“Our cooperation is aimed at advancing new approaches, policies and instruments to address the diverse but interconnected challenges affecting the Mediterranean-Middle East region”. With this joint statement, the Chairman of the Religion & Security Council (RSC), Mr. Emiliano Stornelli, and the President of the Global Center for Justice and Humanity (GCJH), Hon. Prof. Ali Khashan, hailed the signature of a partnership agreement between their two organizations during a meeting in Rome on January 15.
RSC and GCJH will work together for the realization of the “Enduring Peace Project” (EPP), a major program of initiatives featuring thematic forums, seminars, educational courses, information and other activities to be held in the Middle East and Europe. “RSC-GCJH partnership will promote peace-building, human security and respect for human rights, with the aspiration to have a concrete and positive impact on the processes underway in the area”.
Besides Mr. Stornelli and Hon. Khashan, former Minister of Justice, Palestinian National Authority, a member of the Venice Commission-Council of Europe since 2007 and founder dean of the al-Quds University Law School, a fundamental role in the conclusion of the RSC-GCJH partnership agreement was played by Ms. Yasmine Sherif, GCJH Vice President and Director of International Relations, human rights lawyer and former UN official, and by Ms. Shireen al-Mashaqba, RSC Fellow and GCJH Advisor.
In the EPP framework, RSC and GCJH will engage prominent leaders, decision and policy-makers, officials and experts, on a platform for cooperation that will address the most relevant issues to the future of the Mediterranean and the Middle East, such as:
– Interreligious dialogue, conflicts resolution, radicalization prevention, root-causes of extremism;
– Education to tolerance, moderation, pluralism and the rule of law;
– Youth and women empowerment;
– The future of religious minorities;
– Refugee and humanitarian emergencies, mass migrations and integration policies.
“Mutual understanding, human security and shared universal values are preconditions for societal harmony and enduring peace at local, regional and international level”, Mr. Stornelli and Hon. Khashan declared. Along these lines, “RSC and GCJH partnership is pledged to offer an effective contribution to bring about a peaceful coexistence among all peoples and countries in the Middle East and beyond”.