
member States had adopted the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance and
Follow-up Plan of Action for the Year.
