Mancham Specially Honoured and Recognised for Unique Role in Diplomacy & World Peace
Seychelles' founding President Sir James R. Mancham was this morning (Tuesday 23rd July) presented with "The award for distinguished contributions to the field of cultural diplomacy and world peace" at a special ceremony in the House of Lords in London where Sir James was delivering a keynote address at the International Symposium on Cultural Diplomacy in the Commonwealth.
Speaking about this special award, Mr Mark C. Donfried - Director-General of the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy, elaborated on Sir James' "unique background" as a national and international peace apostle, said that the Secretariat and Advisory Board of the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy had unanimously resolved to present this special award to Sir James - and that they thought there was no fitter venue for the event but the House of Lords.
Mr Donfried was followed by Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale - Member of House of Lords; Member of the Advisory Board of the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy and a former First Minister of Scotland, who said that he was extremely happy to welcome Sir James to the House of Lords for the occasion because the House of Lords was the champion of those sponsoring and supporting human rights the world over. "Sir James ceaseless activities in association with various peace-orientated organisations have certainly not passed unnoticed," he declared.
Among those attending the symposium were Lord David Triesman - Member of the House of Lords, former General-Secretary of the Labour Party; the Rt. Hon. Lord Swraj Paul - Member of the House of Lords; Lord Frank Judd MP; the Rt. Hon. Lord Michael Bates - former Minister of State at Home Office, UK; Sir Simon Hughes MP - former Minister of State for Justice and Civil Liberties and former Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats; Mr Robin Marsh - Secretary-General of the Universal Peace Federation; Dr. Sheikh Ramzy - Director of Oxford Islamic Information Centre and Professor Shafique Chaudhry MBE - Chairman of the Council for Christian Muslim Relations and several other VIPs.
In his acceptance address, Sir James reiterated his conviction that the world's powers must move away from the policy of "might is right" to the policy of "right is might". He said that the Commonwealth was an association of so many different nations that it contained many inherent challenges. He said that previous Secretary-Generals of the organisation have not always stood firm in the sphere of human rights and constitutional propriety. "It is important that any new Secretary-General displays a high level of cultural diplomacy and stands firm on human rights issues as it did when the Commonwealth at a Bahamas summit decided to expel South Africa because of apartheid," Sir James said.
Sir James said that the Commonwealth today has survived because of the total dedication, commitment and determination of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II who is worldly respected and acclaimed.
This symposium this morning (Friday 24th July), will hear a keynote address by Natalie Louise Bennett - Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales; HE Ambassador Diego Perez Pickering - Ambassador of Mexico to the United Kingdom; Professor Dr. Keith Howard - Professor of Music at the University of London and Dr. Ruth Kattumuri - Co-director of India Observatory and Asia Research Centre, who will focus on sustainable growth and inclusion within the Commonwealth of Nations. Sir James has been asked to make concluding remarks at today's session.
Comment
We, at OCEANUSLive, have followed the work of Sir James over the last few years and would like to add our congratulations to Sir James on the richly deserved accolade presented in the House of Lords. His unstinting work on behalf of the Seychelles, small island nations, African interests as well as global matters are most praiseworthy and has been duly recognised worldwide. Despite a punishing schedule of conferences, talks and speeches, Sir James has untirelessly, and impressively met the challenges on a global scale.
Source: Press Release
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