Mr. Speaker, last month, in the presence of the Speaker of the House of Commons and the Speaker of the Senate, I was privileged to hand over to the Director-General of UNESCO, His Excellency, Mr. Matsuura, the 2000 Manifesto Pledge, signed by nearly 300 Canadian parliamentarians from both Houses.
This initiative was carried out under the auspices of the Friendship Group of Parliamentarians for UNESCO and under the umbrella of the International Year for the Culture of Peace decreed by the UN.
May I remind you that the Manifesto 2000 for a culture of peace and non-violence is a commitment to respect the life and dignity of every human being, to practice active non-violence, to put an end to exclusion, to defend freedom and cultural diversity, to promote responsible consumer behaviour and sustainable development and to contribute to the democratic development of our communities with full participation by women.