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Statement by Mr. Junichi Sumi
First Secretary, Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations

 

On Item 14: Plenary of the 69th Session

of the United Nations General Assembly

 

New York

15 December 2014

 

 

Mr. President,

 

           Japan would like to express its sincere gratitude to the Secretary General for his report on the “Promotion of a culture of peace and interreligious and intercultural dialogue, understanding and cooperation for peace” contained in document A/69/413. We also wish to express our thanks to Bangladesh for promoting the resolution on the “Follow-up to the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace,” and both Pakistan and the Philippines for their promotion of resolutions on the “Promotion of interreligious and intercultural dialogue, understanding and cooperation for peace.” Japan would further like to thank the delegations that joined in the negotiations of these resolutions for their flexibility and valuable contributions to the texts.

 

Mr. President,

 

           Japan believes that women are agents of peace and can significantly contribute to conflict prevention and resolution. In line with UNSCR1325 on Women and Peace and Security, Japan has been actively promoting the role of women in the peace and security. Furthermore, we share the view of many other delegations that peace lies in the hands of future generations. Therefore, we attach great importance to cultivating a “Culture of Peace” among youth through education on relevant topics.

 

           As Japanese Prime Minister, Mr. Shinzo Abe, stated before the General Assembly this past September, Japan is a nation that has worked to eliminate “war culture” from people’s hearts, and will spare no effort in continuing to do so. In the same vein, Japan welcomed the High-Level Forum on the Culture of Peace, which was held in September, and its focus on the role of women and the youth in advancing of the Culture of Peace.

 

           In this regard, and with reference to the aforementioned resolution on the “Follow-up to the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace,” Japan would like to direct particular attention to its preambular paragraph 17, which reads as follows:

 

           “Recognizing the role of women and youth in advancing the culture of peace, and in particular, the importance of greater involvement of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in activities promoting a culture of peace, including in post-conflict situations,”

 

           Japan firmly believes that the role and contributions of women and youth to the Culture of Peace are not only important because women and young people represent the significant part of the global population, but also because women and young people are key drivers of the sort of change of mindsets, institutions, and cultures that we seek.

 

Thank you, Mr. President.