Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. launched “When the World declared Peace,” an exhibit commemorating the 40th anniversary of the adoption of the Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes at the United Nations Headquarters on April 21, in line with with the resolution adopted by the General Assembly.

The exhibit features a 20-foot centerpiece, a playful and colorful mural at the back of the centerpiece, and nineteen panels, designed by the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Office of Public and Cultural Diplomacy, featured the ideas that underpin the Manila Declaration. It will be on display at the UN Headquarters from April 18 to 29.

“Our then Secretary of Foreign Affairs Carlos P. Romulo said: ‘This (Manila) Declaration marks an important step forward for the United Nations and the international community generally in our efforts to enhance the capacity of the United Nations for peace-making.’ His words have not lost their relevance,” emphasized Locsin.

Locsin stressed that the exihibit “is the Philippines’ contribution to the dissemination of the Declaration and the commitments needed for its full observance.”

Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Stephen Mathias noted that the Manila Declaration addresses both the normative and procedural aspects of the United Nations Charter and said that “this exhibition is an important reminder of what we have achieved and of our need to recommit ourselves to it”.

The Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on November 15 1982.

It was based on a text prepared by the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization at its 1980 session that was held in Manila. The Declaration is the first important outcome of the work of the Special Committee and one of its significant achievements. OPCD-Media and Public Affairs Division