Pour La Dignité de la Femme

---Paris Resolution---

June 5-7, 2009

“CONCLUDING THE UNITED NATIONS DECADE ON CULTURE OF PEACE:

NEW ALLIANCES TO FULFILL MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL # 3”

            We, concerned women and men,

Gathered at the annual European Women’s Federation for World Peace conference, whose title this year is “Concluding the United Nations Decade on Culture of Peace: New Alliances to fulfill MDG # 3” organized in Paris in June 2009,

Profoundly changed in our expectation of what is possible to achieve and how we personally can influence it during the (2001-2010) program for the “United Nations Decade on a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of this World”.

Recognize that it is the shared responsibility of the United Nations, governments and all members of civil society to realize Culture of Peace,

Decided that we cannot allow this decade to close without determining our strategic continuation so as to build upon the momentum and ensure the legacy of its many successes. 

Therefore commit ourselves to:

Seek opportunities to mediate, motivate and monitor our governments at the local, national and international level to fulfill the MDG’s, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, SC Resolution 1325 and other commitments in support of the culture of peace,

Use our influence to teach the value of dignity and appreciation of diversity to our children, through words and actions, from the earliest age, especially as concerns the equal value of women and men.

Raise public awareness about violence, seeking to involve men and boys in activities for the prevention of violence against women and towards the empowerment of women and girls,

Take responsibility to solve cycles of enmity by building partnerships, especially where non-reconciled differences persist- and commit together to goals and programs for a common peaceful future,

Promote civic participation by engaging social and government institutions to include peace and character education components in their programs- and by supporting the current process within the UN on the “Declaration for an International Declaration on Children’s Right to Violence-Free Education and to Peace and Non-Violence Education”.

And recommend renewing the commitments we share with the United Nations and governments, such as:

Prioritization of preventive solutions through education for peace, human rights and dignity in order to eliminate the root causes of violent crimes (ie., trafficking, domestic violence, violence in schools, stalking, etc.).

Fund research for programs  that foster “innate dignity” as the common standard in human relations and link our failure in this area as a root cause of all Human Rights violations and - our common shame.

Promote paradigm changes whereby:

Empowerment comes through cooperation, not confrontation.

Responsibility for the family and society are shared between men and women,

The important role of mothers and wives in the transmission of values and their contribution to development is recognized- as well as the important presence of fathers in parenting.

There is an agreement on a new code of economics/work ethic which rewards humanitarianism, generosity and integrity; appreciates the strengths of feminine values in the workplace; makes serious efforts to balance career and family-related responsibilities and values the unpaid work of women and men.

Vocabularies be reviewed for discrimination and intolerance seen against a common standard -“dignity for all”.

Insist that greater support and protection be given to formal and non-formal education for;

Peaceful resolution of conflicts, mediation and reconciliation- as naturally learned in healthy families,

Upholding dignity and human rights through Human Rights Education & Learning programs and Peace and Character Education Curricula,

Developing rehabilitation programs in detention centers and prisons that give greater consideration to the full development of the human personality,

Prenatal education.

Engaging youth as co-planners and partners for the continued work towards a culture of peace and prosperity,

Calling for a code of conduct for a responsible media,

Providing respect and appreciation for our elders that they may “Age in dignity”!

Agreed by consensus, in Paris on June 7, 2009.