At the beginning of 2016, more than a hundred parliamentarians from more than 40 countries in the Korean Parliament founded the International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace, based on the "Parliamentarians for Peace" initiative launched by the founders of the

Universal Peace Federation The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church, is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists, or "Moonies". It was officially founded on 1 May 1954 under the name Holy Spi ...

, Rev.

Sun Myung Moon Sun Myung Moon (; born Yong Myung Moon; 6 January 1920 – 3 September 2012) was a Korean religious leader, also known for his business ventures and support for conservative political causes. A messiah claimant, he was the founder of the Unif ...

and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon in 2001. The main vision behind the launch of the International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace is to provide a platform for parliamentarians from different countries to use their experience to help find concrete solutions to world problems. The International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace operates in several countries, including Nepal, Burkina Faso, the United Kingdom,

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

, Paraguay, Zambia,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, and the United States, in the first year of its establishment and operation. Former member of the US Congress Dan Burton and former speaker of the Philippine Parliament Jose de Venecia were the first Co-Chairmans of the International Association of Parliamentarians for peace.

Resolution from the founding meeting

During the establishment of the International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace in South Korea, a joint resolution was adopted. Recognizing the current problems in the world such as religious conflicts, climate change, hunger and others, and especially pointing out the serious danger of the development of

North Korea's nuclear program North Korea has a Korean People's Army, military nuclear weapon program, nuclear weapons program and, as of early 2020, is estimated to have an nuclear arsenal, arsenal of approximately 30 to 40 nuclear weapons and sufficient production of f ...

to peace in the world, the parliamentary representatives call on the international community to get involved in solving all these problems. At the founding assembly, parliamentarians called on all people to work together to build sustainable and lasting peace in the world, while overcoming ideological, national, racial and other limitations, in accordance with publicly published information on the organization's official website. A similar resolution was adopted at the Inaugural Conference of the International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace, Balkans, in September 2017.

Goals

The International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace supports the work of the UN, and cooperate with other related organizations, including those that gather parliamentarians from other countries. The main goals of The International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace are the following: * Promote good governance in society * Quality education for parliamentarians; * To initiate communication and cooperation among parliamentarians around the world to promote and build peace * Promote the dignity and value of all people, as members of one universal family * To strengthen and promote the family as the central unit of society * To encourage mutual trust and cooperation among all nations and * To encourage cooperation between different religions of the world and to create a foundation for peace in the world

Asia-Pacific Summit 2019

The 2019 Asia-Pacific

Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...

was held in November 2019 in

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...

, Cambodia. The summit was attended by almost 2,000 people, including several hundred delegates from more than 40 countries.

Prime Minister of Cambodia The prime minister of Cambodia ( km, នាយករដ្ឋមន្ត្រីនៃកម្ពុជា, ) is the head of government of Cambodia. The prime minister is also the chairman of the Cabinet and leads the executive branch of the ...

Hun Sen also gave a speech at the summit. He called on representatives of governments and private organizations to work together in solving global crises. Prime Minister Hun Sen called on all participants of the summit to cooperate in solving global challenges such as climate change, radicalism, gender inequality, human trafficking and other problems in the world. The co-organizers of the summit were the Royal Government of Cambodia and the

, and in coordination with the International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace and other related organizations. At the 2019 Asia-Pacific Summit, the Prime Minister of Cambodia, Hun Sen, received a special recognition from Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, co-founder of the Universal Peace Federation, "Leadership and Good Governance" Award.

Chapters

References

{{Unification Church Peace organizations Unification Church affiliated organizations Parliamentary assemblies