Prince Hassan calls for culture of compliance
(15/04/2007 - www.mfa.gov.jo)
HRH Prince Hassan on Saturday said that a culture of compliance with international humanitarian law was essential to healing rifts and bringing justice to the Middle East and elsewhere.
Addressing the theme of “The ‘Universal' in Human Rights” at the opening of the 15th Conference of the Academy of Latinity, the Prince said Arabs are labeled as humiliated and angry by many in the West, but few ask why this might be so or acknowledge that any community or race would react in a similar fashion when confronted with the unfair policies of leading powers.
Echoing Prince Hassan's sentiments, Federico Mayor, president of the academy and former head of UNESCO, reminded delegates of the principles of the UN Charter and of UNESCO.
He called for an honest recognition of the diversity of people and an enforcement of the post-World War II call for promoting peace in the minds of man.
Dignitaries and scholars from across the Mediterranean and Latin worlds attending the four-day conference will examine the universal nature of human rights, explore the topic in a variety of ways and ask if a universal understanding of human rights is a precondition for a dialogue of cultures.
Enrique Iglesias from Uruguay painted a bleak picture of the state of the world in the early part of the 21st century.
The secretary general of the Ibero-American secretariat lamented that hope had turned to frustration, optimism to despair and tolerance to violence, calling for increased efforts to involve religious leaders in a search for a workable structure for universal rights and values.
Among dignitaries attending yesterday's opening ceremony were Amman Mayor Omar Maani, Senate President Zeid Rifai and Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Fariz.
The Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies is co-hosting the conference.