“Dialogues of Río Grande”

August 6-7, 2014 [Río Grande, Argentina]

 Dear Friends of MAYORS FOR PEACE

The city government of Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, has been carrying out the initiative called “Diálogos de Río Grande” (Dialogues of Río Grande). The action, taken clearly within the framework of the Net’s own ideals and objectives, and within the international commitments that our country has made in compliance with our local rules, represents the highest commitment a city can make to the construction of the region to which belongs as an area for PEACE and COOPERATION.

The history of the city of Río Grande has the sad experience of having taken part in a military confrontation and this imposes us clearly the duty of using all our resources and efforts in order not to repeat any similar situation.

Currently our South Atlantic region is returning to the International limelight due to a militarization process being implemented by extrarregional powers, and also because of the increasing proliferation of nuclear weapons that is simultaneously being fulfilled, infringing the healthy equilibrium of Harmony and Peace in which all of us want to live.

Irrespective of the unconditional support to the demand by our country regarding the sovereignty of the Malvinas Islands, the South Sandwich and the South Georgia Islands, we understand that our main goal is to secure for ourselves the possibility of living in an environment free of weapons of mass destruction and to hold the DIALOGUE as the only effective way to solve any kind of dispute.

For this reason, the “Dialogues of Río Grande” were created as a space for meeting, reflection and debate, while inviting the different cities in the World to join in the task of building cities and areas of peace in the understanding that this “new world of cities,” local governments cannot be just mere witness to what other levels of governments do, but on the contrary they must exhaust all their efforts and commitments they have made to such building process.

In an unprecedented way influential people from the United Nations, political representatives for Peace and Cooperation Zone of the South Atlantic (known with the Spanish acronym of ZOPACAS) and members of civil society organizations were involved in these first “Dialogues of Río Grande.” The participants to the Dialogues were unanimous as to the need to include cities and organizations working coordinately to solve current issues that threatens the security of every one of us. Climate change, drug trafficking, militarization and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction must be issues in whose alleviation cities and the rest of the participants who have a stake in are actively involved.

This is our contribution to Peace. Our goal is to keep and deepen this initiative inviting more and more cities to join us in this challenge, because our world today requires taking action and the participation of everyone involved in the building of a better world to live in.

Warm regards

Lic. Andrés M. Dachary
International Relations
The City of Río Grande

Dialogues of Río Grande
(Photo credit: The City of Río Grande, Argentina)