World Peace Convention 2018
Seoul Declaration on a peaceful future of the Korean Peninsula and East Asia
Implementation Plans.pdf
Implementation Plans.pdfUnder the theme “Restoration of Just Relations, Historical Reconciliation and Nurturing a Culture of Peace for SangSaeng (Life Together) in the Korean Peninsula”, 250 peace-loving citizens from 17 countries met together at World Peace Convention 2018 held in Incheon, Cheorwon and Seoul, Korea from 29th October to 1st November 2018.
We learned from theme presentations and symposia on peace and conflict-related topics. We also had the benefit of hearing the diverse experiences of participants from several countries that had gone through conflicts of various kinds – racial, ethnic, religious, colonial and ideological. They spoke about their efforts for healing, reconciliation and peace-building. We also visited Cheorwon DMZ area witnessing the stark reality of the long-lasting suffering of divided nation and people of Korea.
The Context of the World Peace Convention:
We, participants of the World Peace Convention 2018, have witnessed a long and perseverant journey of the Korean people towards democracy and peace. Among the most recent developments is the candle light revolution during 2016-17, which led to the birth of a new democratic government. South Korea's President Moon Jae-In is pushing forward a peace-building process on the Korean Peninsula by engaging proactively with the DPRK and the USA.
The Korean Peninsula peace movement must be seen in a broader historical perspective. In the context of recent geo-political dynamics in the region and beyond, the Korean peace movement has shown the need for pivotal action in order to untie the entangled knot of the dominant status quo, which is ruled by global hegemonic superpowers.
We affirm that:
- It is solely the Korean people’s inalienable right to make decisions for their own national future. Therefore, we are in strong solidarity with the peoples’ initiatives for building a lasting peace. We believe the empowerment of citizens/peoples is key to peace-building process.
- There is a strong inter-connectedness between peace-building efforts of Korean people and world peace movements, which share many of the same values. We recognize the continued vulnerability of the candlelight revolution in South Korea in the face of the interests of superpowers surrounding the Korean Peninsula. Therefore there is a strong need for building/strengthening solidarity with world peace movement initiated by diverse groups of global citizens.
- The present moment is a Kairos time to strengthen people’s networks so that civil society’s peace renaissance can blossom beyond borders!
- A paradigm shift is called upon: The current “Strategic Security-first” paradigm seeks to maintain a “peace” by relying on a constant militarized war-footing. This paradigm needs to be replaced by a “Peace-first” paradigm, which seeks alternative mechanisms that will build trust, instill confidence, promote mutual understanding and dialogue, seek non-military solutions, and enable the free flow of ideas towards a shared Korean vision of unity and reunification.
Our commitments to people-led civil society actions:
Peace and reconciliation is accomplished by fostering relationship and solidarity. The most effective way to do this is to create opportunities for direct dialogues at all possible levels. In practical terms, we commit ourselves to concrete actions within the three major objectives:
1. Advocacy for peace:
◦ Support the current summit process and engage in dialogues at all levels of society.
◦ Join efforts for ending the Armistice and declaring peace (treaty) in Korea.
◦ Lobby UN to end the UN Command structure in Korea, and advocate for a phased end to UN Security Council and other sanctions.
2. Public education:
◦ Prepare and disseminate educational material that provides background to the Korean conflict and efforts toward peace and reconciliation.
◦ Challenge mass media when they publish unfair interpretation of facts and events.
◦ Use alternative media to propagate positive stories on inter-Korean relations, including delegation visits to and from North Korea.
3. Dialogue and cooperative relationship building:
◦ Provide humanitarian aid, food security and development assistance.
◦ Encourage people-to-people contacts via mutual visits, cultural, academic, artistic, sporting and other exchanges.
◦ Organize information sharing, capacity building, and educational scholarships.
We need to turn either/or thinking into both/and thinking. We need to transform win/lose propositions into win/win strategies.
We therefore call for a global solidarity with the people’s democratic and non-violent initiatives towards a lasting peace in the Korean Peninsula.
1st November 2018
Participants of World Peace Convention 2018
Implementation Plans:
As 250 participants of the World Peace Convention
2018 from 17 countries,
1. We recognize that realizing lasting peace relies on the transformation of the current dominant world system. Therefore, we are resolved to build solidarity to help realize peace through our lives together. To this end, we will forge a tentatively named “People-centered global network for peace” and start provisional works – through on-line and off-line efforts – to activate this network.
2. We are inspired by the wind of peace that began to rise on the Korean Peninsula in the wake of the candle revolution in South Korea. We affirm that the summits between South Korea, North Korea and US should be based on the principles of building genuine peace in the Korean Peninsula.
We therefore demand that the whole peace process including removal of sanctions, declaration of the end of war and construction of a peace system should be undertaken simultaneously with the denuclearization
process. We express our deep concerns regarding the attitudes of US and Japanese governments seeking denuclearization first and a security guarantee next.
3. We support the decision of the two leaders of both South and North Korea to jointly host the 100th anniversary commemorative event of the March 1st 1919 peaceful uprising. We hope and will make efforts
to ensure that the joint events – at Seoul and Pyeongyang in March in 2019 – will be a historic opportunity to revive/reactivate a people-centered peace movement in the Korean Peninsula and beyond, following the historic experience of 100 years ago.
4. We are of the view that a collective consensus and support of the neighboring countries – China, Russia, Japan and the US – on the Korean Peninsula peace process is crucial for its success. We express deep concerns regarding the right-wing turn of the Japanese government and attempts to remove its peace constitution. At the same time, we express our strong solidarity with the people’s peace movement to keep the peace
constitution intact. In this regard, we will form a tentatively named “Civil Society Network on Peace-building in East Asia” between civil societies in both countries, through which we will collaborate in strengthening democracy and peace in both countries as well as in the region.
5. We express our deep sympathy for, and solidarity with those who are suffering in conflict-ridden countries such as Syria, Palestine, Congo, Yemen, and feel a strong sense of responsibility as global citizens. We commit to exploring and developing channels of solidarity.
6. We pledge to organize a tentatively named “World Peace Forum” bringing together as many peace activists as possible ,in commemoration of the historic movements that took place one century ago such as the Feb. 8th Independence Declaration by Korean students in Tokyo, the March 1st nation-wide independence movement in Korea, and the May 4th movement in China. The World Peace Forum will be formed with a view to solidifying the infra-structure of people-centered and people-initiated peace movement in the Korean Peninsula, East Asia as well as throughout the world.
1st November 2018
Participants of World Peace Convention 2018
