PEACE is when women and men, boys and girls, walk through life in safety, with dignity, and enjoy equal opportunities.
Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Teo gave this definition at the Ocean of Peace Talanoa in Suva today.
“Peace occurs where there is the presence of justice, where there is social inclusion, and where there is respect of relationships grounded in mutual care and responsibility,’’ Teo said.
“And so, when we speak of an Ocean of Peace, we are not only simply referring to geopolitical security dynamics.
“We are in fact talking about the deeper fabrics and structures of our societies, about how we treat each other in our homes, how we treat each other in our villages, and in our institutions.’’
Teo said the Pacific could not expect regional peace while there was violence in homes and villages.
“We cannot claim for the Pacific the trophy of Ocean of Peace, while our women live in fear, while our children witness or experience abuse behind closed doors, while half of our people are excluded from decisions that shape their future,’’ he said.
“Peace must begin at home.
“My basic proposition is that peace is not simply the absence of conflicts.
“Instead, I would argue that peace occurs where there is the presence of justice, where there is social inclusion, and where there is respect of relationships grounded in mutual care and responsibility.”
Teo told delegates that peace must be lived every day “in the choices we make, and in the policies we craft, and in the relationships we build’’.
He said gender equality and social inclusion must be embedded as a fundamental pillar for the implementation of the Ocean of Peace Declaration.
The declaration is expected to be submitted at the Pacific Islands Forum in Honiara, Solomon Islands in September.
Teo said Pacific countries were bound by a shared vision that peace must not only be preserved, but nurtured, deepened, and made truly meaningful to all citizens.