We, incumbent and former Heads of State and Government, Prime Ministers, royalty, and other citizens taking part in the Fourth World Peace Conference, gathered in Washington, D.C., November 27 - 30, 1997, do hereby declare our commitment to World Peace, and call upon the world and its leaders in all fields to review and assess our traditional patterns of thinking in order to promote greater cooperation among individuals, groups, and nations, and the empowerment of the underprivileged, so as to ensure the creation of a new world of prosperity, freedom, justice, and peace for all humanity.

The participants of the Fourth World Peace Conference urge all leaders and responsible citizens to unite in a global effort to bring about peace and cooperation, to restore, protect, and preserve the natural resources of our planet, to transcend the barriers of religion, race, and nationality, and to promote human development in all its forms, including access to the instruments through which men and women can realize their highest potential.

The reality of a peaceful global village is within our reach. New thinking and restructuring based on deeper understandings and realizations on the ideal of the family is needed to match the present realities in our world as we enter the third millennium.

Accordingly, we summon the people of the world to maintain, support, and encourage a movement of true human solidarity to rebuild the family through word and example. We make a special appeal to religious leaders of the world to put aside their differences and spearhead this call, guided by the following principles and affirmations:

• That every human being, regardless of race, color, or religion, is a son or daughter of God endowed with limitless potential for creating and giving that can be developed through education of both the mind and heart. Because of this relationship with the Creator, we are members of one human family and, as such, should take responsibility to improve and alleviate the misfortunes of humankind, including our home, the earth;

• That the purpose of a man and woman is to form a family, which is the school of love. In this original institution an individual learns love for their spouse, filial piety toward parents, respect for creation, and reverence for our Creator. In this manner, by application and extension, we learn to embrace humanity by loving our brothers and sisters and learn to exemplify God’s parental heart by loving our children;

• That charged with the stewardship of Nature, humankind must come to terms with the proper care and distribution of our heritage, both in order to preserve intact what has been inherited by the present generation, and to improve and repair the legacy to be passed on to future generations.

• That the 21st Century needs to bring a balance of equality, not based on the redistribution of results, but on expanded human and capital development opportunities for wealth creation, to unleash the potential of untapped human and capital resources throughout the world, particularly in lesser developed nations and peoples, to solve the vast necessities of infrastructure development, clean energy, water, and air for all.

We call upon Governments, legislators, and leaders of the world to enact laws that will support a new education that focuses not only on academic and technical studies, but on the fundamental education of the heart. This education will nurture virtuous, public-minded individuals who learn to give themselves to the community, country, and world.

With clear vision and a continuous commitment of internal and external resources, this worthy purpose will surely be accomplished.

Washington, D.C.

November 27, 1997

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