Academy Award winning actor Michael Douglas, who also serves as a UN Peace Messenger, received a standing ovation at the United Nations in Geneva last week following his 25 minute keynote speech to the 6th Assembly of the Speakers of Parliament on the topic "A world in turmoil: Parliamentary cooperation and multilateralism for peace, justice and prosperity for all."
Jonathan Granoff, Basel Peace Office Board Member, and Alyn Ware, Director of the Basel Peace Office, joined the parliamentarians from more than 120 countries in applauding the inspiring speech by Mr Douglas, and spoke later at panel sessions later in the assembly.
He warned the audience that “these are the most dangerous times of my life.” However, he observed that the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) are doing incredible work to build bridges between peoples and governments, resolve long-standing conflicts, help fulfil human needs through sustainable development, build accountable governance and advance nuclear arms control and disarmament.
“I believe we can deliver a positive vision for the future, like the one I absorbed, almost through osmosis, growing up in parallel with the United Nations,” he said. “And I believe we can plant the seeds of a future – where might is not measured in missiles, but in the strength of institutions that deliver justice, freedom, and opportunity. In democracies free of corruption… societies free of want…and the next generation, free of fear.”
The conference was organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union, an organization comprising 181 member parliaments, and hosted by the United Nations. It included the Speakers (Presidents) and/or Deputy Speakers of seven of the nine nuclear armed countries (China, France, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia and the United Kingdom) and most of the nuclear allied countries (including Japan, South Korea and nearly all of the NATO countries).
Mr Douglas emphasized the important role of parliamentarians in advancing multilateralism and disarmament, including nuclear disarmament. He praised IPU and Parliamentarians for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament for assisting parliamentarians in this role, including through the joint production of Assuring our Common Future, an online parliamentary handbook on disarmament for security and sustainable development.
And he offered a pro-active version of hope for parliamentarians to embrace in order to help build peace, common security and a nuclear-weapon-free world.
“I have a verb for you. And it is, quite simply, to hope” he said. “I’m not talking about wishful thinking, or willful ignorance. The idea that if we stop talking about nukes, they’ll just go away… if we turn a blind eye to dark money, it doesn’t exist. No, hope is facing hard truths with clear eyes – and believing we can make a difference anyway. It’s planting seeds of peace and prosperity, even if we’re unsure we’ll live to see them blossom…and trusting that the next generation will tend them, help them take root and grow.”
“Today, as the Doomsday Clock ticks closer to midnight…as China Syndrome appears less fiction than prophecy…our mission sometimes feels like a desperate holdout against the inevitable,” he continued. “But that hope isn’t naïve…it’s necessary. Because without it…without hope in the face of overwhelming odds…we wouldn’t see new treaties formed, or old arsenals destroyed. We wouldn’t see young people dreaming, marching, campaigning for a safer world. We wouldn’t see folks of every political stripe coming together to say that a nuclear war must never, ever be fought.”
“So, let us be verbs,” he concluded. “Let us tell our story, expand our movement, and hope that together, we can create that future. There isn’t a moment to lose.”
Director of the Basel Peace Office addresses the assembly
Alyn Ware, Director of the Basel Peace Office, presented to the assembly on the topic of nnovating for a peaceful future, crafting new solutions for a turbulent world.
"Parliamentarians have an important role in implementation of the commitments made by UN member States in the Pact for the Future, adopted without dissent at the UN Summit of the Future in September last year" said Mr Ware. "This includes the commitment to prevent nuclear war and achieve the global elimination of nuclear weapons. Assuring our Common Future, the handbook on disarmament referred to by Mr Douglas, provides information and assistance to parliamentarians to advance disarmament across all weapons systems, in particular focus on nuclear risk reduction and disarmament."
Mr Ware also highlighted the affirmation in the Pact for the Future on the importance of international law in assuring peace and justice, and the effective role of the International Court of Justice.
"In this regard, we encourage parliamentarians to work with their governments in implementation of ICJ decisions with global application, such as the groundbreaking Advisory Opinion on the Obligations of States with Regard to Climate Change delivered in July 23 this year," said Mr Ware, "and to encourage their governments to accept compulsory jurisdiction of the ICJ for contentious disputes, if they have not already done so."
Finally, Mr Ware noted the World Future Policy Awards, organized by the World Future Council in cooperation with IPU. The 2024 Award focused on effective policies on Peace and Future Generations, and demonstrated that peace is possible, even in trubulent times.
49 excellent policies from around the world were nominated. Winners included the Wales Commission for Future Generations, the From Arms to Farms program in Kauswagan, Philippines; Canada’s Feminist International Assistance program; the indigenous Moriori Peace Covenant and the Nigerian National Action Plan on Youth, Peace, and Security which won a visionary award.
Basel Peace Office joins the Interactive Debate with Major Shareholders
The final day of the conference featured an Interactive debate with major stakeholders. Jonathan Granoff, President of Global Security Institute and a Board Member of Basel Peace Office was a panelist for this session.
Mr Granoff provided an example of effective multi-stakeholder cooperation between governments, parliamentarians and civil society leaders on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament through the Middle Powers Initiative (MPI). He noted that MPI, working in cooperation with the New Agenda Coalition (the governments of Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand and South Africa), organized delegations to NATO countries and held high-level consultations hosted by former US President Jimmy Carter, which was instrumental, amongst other things, in the adoption by the States Parties to the NPT in 2000 of 13 practical steps for nuclear disarmament.
Mr Granoff also spoke of the importance of putting ethical principles at the forefront of decision making, rather than the principle of efficiency. By putting efficiency first, we are destroying the ecosystems of the planet and failing to address human needs and common security. Mr Granoff highlighted the 'golden rule' found in all the main religions and faiths, i.e. to treat others as we would want them to treat us, and argued that we need to expand this rule across the generations: "We must treat the lives of future generations as we would want to be treated."