Remarks by H.E. Mr. Miguel Ángel Moratinos,
High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC),
at the 2nd Chapter of “A Call For Peace, The End of Wars and Respect for International Law” in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Excellencies,
Dear Friends,
Peace-loving people,
Welcome to the second round of our common initiative “A Call For Peace, The End of Wars and Respect for International Law”.
It is a great honor and privilege to be back in Sarajevo, a historical city shaped by diverse cultures and religions, forging its unique and precious character as a multicultural and multireligious city. The concept of “Convivencia” (living together) has always prevailed throughout the history of the beautiful capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
We launched this initiative in April this year in Gernika, a town which, like Sarajevo, suffered the horror of wars and crises. I am honored to salute the mayor of Gernika, who is here with us today.
Gernika was one of the first cities where civilians were targeted, bombed, and killed just because they were civilians, just because the Nazis wanted to create terror, despair, and destruction. Our great painter Pablo Picasso portrayed this tragedy on a canvas in the famous Gernika painting, where he also included a candle that represents a beacon of hope for all humanity.
Some statistics say that during the siege of Sarajevo, almost 14 thousand people were killed. 5 thousand, 3 hundred and 44 were civilians. This should have been avoided. Added to this dramatic situation in Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina was in a cruel war in its whole territory that culminated with a horrific genocide in Srebrenica. This past July, I had the honor of participating in the commemoration of its 30th anniversary. It was an unforgettable day of remembrance and pain. How do we human beings allow this descent to hell to happen?
My dear friends, a week ago, Robert Badinter, lawyer and French politician, minister of Justice for President Mitterrand, was inducted into the French Pantheon, in a ceremony where France wanted to pay tribute to a man who fought and won a battle in favor of the abolition of the death penalty.
Yes, my friends, it was a long battle that began in the mid-19th century when Victor Hugo called the French National Assembly to eradicate the death penalty.
Robert Badinter concluded his historical speech in the French Parliament when he got the vote to abolish the capital punishment with these remarkable words “La justice française ne sera plus une justice qui tue”. “The French justice won’t kill anyone anymore”.
If that was what Robert Badinter achieved, in the framework of national justice, why can we not achieve the same for international justice?
We should ask ourselves what happens to the millions of civilians who are killed for no reason. They are not criminals, they have not been arrested, they have not been judged, they have not been sentenced, they are killed just because they are mere civilians, just because of the so-called “collateral damage” of war. But there is no such thing as “collateral damage”, just crimes.
We should ask ourselves: are the 83% of Palestinian civilians killed in Gaza just a result of “collateral damage”? The only crime they committed was trying to live with dignity and justice.
Yes, it’s time that we, as humanity, call to stop this horror, as Badinter did, and say: “La justice mondiale ne tue plus”. “The global justice doesn’t kill anyone anymore”. This is the reason for our initiative. We are at the beginning. We are in a long battle for peace, but the only battle worth fighting, as Albert Camus used to say.
Unfortunately, we are not sufficiently heard. They generally consider us utopians. Yes, we are not heard because the “lobby for war” is stronger and has more power and influence than the “lobby for peace”. We should create a “lobby for peace”. We should mobilize all the main stakeholders, the private sector, civil society, and the media.
How many international funds exist today to finance war?
Could we ask some of them to finance peace instead? I am going to write to them to try to get their support.
Last Monday was a great day. The guns and bombs were silenced in Gaza, and the hostages could go back home. Yes, to stop the war is always a victory for all of us, but we cannot leave the future of peace only in the hands of leaders, as powerful as they can be, we need everybody engaged and involved.
I remember a quotation that was proclaimed at the time of President Arafat and Prime Minister Rabin. When they shook hands in Washington in September 1993, it was called “the peace of the brave”. I remember I wrote an article asking that the “peace of the brave” should be followed by the “peace of the people”. It’s what we need today.
We don’t have peace just by declaring it. Actions need to follow. Real actions, for real long-lasting peace.
My dear friends, humanity must stand together and call for a better world to end this logic of war. We have the example of some positive testimonies:
The mayors of Gernika and Sarajevo, who are gathered here today, and who know how to keep the memory of the victims of war alive with respect and dignity.
The proposal of the former president of Greece, George Papandreou, to formalize his initiative for an “Olympic truce”,
The idea of the former European Commissioner, Dimitris Avramopoulos, to hold a mega conference of all cities in Athens to ask for peace.
Or the work of so many civil actors, who worked effortlessly to foster respect and understanding between the multiple religions living together in this country. That was the case of a prominent figure of your history, Kosta Hörmann.
And that is the reason why I want to conclude with a quote from Tugomir Alaupović, a writer, poet, and professor in Sarajevo, who declared that Hörmann’s work sought to “extinguish the hatred between brothers of different religions, to foster mutual love, and to highlight the points we all have in common.”
That is precisely the motto of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations: “many cultures, one humanity!”
My dear friends. It fills me with pride and hope to see this room full of people who believe in the same cause: PEACE.
Because we need peace, yes, but peace also needs us.
Thank you very much.