Building a Culture of Peace -
the Role of Local Agenda 21

The Lisbon Conclusions

of

The European Local Agenda 21 Roundtable
3^rd Session, Lisbon, 29 April 2000

Under the High Patronage of the Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio on the occasion of the Portuguese Presidency of the European Union, representatives of the international, European and national Local Agenda 21 Campaigns, organisations active in the field of peace-building and conflict resolution, and United Nations agencies met for the third session of The European Local Agenda 21 Roundtable to discuss the role of Local Agenda 21 for building a culture of peace. The Roundtable was convened by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) and hosted by the City of Lisbon as a contribution to the International Year of the Culture of Peace proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly.

1. Local Agenda 21 seeks to create sustainable communities. As stated by municipal leaders in their Hanover Call¹ peace and sustainability are interdependent. Local Agenda 21 is a process which can help prevent future conflicts both locally and globally. Therefore, a culture of peace and non-violence must be regarded as an indispensable pillar of sustainability.

2. Where conflict occurs at a local level, peace building has to have a local dimension as well. ICLEI's thesis underlying the theme of the 3^rd session of the European Local Agenda 21 Roundtable is that the Local Agenda 21 process can contribute to conflict prevention, peace making and building shared community perspectives in post-violence situations.

3. The Local Agenda 21 process may be applied alongside national and international diplomatic efforts towards conflict prevention and peace building. The purpose of the Local Agenda 21 process is for a local authority to seek consensus among all sectors and groupings of the local community on a long-term strategy for the sustainable development of their community. Sectors and groupings include, among others, ethnic groups, religious communities, political (e.g. regionalist) movements, minority groups, private households, business, and NGOs. Usually a Local Agenda 21 Forum involving all stakeholders is set up to facilitate the development of a joint vision of the community's future.

4. Lack of mutual understanding and information leads to mistrust, fear and violence. On the local level, a Forum can offer experiences of peace, co-existence and tolerance. The Local Agenda 21 process offers space for non-adversarial communication.

5. Hence Local Agenda 21 can be an informed process for the creation of an empowered and equitable society that helps deliver human rights for all citizens.

6. Local authorities are called upon to use their Local Agenda 21 processes to help build a culture of peace and non-violence. ICLEI should encourage this development and also explore the opportunities for peace-building that city twinning and community linking can offer. In this way, the Local Agenda 21 movement can become a strong carrier of a culture of peace and non-violence according to the Resolution by the UN General Assembly on a Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace².

7. The European Council, European Parliament, and national governments are asked to respond to the UN resolutions and Action Programme by supporting and resourcing Local Agenda 21 as a process of building a culture of peace and non-violence in local communities.

ICLEI requests the European Presidency to provide continuing patronage and support for the organisation of The European Local Agenda 21 Roundtable as a platform for debate and opinion-building among European stakeholders on local sustainable development issues.

Adopted by the participants in the third session of The European Local Agenda 21 Roundtable in Lisbon, 29 April 2000.

© EURONET/ICLEI Consortium, 1996. See Impressum.