BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
International Day of Peace honours the strength of global unity in fostering a peaceful and sustainable world.
Lottie Vaisekavea, permanent secretary for the Ministry of Traditional Governance, Peace and Ecclesiastical Affairs (MTGPEA) said this when marking the International Day of Peace at the St Barnabas cathedral Melanesian Hall yesterday.
As such, he said that the fundamental human values of love, joy, family, community, justice, equality, and peaceful coexistence have become essential principles and boundaries for safeguarding human dignity for all individuals.
He noted that the world is currently experiencing a period characterized by new global polymathy, confusion, and geopolitical tensions.
“Consequently, achieving global peace often appears to be an unrealistic goal, particularly when universally acknowledged global issues such as climate change, which significantly affect nations like the Solomon Islands, are perceived by a dismissive global audience, where both offenders and victims remain unhealed, where rhetoric, urgency, and inaction persist despite years of effort, where limited global support is entangled in third-party development concerning expertise and water management, while the existing conditions endure, and where the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have become constrained and marginalized, leaving vulnerable groups overlooked,” Vaisekavea said.
He said that this is the global landscape that the Solomon Islands must navigate.
“The theme for this year is Act Now for a Global World, for a Peaceful World. This implies that the Solomon Islands must adapt and make this theme pertinent to our everyday lives. There are numerous starting points; however, limited resources prevent the initiation of many of these priorities,” he said.