HWPL, BFLHA host seminar on peace governance
HWPL and the Bangladesh Forum for Legal and Humanitarian Affairs (BFLHA) jointly hosted a public seminar on peace governance at North South University (NSU) in Dhaka on 13 June.
The seminar, titled "Institutionalising Peace for Sustainable Development: Advancing DPCW-Based Peace Governance through Local Cooperation", was co-organised by the Centre for Legal Research and the NSU Law and Mooting Society.
Around 100 participants, including legal scholars, human rights practitioners, policymakers, students and youth leaders, attended the event.
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The seminar was organised to build a peace governance platform bringing together academia, the legal community, civil society and youth leaders.
It also aimed to explore ways to institutionalise peace based on the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW), while laying the groundwork for future local government resolutions and expanded peace education.
Organisers said Bangladesh faces shared challenges in establishing the rule of law, protecting human rights and advancing community-based peacebuilding.
The seminar sought to build consensus on the need for DPCW-based peace governance and establish a multi-stakeholder network connecting academia, law, youth and civil society.
It also served as a platform for formalising the HWPL-BFLHA cooperation framework and laying the foundation for expanding the Peace Governance Forum in Bangladesh.
The session was convened by Nasmin Jabin Noor, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Law at NSU.
Lokman Hossain, Senior Lecturer and Coordinator of the Centre for Legal Research at NSU, delivered the opening remarks.
Prof Nasar U Ahmed, Pro Vice-Chancellor of NSU, chaired the session.
Benjamin Kim, Coordinator of the Department of Peace Education at HWPL, delivered introductory remarks on HWPL, the DPCW and the Shanti Bangladesh Initiative.
The panellists included Prof Md Abdul Awal Khan, Professor at the School of Law of Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB); Prof Md Rizwanul Islam, Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences and Professor of Law at NSU; and Jacob Bae, Coordinator of the International Peace Youth Group (IPYG).
The panel discussion was moderated by Sayere Nazabi Sayem, President of BFLHA.
Prof Nasar U Ahmed said diversity is central to building peaceful societies, noting that people belonging to different groups, cultures and religions form the foundation of peaceful coexistence.
He said NSU contributes to social progress through knowledge creation and by responding to national and international challenges that threaten peace.
Prof Md Rizwanul Islam said achieving peace in a country like Bangladesh remains a major challenge, adding that peace cannot be reduced to the mere absence of violence.
He said international humanitarian law has been seriously challenged in conflict-affected regions such as Iran and Gaza, and added that Western powers sometimes apply human rights and peace principles selectively despite advocating for these values.
During the event, participants signed the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War endorsement letter, reaffirming their commitment to promoting peace and peaceful conflict resolution.
A commemorative photo session was also held to mark the signing of an MoU between HWPL and BFLHA, formalising the partnership between the two organisations.
The event concluded with the presentation of tokens of appreciation to the guests.
Through the seminar, HWPL and BFLHA said they established the groundwork for building a university, legal and youth-based peace network in Bangladesh.
HWPL plans to expand DPCW-based peace governance through continued efforts to collect DPCW endorsements, broaden peace education and advance local government resolutions in Bangladesh.
