International Conference “Lessons on Peace, Seen from Vietnam’s Practice”

On the morning of July 22, in Dong Ha City, the Vietnam Peace and Development Foundation in collaboration with the Quang Tri Province Union of Friendship Organizations organized the International Workshop “Lessons on Peace, Seen from Vietnam’s Practice”. The workshop is an activity in response to the 2024 Peace Festival, aiming to share lessons and messages about the values ​​and aspirations for peace of the Vietnamese people, and at the same time suggest initiatives to help build a common peace for the whole world.

Chairman of the Vietnam Peace and Development Foundation Ha Hung Cuong; Vice Chairman of the Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee Hoang Nam attended the workshop. On the side of international organizations, there were representatives of the Rosa Luxembyrg Foundation; PeaceTrees Vietnam; United States Institute of Peace USIP; United States Veterans for Peace; and international NGOs with programs and projects in Quang Tri.

In his opening speech at the workshop, President of the Vietnam Peace and Development Foundation Ha Hung Cuong emphasized that world peace and security today are facing extremely serious traditional and non-traditional challenges. Competition and confrontation between major countries are becoming increasingly fierce.

Power politics, extreme nationalism, ethnic and religious conflicts are constantly increasing. The arms race, including nuclear deterrence, is becoming increasingly fierce. Hot spots such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Israel-Hamas conflict, tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the Taiwan Strait, the East Sea... are becoming increasingly complicated.

Meanwhile, the ability of global institutions and the international community to prevent war and restore peace is being weakened; the role of international law and the rule of law in international relations is being overshadowed.

The international conference “Lessons on peace, seen from Vietnam’s practice” was held in Quang Tri province, with the desire to spread the values ​​of peace to the people in the country and international friends in the context of the common peace of mankind since World War II becoming more fragile than ever.

Scene of the International Conference "Lessons on peace, seen from Vietnam's practice" - Photo: NTH

The message of peace sent to the conference by former Vice President Nguyen Thi Binh, Honorary President of the Vietnam Peace and Development Foundation, affirmed that peace is a prerequisite for human existence and the pursuit of happiness. With peace, people can dream of having everything, but in war, people only crave one thing: peace. For each country, peace is a prerequisite for mobilizing and concentrating all resources for development.

Therefore, a peaceful and secure environment is the top priority for every nation. Preserving and protecting peace is the common responsibility of all humanity, of all nations and each of us. Vietnam is a peace-loving nation with a tradition of humanity and peace. Having gone through many wars for independence and national unification, Vietnam especially values ​​the value of peace, and has always actively encouraged friends and people around the world to cherish, protect and strive to build a peaceful world.

Speaking at the workshop, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Hoang Nam informed about the significance of the activities and messages of the Festival for Peace organized by Quang Tri province. Quang Tri is the land that carries the nation's eternal desire for peace, which has deeply and strongly touched the conscience of peace-loving humanity.

And for a long time, Quang Tri has become a destination of gratitude - a common symbol of the whole country's desire for peace; at the same time, a destination for international friends to admire, share, contemplate and honor the value of peace, especially during the month of July.

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Hoang Nam delivered a welcome speech at the workshop - Photo: NTH

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Hoang Nam hopes that scholars and delegates attending the workshop will advise Quang Tri on the next steps to continue writing the story of peace on this land, so that Quang Tri can truly become a peaceful space, a destination for peace for the people and domestic and international tourists.

The workshop went through 2 discussion sessions, 2 introductions and 9 official presentations, 4 open discussions by scholars and representatives of international non-governmental organizations presenting and sharing values ​​of peace, as well as initiatives to build world peace such as: Lessons on the struggle for peace from the two resistance wars of the Vietnamese people in the 20th century; Ho Chi Minh's thoughts on peace; from the Geneva Agreement to Paris - lessons on Vietnam's diplomatic struggle for peace; the struggle for national independence associated with the struggle for peace, the experience of Vietnamese people's organizations; lessons on the value of peace from the perspective of a historical researcher, a veteran who fought in the battlefield of Quang Tri province; building trust, how PeaceTrees Vietnam began its mission for peace; the current status of mechanisms to maintain peace and ensure security in the region and in the world; Vietnam's bamboo diplomacy contributes to peace and stability in the region and the world; initiatives for a peaceful, fair, stable and sustainably developed region and world; peace and reconciliation initiatives, seen from the experience of Quang Tri...

Delegates attending the conference took a souvenir photo - Photo: NTH

Delegates agreed that preventing war and protecting peace is an urgent task for all peace-loving forces around the world. It is necessary to build a fair world order with a compatible international legal system, in accordance with the basic principles of the United Nations Charter.

It is necessary to promote the formation of collective security mechanisms of an inclusive nature to resolve disputes, prevent conflicts, and maintain peace in the regions. It is necessary to promote the trend of disarmament instead of the arms race, the trend of peace and cooperation instead of confrontation and antagonism. In that mission, the voice of the people and social organizations plays a very important role.

Regarding peacebuilding initiatives, opinions emphasized the importance of the lesson that the more partners the better to create a united alliance to support Vietnam in general and Quang Tri province in particular to heal the wounds of war and create a safer future for development in peace.

There is no more suitable place than Quang Tri in Vietnam - a place that has been divided into two parts for more than 20 years - to discuss peace. From the experience of Vietnam and Quang Tri, it is necessary to build trust, respect dialogue, so that the message of the Festival for Peace from Quang Tri becomes a daily theme and inspires cooperation and prosperous development.

And for Quang Tri to become a destination for a peaceful cultural space, there needs to be materialized activities accompanying Quang Tri province to join hands to extend the message of the Festival for Peace, building a city for peace on Quang Tri land starting from creating trust, continuing the aspiration for world peace.

Nguyen Thanh Hai

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/hoi-thao-quoc-te-bai-hoc-ve-hoa-binh-nhin-tu-thuc-tien-viet-nam-187084.htm