Peace and its importance for full human development will be the focus of debates taking place today, September 21 in Havana, as part of the First International Seminar on Realities and Challenges of the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.
Delegates from Brazil, Mexico, Ecuador, El Salvador, Barbados, Nicaragua, Argentina, Peru, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Cuba, will meet to ratify their commitment to this proclamation approved by the 2nd Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), held in Cuba in January 2014.
The Seminar represents the first meeting following the Proclamation, hence the importance of offering new perspectives toward solving differences and conflicts through dialogue, especially given the current regional context.
As such, topics to be addressed during the event, being held through September 23, include current U.S. policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean, and its implications for peace.
Speaking to Prensa Latina, Silvio Platero, president of the Cuban Movement for Peace and Sovereignty of the Peoples, noted the participation of representatives from diverse social, labor, and campesino movements as well as academics and students.
He also highlighted the presence of the President of the World Peace Council, María do Socorro Gomes from Brazil, among those participating. Socorro Gomes is set to receive the Medal of Friendship awarded by Cuba’s Council of State today, September 21, declared International Day of Peace by the UN.
A social media campaign will also take place to spread information related to conflict resolution and an end to violence in Latin America and the Caribbean.
(Granma)