The International Summit Council for Peace (ISCP) was initiated by UPF co-founder Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon on February 8, 2019 on the occasion of World Summit 2019 in Seoul, Korea. ISCP is an international network of current and former heads of state and government, who, through dialogue and collaboration, explore solutions and offer recommendations to address the world’s critical problems, including climate change and environmental issues, religious conflicts, poverty, war, corruption and family breakdown.

The ISCP provides a meeting place for world leaders where their wisdom and experience can be utilized and their initiatives can be discussed in the service of global peace and the betterment of humankind.

ISCP is committed to building a world of peace in which everyone can live in freedom, harmony, cooperation and prosperity. ISCP upholds the core principles of interdependence, mutual prosperity, and universal values, and acts as a facilitator and advisor for the achievement of peace and development.

A crowning project of the Universal Peace Federation, the ISCP works in close cooperation with the International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace, the Interreligious Association for Peace and Development, the International Association of Traditional Rulers for Peace, and other UPF initiatives.

INTERNATIONAL SUMMIT COUNCIL FOR PEACE INAUGURAL RESOLUTION

February 7-11 at the Lotte World Hotel, Seoul, South Korea

As participants in World Summit 2019 sponsored by the Universal Peace Federation and convened in Seoul, Korea, on February 7-11, 2019, on the theme, “Addressing the Critical Challenges of Our Time: Interdependence, Mutual Prosperity and Universal Values,” we affirm the urgent need for responsible leadership and good governance in bringing about a world of lasting peace, a world in which people of all nationalities, ethnicities, races, cultures, and worldviews may live together in mutual respect, harmony and cooperation as one family under God.

We applaud the leadership of Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon and her late husband, Rev. Sun Myung Moon for their vision and work over many decades to create “one family under God,” and recognize the contributions to peace that have been achieved through the Universal Peace Federation, an NGO in general consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

We have gathered in Korea, in the year of the Centenary of the March 1st Independence Movement, and we support the Korean people in their quest for peace and the reunification of the Korean Peninsula.

As current and former heads of state, government and world leaders from diverse nations and political systems, we recognize that humanity faces serious challenges that must be met and overcome through cooperation, mutual respect and a commitment to universal values.

We live in an interdependent world. No nation and no government exists in isolation. Many of our most difficult problems—terrorism, cyber-crime, climate change, poverty, inequality, food insecurity, conflict—are transnational in nature. We must work together collaboratively in order to resolve global, regional and national problems. Moreover, in order to carry out a comprehensive approach to peace and development, we must work across various sectors of society, including government, civil society, faith-based organizations, academia and the private sector.

Men and women who have served as heads of state or government are uniquely qualified to bring their wisdom and experience to bear in the search for solutions to humanity’s most serious problems and the effort to provide recommendations—to national governments, to inter- governmental organizations, to regional associations of nations such as the European Union, the Arab Leagues, ASEAN, and to the United Nations—that offer a path to peace and mutual prosperity for the whole human family and generations to come.

On this day, February 8, 2019, at the Opening Plenary of the World Summit 2019, we endorse the proposal to establish a new association of current and former heads of state and government, known provisionally as the International Summit Council for Peace (ISCP). The ISCP will work in concert with the International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace (IAPP), the Interreligious Association for Peace and Development (IAPD) and the International Association of Traditional Rulers for Peace (IATP) throughout the world. Following this inaugural program, the UPF will convene inaugural ISCP programs on the regional and national levels throughout 2019; the first World Assembly of ISCP will be convened in 2020, one year from now. We welcome the inauguration of this initiative and trust that it will contribute greatly to lasting peace for the whole human family.

Signed this day, February 8, 2019, in Seoul, Korea.

BACKGROUNDER AND PURPOSE OF THE ISCP

Purpose

The forerunner of the ISCP was the Summit Council for World Peace, founded in 1987 by Rev. and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon as a means to harness the extraordinary wealth of knowledge, experience, intelligence, and goodwill of former heads of state and heads of governments. After a distinguished record of more than two decades working with the world’s top leadership, the Council’s activities were brought under the umbrella of the UPF when it was founded in 2005.

In February 2019 in Seoul, Korea at the World Summit 2019, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, who has been integrating and refining the global mission of UPF, relaunched the International Summit Council for Peace as a separate initiative and with a renewed mission to bring together current and former world leaders and develop recommendations for the problems confronting humanity focused on three main areas – peace, security and human development.

International Inauguration

At World Summit 2019 held from February 8 to 11 at the Lotte World Hotel in Seoul, South Korea, 1200 participants from 110 nations, including 40 current and former heads of state and government, enthusiastically responded to Dr. Moon’s challenge “to join hands as one family under God.” Among the many prominent global leaders, she invited keynote speakers, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney (2001-2009) and U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (1995-1999) to share their wisdom and experience on the most pressing issues in our world today.

