Cairo: On the International Day for Tolerance, the Arab League emphasizes the need to spread a culture of dialogue and mutual understanding. The Arab League affirmed the importance of promoting a culture of dialogue and deepening mutual understanding, stressing that tolerance is a fundamental value for building safer, fairer, and more humane societies. The League renewed its call to integrate the principles of tolerance, dialogue, and coexistence into the vision of societies and the mission of their institutions, believing that tolerance is a bridge toward a more stable future.
According to National Iraqi News Agency, the League issued a statement on the occasion of the International Day for Tolerance, observed annually on November 16, highlighting that tolerance is not merely a slogan but a commitment to respecting others' right to differ. It emphasized that diversity is a source of civilizational richness that supports growth and prosperity and lays the foundation for genuine peace.
The statement added that this occasion comes at a time when the world is witnessing rising manifestations of intolerance, violence, and hate speech. It presents an opportunity to call for strengthening dialogue among cultures and civilizations and supporting initiatives that foster respect for religious, cultural, and linguistic diversity while reinforcing the principles of justice and equality in rights and opportunities. It also emphasized the importance of educational, cultural, and media programs that instill the values of tolerance in younger generations and enhance their ability to reject extremism and intellectual isolation.
The statement pointed out that the Arab League is working to adopt the Arab Declaration on Tolerance and Peace, which serves as a guiding framework for future efforts to entrench values of mutual respect and peaceful coexistence among peoples. It affirmed that building bridges of understanding and communication between cultures, highlighting common ground, and maintaining continuous dialogue are key to spreading a spirit of tolerance and rejecting all forms of hatred, intolerance, and discrimination.
The International Day for Tolerance, observed every year on November 16, aims to promote the values of tolerance, understanding, and peaceful coexistence among different cultures and religions. UNESCO established this observance in 1995 after the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance to help preserve peaceful relations based on respect for cultural, ethnic, and religious differences.