Speech in the 2018 World Peace and Love Conference presented by H.E. Mr. Sam T. Condor
H.E. Mr. Sam T. Condor
Ambassador of Saint Kitts and Nevis to the UN
Thank you very much Mr. Chairman, Your Excellency, honored guests, ambassadors, ladies and gentlemen, special good afternoon to all of you. I want, first of all, to commend and congratulate and compliment the organizers of this very important conference. I am particularly pleased to be part of this, to be invited in the first place, and to be a part of it to be asked to say a few words. I would like to, first of all, congratulate my colleague here for his excellent presentation and it must be the most difficult and challenging experience to follow you, Sir. I am from St. Kitts and Nevis as you were told, one of the smallest independent countries in the Western hemisphere. But I am part of a region known as a “zone of peace” that is the Caribbean. The Caribbean with their number of organizations, for example we have CARICOM, and we also have subregion of the OECS, Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, where we have tremendous functional cooperation where we work with each other.
The Caribbean is part of the world, that my brother describes as not very endowed with natural resources. But we believe that service to humanity is the best work of life, and we believe that together we are better. We believe that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, and so mankind’s salvation rests on each other and must endeavor to strive for a world of peace and love. And so it gives me great pleasure to join with the Federation of World Peace and Love, FOWPAL, the Permanent Mission of Kiribati, and the Association of World Citizens to share in this World Peace and Love Conference. The people of the blossoming independent Twin Island Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis embrace the concept of peace and love as important elements that help to build bridges of hope while it’s breaking down wars of hate. Today, like so many other developing nations, St. Kitts and Nevis faces economic, social, cultural, and political challenges that heavily weigh on our nation’s quality of life.
The poverty that was spoken of so eloquently by my colleague. And so leaders today are constantly examining and assessing how all their policies and programs will impact the lives and the development of the current generations and the generations yet unborn. Because we believe, you know, part of the world that we don’t inherit the past, we are borrowing from the future, and so we must pass it on enhanced, developed, and improved. The general view is that the family, the heartbeat of civilization is under attack, and no longer the traditional safe haven for many of our children. We must therefore constantly seek out programs and suitable initiatives that will implant in the minds of our young people that it is love, not hate, peace, not war, that will improve the quality of their lives. Over the years we are seeing the importance of embracing diversity. We are all different but one people. It is a fact that we are unique human beings.
Our differences, however, must help to positively influence the quality of lives we lead and the type of world we live in, and pass on to future generations. In its crest to provide the solution to the many problems and the issues faced by the youth in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, the government has spearheaded a new and an exciting initiative called “explore movement” to develop and challenge the exciting possibilities and potential that exist among all youth. The objective of this “explore movement” is to create a positive program that focuses on discipline, group work, ethics through mentorship, parents, and partnership. This group has doubled and has grown exponentially over the last one year or so. This initiative, this innovative initiative, allows young people to explore avenues for problem-solving and peacebuilding that there is a solution to every problem and they must see the positive best side of every situation.
The “explore movement” is expected to enlighten young people, as it relates to the personal rewards they can receive from volunteering in various programs gear towards the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, and by extension, the world in which we live. As I said, at the beginning, we believe that service to humanity is the best work of life. The government expects that such initiatives will help to encourage love of self and others and the eternal truth that we must do unto others as we would have them do unto us. It is our view that through such concerted efforts at an early age, we must begin with the youth and the youngs in order to demonstrate better appreciation of our individual roles as torchbearers for peace, love, and happiness, thereby transforming humanity, and ultimately our world. It is on me to call Lord Jesus Christ who has admonished that we love one another and live peacefully and peaceably with each other. Therefore, we want to conclude by congratulating FOWPAL for successes to date, and we pray for continued success and growth as the organization continues to strive for world peace and love. Love you all.
*Presented in the World Peace and Love Conference at the United Nations on April 5, 2018 in New York