A resolution was approved to establish a new association of current and former heads of state, heads of government and other world leaders known provisionally as the International Summit Council for Peace (ISCP). The ISCP would work in concert with the International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace (IAPP), the Interreligious Association for Peace and Development (IAPD) and the International Association of Traditional Rulers for Peace (IATP).

Awardees

Dr. Moon presented ISCP Distinguished Award medals to ten current and former world leaders:

• Hon. Dick Cheney, Vice President (2001-2009), the United States of America
• Hon. Ousmane Moutari, Ambassador of Niger to the United Nations
• H.E. Tuiatua Tupua Tamasese Efi, Head of State (2007-2017), Samoa
• H.E. Luis Federico Franco, President (2012-2013), Paraguay
• H.E. Anthony Carmona, President (2013-2018),Trinidad and Tobago
• Hon. Stanislav S. Shushkevich, Chairman (1991-1994), Supreme Soviet, Belarus
• H.E. Alfred Moisiu, President 2002-2007), Albania
• Hon. Iakoba Taeia Italeli, Governor General of Tuvalu
• H.E. Evaristo Carvalho, President of São Tomé and Príncipe
• H.E. Jerry Rawlings, President (1981-2001), Ghana

African Inauguration

At the Africa Summit and Leadership Conference (ASLC), held on June 7 and 8, 2019 at the Hilton Sandton hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa, heads of state and dignitaries from all over the continent were invited to sign a resolution to inaugurate ISCP’s African regional chapter. In recognition of their lifetime of public service and willingness to dedicate their experience, Dr. Moon presented the leaders with the ISCP Distinguished Award medal.

 Awardees

• Hon. Gwede Mantashe, Chairman of the African National Congress (Representing President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa)
• H.E. Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, President (2010-2015), Nigeria
• H.E. Dioncounda Traoré, President (2012-2013), Mali
• H.E. Mahamane Ousmane, President (1993-1996),Niger
• Hon. Dr. Speciosa Kazibwe, Vice President (1994-2003), Uganda
• H.E. Prime Minister Kwassi Klutse, Prime Minister (1996-1999), of Togo
• Hon.Clara M. Ferreira de Bom Jesus, wife of Prime Minister of Sao Tome & Principe
• Hon. Alex C. Grant, Member of Parliament, Representing President George Weah of Liberia
• Hon. Josiah Dunira Hungwe, Provincial Governor of Masvingo, Representing President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe

Inaugural ISCP programs on the regional and national levels will be held throughout 2019, and the first World Assembly of ISCP will be convened in 2020.

The International Association of Academicians for Peace is a global interdisciplinary academic initiative aimed at contributing toward the realization of a world of lasting peace. IAAP affirms the belief that academicians, scholars and educators have played and continue to contribute in the intellectual, moral and spiritual development of humanity, and provide an essential role in the building of a good society. IAAP is dedicated to building professional networks for academicians to foster a world of peace based on the ideals of interdependence, mutual prosperity and universal values.

Inaugural Resolution of the International Association of Academicians for Peace (IAAP)

We, the undersigned, as participants in World Summit 2020 sponsored by the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) convened in Seoul, Korea on February 3-7, 2020 on the theme “Realizing a World of Peace and Reunification of the Korean Peninsula through Gong-saeng (Interdependence), Gong-yeong (Mutual Prosperity) and Gong-eui (Universal Values),” affirm our belief that academics, scholars and educators play an essential role in the building of a good society.  The 2020 World Peace Academic Conference, organized by the Hyo Jeong Academic Foundation as part of World Summit 2020, has brought together gifted, conscientious scholars and professionals from numerous disciplines, and together we are committed to working in collaboration to making the world a better place, addressing its most significant challenges, and promoting world peace.

We applaud the leadership of Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, and her husband, the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon, for their vision and work over many decades to create “one family under God.” This includes their founding of UPF, an NGO in general consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. In response to this great leadership, we offer the following resolution:

WHEREAS, academicians, as scholars and educators, have played and continue to play a crucial role in the intellectual, moral and spiritual development of humanity; and

WHEREAS, academicians are called to critical and constructive thinking in their core mission to search for truth, goodness, and beauty; and

WHEREAS, the contributions of academicians toward realizing peace through interdependence, mutual prosperity and universal values can only be truly effective in conjunction and partnership with conscientious leaders from other sectors of society,

WE THEREFORE propose to inaugurate the International Association of Academicians for Peace as a project of UPF, and to work in conjunction with the International Summit Council for Peace (ISCP), International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace (IAPP), Interreligious Association for Peace and Development (IAPD), International Media Association for Peace (IMAP) and International Association for Peace and Economic Development (IAED), and other like-minded associations that may be formed in the future.

