The Congress of Nations and States is the culmination of years of efforts to establish a permanent and independent international forum for Nations, States, and Peoples to meet as equal partners to forge a constructive and enduring dialogue as well as enforceable measures designed to prevent and peacefully resolve conflicts and unnecessary wars as well as enthrone mutual respect and harmonious coexistence that will guarantee benefit to all parties.

It is our reality today that several States, Nations, and Peoples share the same territorial and political space. Because of the unique nature of this existence, sometimes disagreements, conflicts, and even outright hostilities break out among the parties. The challenge that the world has faced over several decades, if not centuries, has been how to manage these disagreements and conflicts without resorting to violence, and where violence inevitably occurs to limit its scope, duration and impact, and most importantly respect and protect the dignity of the peoples involved; and where violence has occurred and caused harm to find mutually acceptable means of affording justice to the aggrieved and granting reparation for any harm caused in the process.

The Congress of Nations and States believes that it behooves all Peoples all over the world, Nations, States, and Peoples, whether rich or poor, militarily powerful, or less powerful, irrespective of their political and ideological affiliations, cultural beliefs and practices, cosmological outlook, and especially religious beliefs and practices to treat one another with dignity, respecting that essence that distinguishes us as human.

It is the acknowledgement of the absolute sanctity of our humanity and that of others that will propel us to recognize the validity of the diversity of the existence and experience of others whether that diversity be their skin color, hair texture, eye color, physiognomy, gender, language, religion, or cultural practices. The acceptance, acknowledgement, and respect of the diversity of our human family is the cornerstone of the foundation of peaceful co-existence of the different shades and groups of our human family. It is at the core of the values and beliefs that shape our behaviors towards others, especially those who appear different from us. It is a critical factor in our decisions to engage other people respectfully and democratically, or to subjugate them; relate impartially to or discriminate against others; and discuss and resolve differences of opinions, and claims respectfully, or in extreme cases conduct wars of attrition that often result in the slaughter of thousands and sometimes millions of innocent people, destabilization of Communities, Peoples, and sometimes entire Nations, and destruction of our environment.

It is on the basis of these realities and facts that I on behalf of the Congress of Nations and States am appealing to the leadership of all Nations, States, and Peoples of the world to as a matter of urgency join hands with us, and adopt this paradigm shift as a basis for a new world order – a world in which the powerful and the less powerful, Nations, States, and Peoples, co-exist peacefully, and in the inevitable circumstance of disagreement and conflicts, meet as equal partners to forge constructive and enduring dialogue and negotiation to peacefully resolve the issues, maintain harmonious coexistence and eschew violence as instrument of conflict resolution and settlement of disagreements and disputes.    

 For years, staff of the Secretariat and the Convening Council of CNS have toiled to turn this dream into reality. It is our belief that as deliberations progress and CNS programs unfold, the benefits of this approach to peaceful coexistence of Nations, States, and Peoples will become transparent to all parties. CNS stands out as an international organization that is uniquely designed and committed in its Charter, Principles, Structures, and Practices to the preservation of the peaceful coexistence of all Peoples, Nations and States in all social and political configurations, and the guarantee of the safety, security, and dignity of all Peoples throughout the world.  

This new international body, CNS therefore enjoins all States, Nations, and Peoples throughout the world to join us in the pursuit of this lofty initiative, this noble ideal, this grand goal of pursuing peaceful co-existence between and among Nations, States and Peoples and the resolution of differences through dialogue, negotiation, and compromise rather than violence and destructive wars. This Congress of Nations and States belongs to you. It is yours. Join it, support it financially, materially, and philosophically. Invest in it emotionally. Hydrate it with the waters of your enduring energy and watch it blossom into this tree that provides protective cover for the strong and weak, powerful, and less powerful, rich, and poor, Nation and State, indeed all humanity irrespective of their situation in life.