ADA Statement on DPRK-US Summit (Singapore, 12 June 2018)

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Statement on the Denuclearization and Peacebuilding in Korea and Asia
on the Occasion of the DPRK-USA Summit
(Sentosa Island, Singapore, 12 June 2018)

Singapore, 11 June 2018

We are determined to foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies which are free from fear and violence. There can be no sustainable development without peace, and no peace without sustainable development.
 (Preamble of UN 2030 Agenda)

1. The Asia Development Alliance (ADA) welcomes the upcoming summit between United States of America (USA) President Donald Trump and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, North Korea) Chairman of the State Affairs Commission Kim Jong-un due to take place in Sentosa Island, Singapore on 12 June 2018.
2. We believe that the upcoming Singapore Summit between DPRK and USA is indeed a historic opportunity of the 21st century for denuclearization, peace-building and sustainable peace not only on the Korean Peninsula but for the whole Asia region. 
3. It is one of the highlights of the wave of peace that started with the PyeongChang Olympics and Paralympics held in Gwangwon Province in South Korea from February to March. 2018 which set the momentum for dialogue and cooperation on the Korean peninsula and beyond as illustrated in the two Panmunjom Summits between the DPRK and Republic of Korea (RoK, South Korea) on 27 April and 26 May 2018 respectively. 
4. We note with greater hope that such a positive development was one of the expectations Asia’s civil society expressed at the Busan Declaration of the Democracy Forum (BuDF) held in Busan, Korea in 22-24 Jan. 2018, about a month prior to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
Call on all participating countries in the forthcoming 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics to recognize sports as an important enabler of sustainable development in its promotion of peace, tolerance and respect (para 37 of UN 2030 Agenda) to work together for peaceful settlement of security challenges in the Korean peninsula and the Asia region. (No 17 of Call to Action)
5. The year 2018 is the 70th anniversary of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) Chaillot and 25th anniversary of the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Program of Action (VDPA).  We believe that the current peace process is the best means to celebrate and implement the spirits of Chaillot, Vienna, PyeongChang and Sentosa – peace and tranquility.
6. We particularly note that “Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized (Article 28 of UDHR) and “all human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent and interrelated” (VDPA Para. 5) have now been reflected in the 2015 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) composed of 5Ps - people, prosperity, planet, peace and partnership.
7. We also note that the importance of inter-linkage and synergy between peace and sustainable development has been emphasized in the preamble of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted at the UN General Assembly on 25 Sept. 2015.
We are determined to foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies which are free from fear and violence. There can be no sustainable development without peace, and no peace without sustainable development. (Preamble of the UN 2030 Agenda)
8. We do hope that the upcoming Summit can and should be an important milestone in creating a conducive political environment and conditions for sustainable development and peace on the Korean peninsula and Asia, which is truly relevant and timely in the face of the rising political and military tensions and conflicts in several parts of Asia today.
9. In this connection, we welcome and fully support the Panmumjom Declaration for Peace and Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsular adopted at the Inter-Korean Summit on 27 April 2018 which paved the way for a formal international peace-building process among countries concerned.
10. Furthermore, we welcome and fully support the renewed initiatives by the UN on disarmament and peace-building such as “An Agenda for Disarmament – Securing our Common Future” by the UN Secretary General on 24 May 2018, and UN High-level Meeting on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace (New York, 24-25 April 2018), and Pathways for Peace – Inclusive Approach to Preventing Conflict with the World Bank (Jan. 2018) which are all important for global peace and prosperity.
11. We as civil society organizations will continue to implement the SDGs, in particular goal 16 in accordance with the 17 calls to action of the Busan Declaration and those peace agenda of the UN.
12. Finally we, as responsible citizens of the countries in Asia, urge the two leaders of DPRK-USA to take bold and ambitious decisions and measures to make Asia and the world truly a ‘peaceful and tranquil’ place at the upcoming historic Singapore Summit.
13. More concretely, we urge the two leaders to agree on the complete dismantling of all weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missiles as well as its related programs and facilities in North Korea with a clear roadmap for peace mechanism in the Korean peninsular and beyond including the declaration to officially end the Korean War (1950. 6.25 – 1953.7.27) and signing of a peace treaty among the countries concerned.
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The Asia Development Alliance (ADA) which was formed at its founding assembly in Bangkok in Feb. 2013, is an international network of national multi-sectoral NGO/CSO platforms or umbrellas in Asia engaged in the effective implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) contained in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted at the UN General Assembly on 25 Sept. 2015. ADA has 24 member platforms in 16 countries as of Jan. 2018.  www.ADA2030.org
Contact persons
? Co-Convener Mr Saroeun Soeung (Cambodia), Gopal Lamsal (Nepal) and Hideki Wakabayashi (Japan)
? Samydorai Sinapan, Think Center (Singapore) samysd@yahoo.com +65 94791906
? Anselmo Lee, Senior Adviser (South Korea) alee7080@gmail.com +82-10-4293-0707
? Jyostna Mohan, Coordinator (India) ada2030.secretariat@gmail.com +91 965 4440 441