The International Association of Academicians for Peace (IAAP) represents a new global interdisciplinary academic initiative aimed at contributing toward the realization of a world of lasting peace.

We HEREBY affirm and resolve to uphold the following principles and objectives:

To establish programs that promote excellence in academic research for the benefit of humanity.

To promote the highest quality academic publications and academic teaching.

To build professional networks for academicians to foster a world of peace based on the ideals of interdependence, mutual prosperity and universal values.

To convene programs that advance these goals.

WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, endorse the present proposal to establish a new association of academicians, scholars, leaders in thought, university administrators and government officials to be known as the International Association of Academicians for Peace.

Signed this day, February 5, 2020, in Seoul, Korea. 

UPF maintains that any successful strategy for peace must take into account the spiritual dimension of our human identity, experience and interactions. Based on this worldview, UPF initiated the Interreligious Association for Peace and Development as a partner organization to the International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace. Through interreligious dialogue and exchange of viewpoints among the world’s religions and faith-based organizations, terrorism, violent extremism and the world’s ills can be proactively addressed. Religious leaders are well-situated to deal with community-based concerns and can play a significant role in reconciliation and building a culture of peace. Due to their moral authority and emphasis on human rights based on the principle that we are one family created by God, religious leaders can help rebuild divided societies and assist in humanitarian services for the alleviation of hunger, disease and trauma due to violence and war. The world’s religions and faith-based organizations can provide a unique set of valuable resources for achieving a just and peaceful world.

Founding IAPD Resolution

November 10-14, 2017 at the Lotte Hotel World Seoul, South Korea

As participants in the Interreligious Leadership Conference sponsored by the Universal Peace Federation and the American Clergy Leadership Conference on November 10-14, 2017, focused on the theme, “Addressing the Critical Challenges of our Time: The Role and Responsibility of Religious Leaders and Faith-Based Organizations,” we affirm the unique and essential role that religions are called to play in bringing about a world of lasting peace, a world in which people of all nationalities, ethnicities, races, cultures, and worldviews may live together in mutual respect, harmony and cooperation, as one family under God.

Throughout the ages religion has served as a guide to humanity, leading us from darkness to light, establishing the foundations of morality, and providing a vision of the good society. The teachings and scriptures of the great religious traditions are humanity’s greatest treasures. We dishonor them at our peril.

We also recognize that persons within each of our religions have fallen short and failed to embody those universal ideals that are espoused within our traditions. Religion, too often, has given rise to conflict.

We resolve to overcome the divisive tendencies that have emerged within religion and to work to promote dialogue, mutual respect and cooperation so that we may more effectively work to solve the critical challenges of our time, including poverty, hunger, injustice, environmental degradation, family breakdown, corruption, conflict and violence.

Not only should religions cooperate with one another---Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jain, and others---they should also work together with the leaders of governments and civil society and the private sector, as partners for the sake of building the world envisioned by our founders, our ancestors, and, indeed, all people.

We applaud the leadership of Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon and her late husband Rev. Sun Myung Moon for their vision and work over many decades to establish one family under God. On this day, November 13, 2017, we endorse the proposal to establish a new interreligious association, known provisionally as the Interreligious Association for Peace and Development.

Backgrounder and Purpose of the IAPD

 According to the UPF founders, world peace can be attained only when the endeavors of the world’s political leaders are supplemented by the wisdom and efforts of religious leaders. The world has shifted increasingly towards viewpoints that are materialistic and secular in nature, thus losing sight of the profound wisdom to be found in humanity’s spiritual heritage. UPF maintains that any successful strategy for peace must take into account the spiritual dimension of our human identity, experience and interactions.

In addition, through interreligious dialogue and exchange of viewpoints among the various world religions, religious issues can be directly addressed in order to resolve the crises arising from terrorism, violence and religious extremism. Religious societies are also well-situated to deal with community-based concerns; they can be most effective in solving conflicts related to justice and the rule of law. Due to their moral authority and emphasis on human rights and human dignity, they can also play a key role in re-building shattered societies, and offering humanitarian services for alleviation of hunger, disease and trauma due to war. The combined work of all religions will once again make religion relevant in the daily affairs of humankind.

Launch of the Interreligious Association for Peace and Development (IAPD)

At the conclusion of the 2017 Interreligious Leadership Conference (November 13, 2017), more than 400 delegates including leaders of religious organizations and faith-based groups, parliamentarians, academics and other leaders, representing more than 60 nations unanimously resolved to form the IAPD as a new international association of religious leaders dedicated to bringing world peace. 

On this historic occasion, Dr. Thomas G. Walsh, the chair of UPF International, served as the moderator. Dr. Michael Jenkins, the national co-chair of ACLC, read the statement made by UPF co-founder Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon on August 18, 2000, in which he called for the establishment of an interreligious council at the United Nations. 

