Better Business
October 2006
Banner photo: Partially Harvested Corn Field/corbis
Empowering the UN
UN Under-Secretary-General Anwarul K. Chowdhury (left) and
SGI President Ikeda discuss peace and development
[©Seikyo Shimbun]
SGI President Daisaku Ikeda discussed development and peace issues with UN Under-Secretary-General Anwarul K. Chowdhury on August 30 and presented him with a proposal entitled "Fulfilling the Mission: Empowering the UN to live up to the world's expectations."
The proposal stresses the UN's fundamental purpose as a forum for dialogue to avert war and urges that the UN recall and renew its commitment to this original mission. Emphasizing the core challenge of building a culture of peace based on the awareness that peace is much more than the mere absence of conflict, the proposal places special stress on poverty reduction and nuclear disarmament.
The proposal urges the world's citizens to be proactively involved with the UN, building momentum for reform from the bottom up, and stresses three themes: a shared sense of purpose, a shared sense of responsibility and shared fields of action.
Among the specific measures suggested are establishing a decade of action by the people of the world toward the abolition of nuclear weapons, engaging young people in UN deliberations and further developing partnerships between the UN and civil society.
The full proposal can be viewed here.
