In September 2020 Multicultural Cumbria signed the Declaration of Intent “Pledge to Peace” along with fellow organisation COS (Celebrate our similarities). This European Parliament initiative aims to promote peace within communities, internationally, by building a network of people who have a “shared vision of the value of peace, who have the potential to create, promote and communicate tangible projects and initiatives.” 

This aligns completely with Multicultural Cumbria’s mission to work towards an equitable multicultural society. We always have and always will ensure that our projects and events will endorse peaceful and unified engagement, as we continue to support and honour the ‘Pledge to Peace’.

The International Day of Peace was first established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly, which will now be observed around the world on 21 September, each year. 

The Bruxelles Declaration “Pledge to Peace” was first established in the European Parliament on 28 November 2011; whilst on the very same day there were:  

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2011 Yemeni uprising: At least 25 people are killed in fighting between Sunni and Shia groups in Yemen. (Al-Jazeera)
• Saboteurs attack Egypt‘s gas pipeline to Israel and Jordan, destroying a section of the pipeline west of al-Arish in Sinai. (Reuters)

International relations

• The government of Sudan expels Kenya‘s ambassador, following the Kenyan High Court‘s ruling that it will arrest Omar al-Bashir, the President of Sudan, if he enters Kenya. (CNN)
• The 2011 United Nations Climate Change Conference (also known as COP 17) begins in Durban, South Africa. (Joburg.org.za)

Politics and Elections

• Voters in Egypt go to the polls for the first round of voting in parliamentary elections. (Reuters)
• The Prime Minister of Kuwait, Sheikh Nasser Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, and his cabinet resign after protesters storm the national Parliament. (Reuters via ABC News Australia)
• Ante Marković, the last Prime Minister of Yugoslavia, dies aged 87 in the Croatian capital Zagreb. 
• (AP via Washington Post)
• Voters in the Democratic Republic of the Congo go to the polls for a general election, with outbreaks of election violence reported. (Wall Street Journal)