Interfaith prayers were offered by Bishop Jesse Edwards, a member of the executive board of ACLC (USA), Ven. Pramahaboonthin Taosiri, the president of the Thai Buddhist Society of Sweden, and Dr. Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, the chief imam of the All India Imam Organization, India.

IAPD Programs and Development

In 2018, inaugural conventions were held on six continents around the world. IAPD assembled global religious leaders and tapped into the profound wisdom found in humanity’s spiritual heritage. Religious leaders and faith-based organizations provide the moral compass to deal with the social problems in contemporary society – sexual abuse and exploitation, crime, hunger, terrorism, and more.

Religious leaders and faith-based organizations are uniquely positioned to influence thinking, mobilize moral authority and be role models for others to follow. Most especially, religious leaders and faith-based organizations can help raise awareness as well as give moral guidance. By bringing together the different faiths and working together for the common good, IAPD stands at the forefront of a revolution of the culture of heart and filial love, and help usher in a world of lasting peace and happiness.
In 2018, the IAPD expanded and developed as a project of UPF. The newly formed organization initially focused on creating an international structure aligned with the principles for good governance and ethical practice. Two religious leaders will be selected to serve as IAPD International Co-Chairs along with 13 IAPD Regional Co-Chairs representing the following designated regions: Africa, Asia, Canada, Central America and the Caribbean, Eurasia, Europe, Greater China Region, Japan, Korea, Middle East, North America, Oceania, South America.

Conclusion

IAPD harnesses the goodwill and wisdom of the religions and faith-based organizations which are called to play a unique and essential role in bringing about a world of lasting peace, a world in which people of all nationalities, ethnicities, races, cultures and worldviews are called to live together in mutual respect, harmony and cooperation. UPF co-founder Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon describes the ideal world as “One Family Under God,” and, teaching by example, says that the path to such a society is through people leading a life of true love and living for the sake of others.

The International Association for Peace and Economic Development affirms the role of businesses, business leaders, and investors to make the world a better place, addressing its most significant challenges, and promoting world peace, long-term mutual prosperity and truly sustainable development. IAED encourages business leadership around the world to contribute to making our nations safer, more secure, more affluent places to live, reducing poverty and creating opportunities for more people to live purposeful and meaningful lives..

Inaugural Resolution of the International Association for Peace and Economic Development (IAED)

 We, the undersigned, as participants in the World Summit 2020 sponsored by the Universal Peace Federation and the HJ Magnolia Global Foundation convened in Seoul, Korea, on February 3-7, 2020, on the theme “Interdependence, Mutual Prosperity and Universal Values — the Role of Business Leadership,” affirm our belief that business leaders have the opportunity and responsibility to work in collaboration with other sectors of society to make the world a better place, addressing its most significant challenges, and promoting world peace, long-term mutual prosperity and truly sustainable development. 

We applaud the leadership of Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, and her husband, the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon, for their vision and work over many decades to create “one family under God.” This includes their founding of UPF, an NGO in general consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

Business leadership has contributed to making the world a safer, more secure, more affluent place to live, reducing poverty and creating opportunities for more people than have existed at any time in human history, driving innovations that have reduced famine, improved health care and built a travel and communications network knitting our world together in ways unimaginable even few decades ago. We believe the private sector has an increasingly vital role to play to support human flourishing and address transnational critical challenges.

Therefore, we propose to inaugurate the International Association for Peace and Economic Development, a project of the Universal Peace Federation, to work in conjunction with International Summit Council for Peace, International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace, Interreligious Association for Peace and Development, and International Media Association for Peace.

WHEREAS, businesses continue through risk-taking investments, public-private partnerships and corporate social-responsibility programs seek to improve the lives of all the people of the world, even the poorest among us;

WHEREAS, continuing unspeakable and inarticulable human misery due to poverty, inequality, environmental degradation, terrorism and insecurity, among other challenges, threatens to undermine and even reverse the human progress to which business has contributed and continues to contribute;

WHEREAS, recognizing that such problems cannot be attributed to any one country but in the globally interconnected world adversely affect us all, and that businesses possess resources and the capacity for innovation making the corporate sector uniquely able to address such problems, for their own sake as well as to ensure long-term mutual prosperity for the people of the world;

FURTHER, believing that in an intertwined world economy, we are all truly connected and that a prosperous, peaceful world must be based upon a moral core of universal values, we affirm our intention to work together to create a family of nations, a better world of peace and human flourishing based on principles of “Interdependence, mutual prosperity and universal values;

WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, endorse the proposal to establish a new association of businesses, business leaders, investors, thought leaders, government economic officials, business school academicians and other concerned citizens to be known as the International Association for Peace and Economic Development. 

Signed this day, February 5, 2020, in Seoul, Korea.