UNGA adopts China-backed Civilizations Dialogue Day

The UN General Assembly on Friday adopted a resolution to designate June 10 as the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations, a proposal put forward by China and other countries.

To promote awareness of cultural diversity and foster dialogue, respect, tolerance and global solidarity, China and 14 other countries, including Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Russia, Uganda, UAE and Vietnam, proposed a resolution for the International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations, Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, told the UNGA.

All civilizational achievements constitute the collective heritage of humankind, Fu said. "Civilizations takes diverse forms across time and space and flourishes in contact with others," he said.

Fu said the resolution emphasized that "dialogue among civilizations contributes to an improved awareness and understanding of the universal values of humankind; encourages tolerance, peaceful coexistence, respect and cooperation among different civilizations, contributes to seek common ground among civilizations in order to comprehensively address challenges facing humanity ; and to promotes international peace and security, human welfare, freedom and progress everywhere".

Participating in dialogue among civilizations should be global in scope and open to all, said Fu. The resolution recognizes the need for civilizations and cultures to be preserved, enhanced and handed on, and the need for international exchanges and cooperation among cultures and peoples.

Fu encouraged the all UN member states, organizations of the UN system, as well as other international and regional organizations and other relevant stakeholders to celebrate the International Day.

To celebrate the International Day is to advocate respect for the diversity of civilizations, he said. "Civilizations may differ geographically or have different characteristics, but no civilization is better than or superior to the next one. The spirit of equality and respect must prevail, and intercivilizational exchanges and mutual learning must be promoted in our quest for common progress and prosperity," Fu said.

To celebrate the International Day is to promote universal values common to humanity and to give due regard to the intergenerational transmission of, and innovation in, civilizations. To celebrate the International Day is to galvanize interaction and cooperation among cultures and peoples, he said.

Amid today's multiple crises and widening deficits in peace, development, trust and governance, "our world faces a new era of instability", Fu said. He said humanity stands at a crossroads, urgently needing solidarity, dialogue, and cooperation, adding that resolution is achieved through dialogues.

"Dialogue among civilizations is an effective means to eliminate discrimination and prejudice, enhance mutual understanding and trust, promote greater interrelatedness among peoples and strengthen solidarity and cooperation. There is, in fact, no alternative to such dialogue," Fu said.