World Peace Association Secretary-General Sattva Zhang urges leaders around the world to embrace peace and end violence, amid ongoing border skirmishes, domestic unrest, and regional conflicts around the globe.
In a video address recorded just after United Nations Day, Ms. Zhang called on world leaders “to use wisdom to resolve problems between countries, and remember that negotiation and dialogue are the only acceptable ways to resolve conflicts.”
Seeing each other’s shared humanity is a starting point to reconciliation, says Zhang. “The life of every soldier and civilian is priceless, and when a war starts, there is no winner. Human life cannot be measured by winning or losing. No family wants to see their children and relatives die in war,” she implores. Watch her full video address here:
The border conflict between China and India is escalating; the ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan has not held; instability is rocking Kyrgyzstan. In Chinese, the two characters that combine to mean “crisis”, “weiji”, are actually a combination of the two words “danger”and “opportunity”. Let’s take the challenges of this unprecedented year and turn them into an opportunity for peace, says Ms. Zhang.