The Parliamentarians for Peace (P4P) compose a transnational and transpartisan network of 15 members of national parliaments committed to improving peace governance. Created and curated by the Open Diplomacy Institute, this program is powered by the Normandy World Peace Forum.
The 2021 P4P are currently working on the next Peace Policy Platform. Based on principles of international cooperation agreed upon across national and political boundaries, this Platform will refer to solutions addressing the most pressing international challenges.
On May 11th, the Open Diplomacy Institute gathered the fifteen Parliamentarians for Peace for a session focused on the issue of inclusion regarding peace governance.
In a first audition, the Parliamentarians met with Ms Céline Schmitt, Spokesperson for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), on the inclusion of refugees and displaced persons in peace governance. Together, they discussed the challenges faced by refugees and displaced people which have been aggravated by the socio-economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a context of rampant climate change, they also agreed on the need to act and to protect people forced to flee because of climate-related hazards. Climate change is a threat multiplier for other drivers of displacement. Its impact may exacerbate conflict and increase the vulnerability of already vulnerable communities. “Countries need to strengthen cooperation at the international level and solidarity with the most affected host countries”, emphasized Ms Schmitt.
Then, the P4P welcomed Dr Fernand de Varennes, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority issues, who emphasized the role of the COVID-19 pandemic as a catalyst and an indicator of the inequalities minorities face. “There is no sustainable peace without economic and social justice”, said Dr de Varennes, drawing on the inextricable link between human rights, especially of the most excluded in society, and global prosperity.
The P4P agreed on the urgency of a global policy response to inequalities encompassing human rights and access to staple services, in the context of the pandemic. “We need to recognize that levels of exclusion are intertwined. Thus, we need a policy response tackling the complexity of inequalities, to bring about sustainable peace and advance our democracies” concluded Malaysian Parliamentarian and human rights activist Maria Chin Abdullah, as the P4P prepared their recommendations on inclusion for the Peace Policy Platform - which will be presented at the fourth Normandy for Peace Forum.