Sample Declaration for a Peace City

The City of [ ]:

Determined to protect and enhance the safety, security and well being of all people living in or visiting [the city];

Affirming that the well being of all its citizens is advanced by the peaceful resolution of conflict, the promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, and the full participation of citizens in society regardless of age, gender, ability, ethnicity, culture, sexuality or religion;

Celebrating the diverse ethnic, religious, cultural and political backgrounds of the people in [the city];

Stressing the importance of education for the development of peace, inter-cultural awareness, tolerance, human rights and conflict resolution;

Acknowledging the unique relationships between tangata whenua (original inhabitants) and tau iwi (those who have subsequently settled in [the city]) and respecting the rights of all peoples;

Accepting a responsibility to assist those who have settled in [the city] due to conflict or severe human rights violations in communities overseas, and seeking ways in which to support the promotion of human rights and the resolution of conflicts in these communities;

Affirming the role that cities have to foster peace nationally and internationally, and in particular to encourage the non-proliferation and elimination of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction and the abolition of war and weapons of war;

Honouring the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010) proposed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and adopted without opposition by the United Nations General Assembly;

Responding to the recommendation in the United Nations Study on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Education, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2002, that ‘municipal leaders, working with citizen groups, are encouraged to establish peace cities’ and that this could include, ‘the creation of peace museums, peace parks, web sites and the production of booklets on peacemakers and peacemaking.’

Does hereby declare itself to be a Peace City dedicated to the promotion of, and respect for, a culture or peace, tolerance and non-violence.

[adopted by [ ] City Council – Date]