PEACE-MAKER Jose de Venecia Jr.
Former Speaker of the House At the recently-concluded 11th General Assembly of the 350-strong International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) in Istanbul, Nov. 17-20, under the theme “Role of political parties in strengthening dialogue for global peace, prosperity, and cooperation,” we in ICAPP declared the following: “We reaffirmed that political parties are endemic to democracy and the driving force to advance democratic values. They are indeed an important unifying factor in any country’s social cohesion and awareness growth, as they represent peoples of different hues, classes and backgrounds on a common platform. Strengthening of political parties thus means stronger and sturdier societies, knit together by a shared vision for a better tomorrow. In this regard, we stressed that it is essential for political parties to remain open, accessible, inclusive, efficient, connected with and responsive to the people they represent, and vigilant against corruption and injustice in their societies. We also emphasized that the political parties should ensure the rights and voices of all people, the indigenous, local communities, migrants, women, and the young, to be considered and heard in the process of policy-making. We observed that Asia and the world are at an inflection point in their history. Amidst talk of an “Asian Century,” however, there are dark clouds of conflict posing a serious risk to regional and global peace and stability. We stressed the importance of avoiding bloc politics and emphasized cooperation over competition, as common challenges require a collective response. We also emphasized that meeting challenges of the 21st Century requires a conducive environment based on an unwavering commitment to peaceful coexistence, cooperation and economic and cultural connectivity, with dialogue and negotiations as the only way out for a solution to disputes. In particular, we expressed our deep concern at the lingering and newly flaring up conflicts throughout our region and the world, and noted that the current territorial issues in some parts of the world pose serious potential threats to overall security to all members of the global community due to the ever-increasing interdependence and interconnectivity among the countries. In this regard, we are gravely concerned about the on-going war in Ukraine, especially its implication of enormous humanitarian catastrophe. We made it clear that we are against violence in all shapes and sizes, and urged all parties in regional and global flash points to lay down their weapons immediately and resume diplomatic efforts to resolve their differences peacefully, upholding international laws and the Charter of the United Nations. We commend the work of the grain corridor on export of the Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea, brokered by Türkiye and the UN and support its ongoing implementation. We stressed that the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems is a threat to regional and global peace and security. We were concerned about the State-Parties’ failure to adopt an outcome document at the 10th NPT Review Conference held in August this year, and particularly concerned by heightened nuclear rhetoric in recent months. As UN Secretary-General António Guterres correctly pointed out at the review conference, humanity is “just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation.” We noted with concern that our region is also faced with grave security threats such as terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, human trafficking, environmental disasters, humanitarian catastrophe and challenges accrued from the misuse of new and emerging technologies like cyber technology and artificial intelligence for malign purposes. In particular, we recognized that the threat to cyber security poses serious obstacles to national and global cooperation, as it is an indispensable component of global communications, economic cooperation and trade. We observed that, in modern days, crises are also coming in a multitude of forms, not just from geopolitical conflicts but also from climate change and public health emergencies. Rising prices of energy and food and disrupted global supply chains are also further aggravating global inequality, increasing the outflow of refugees and migrants, and intensifying fears of stagflation. We learned, through the last three years’ siege under the Covid-19 pandemic, that the global crisis requires a global response. In this regard, we resolved that the ICAPP, as a leading political platform in the region, should play a more pivotal role in making our region a safer and more secure place through closer and more frequent coordination and cooperation to ensure common and comprehensive strategy. In this regard, we obligated ourselves to work closely with governments and parliaments in the region and also with other regional frameworks to consolidate various types of collective arrangements in our region, connecting all the sub-regional cooperation initiatives.”