A mural entitled “The Peacemaker’s Path,” a collective artwork created by the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Office of Public and Cultural Diplomacy (DFA-OPCD), was spotlighted in “When the World declared Peace,” an exhibit to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes. The exhibit was launched by Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. on 21 April 2022 at the General Assembly Building of the United Nations Headquarters.
The Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 15 November 1982. It reaffirms the principles set out in the UN Charter that all States shall settle their disputes by peaceful means. It was elaborated on the initiative of non-aligned countries including the Philippines.
“The Peacemakers’ Path” illustrates the Manila Declaration through a winding mosaic of glyphs and symbols. It was made with stencils and acrylic paint on 40-foot white canvas.
“It does not depict peace as a lack of conflict but as a vast, lively, and sprawling conversation: a clash of crowds that has made a thousand individual decisions to evolve into a co-mingling,” Mr. Marthy A. Angue, an artist and foreign service officer at the Office of Public and Cultural Diplomacy who worked closely with the Permanent Mission of the Philippines to the United Nations on the exhibit, said of the mural.
“In making visible these invisible yearnings, may this artwork – a presentation of the Permanent Mission and the Department’s Office of Public and Cultural Diplomacy – be a reminder of the constant need to commit and recommit to mutual respect and equal dignity under the law in our pursuit of peace among nations,” added Mr. Angue.
The exhibit is a visual commemoration of the background, negotiating history, and key provisions of the Manila Declaration. Through the artwork, the photographs retrieved from the UN archives, and illustrations, the exhibit is an invitation to reflect on a landmark legal framework that undergirds the modern world’s pursuit of lasting, sustainable peace.
Aside from the mural, the exhibit includes 19 photo panels, and a double-sided 20-feet fabric display. The front side of the fabric display contains the image of Secretary for Foreign Affairs Carlos P. Romulo and a quote from his statement following the adoption of the Manila Declaration. The back of the display has the digital copy of the mural.
The exhibit will be on display at the lobby of the delegates entrance at the United Nations Headquarters. Further details on the exhibit may be found on this microsite: https://sites.google.com/dfa.gov.ph/maniladeclaration
The exhibit is one of the activities of the Permanent Mission in relation to the General Assembly resolution on the “Fortieth anniversary of the Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes.”
As noted by Ambassador Enrique A. Manalo, “The adoption by consensus of this resolution which calls on all States to observe and promote in good faith the Manila Declaration in the peaceful settlement of their international disputes, now – almost forty years later and under clement circumstances – is a testament to its enduring relevance.”
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