ACTION For Conflict Transformation in Asia held its 5th Peacebuilers’ Forum in Yangon, Myanmar, which ACTION Support Centre Steering Committee representative Richard Smith was able to attend. The declaration made at the Forum is shared below.
We, 65 peacebuilders from nineteen countries across Asia and beyond, gathered in Yangon, Myanmar, from 1st to 4th October 2014 for the fifth Action Asia Peacebuilders’ Forum, and jointly discussed a wide range of issues currently facing us in Asia with the theme “Nurturing Peacebuilders towards peaceful and resilient communities,” declare our firm collective commitment: “We refuse to be victims. We choose to be resources for peace.”
As we reflect on and study the on-going and emerging conflicts within and between territories, we RECOGNISE the urgent need to reach out to the unreachable in our journey towards inclusive peace.
We JOIN the peoples of Myanmar as they journey through a transition where it is vital that peace, security and development encompass a just and equitable relationship between the various ethnic groups and faith communities of the country. We CALL for strengthening diverse national and local voices in the decision making processes of the current negotiation towards a genuinely people-centred peace process.
We ACKNOWLEDGE the challenge to be INNOVATIVE in our approaches to dealing with the emerging challenges of modern technologies, liberal market systems, disaster and climate change, strong identities based on several aspects, majority and minority relationships, especially in complex political transitions.
We URGE and CALL on nations and stakeholders to commit to address problems through dialogue and non-violent means. We ENCOURAGE civil societies to be nurturing accompaniers towards peaceful and resilient communities and relentlessly work towards sustainable peace in their own context and across contextual boundaries.
We COMMIT ourselves as peacebuilders to continuing action for conflict transformation in our communities and countries, and in our region. We OFFER ourselves as resources to nurture one another as peace builders.