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Treaty on Social Integration in Central America
Principles (Article 6)

a) The respect for life in all its forms and recognition of social development as a universal right.

b) The concept of the human being as the centre and objective of development, which calls for an integral and explicit vision between its different features, in order to promote sustainable social development.

c) The consideration of the family as the essential nucleus of society and axis of social policy.

d) The promotion of peace and democracy, as basic forms of human co-existence.

e) No discrimination on the basis of nationality, race, ethnic origins, age, illness, disability, religion, sex, ideology, civil or family status or any other types of social exclusion.

f) Harmonious coexistence with the environment and respect for natural resources.

g) The condemnation of all forms of violence.

h) The promotion of universal access to health care, education, food, leisure, as well as economic activity which is suitable and justly remunerated.

i) The maintaining and encouraging of cultural pluralism and ethnic diversity in the Region, marked by respect for human rights.

j) The active support for community participation in managing social development.

America. Leave the interpretation and implementation of our peace plan to us. Support the efforts for peace instead of the forces of war in our region. Send our people ploughshares instead of swords, pruning hooks instead of spears.'
In addition to the Central American Presidents, the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) is also taking the initiative to promote a culture of peace in the region. In June 1994, PARLACEN organized with UNESCO the First National Encounter for Peace and Reconciliation in Guatemala, bringing together over one hundred participants from all sectors of Guatemalan life, as well as from international agencies and invited guests. Among those presiding over the meeting were the President of the Republic of Guatemala, Ramiro de Le�n Carpio, and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Rigoberta Menchu, who has been outspoken on behalf of human rights of the indigenous peoples of Guatemala and the region.
Addressing the Encounter in Guatemala, the President of the Peace Commission of PARLACEN said that he hoped to see a Guatemala filled with 'artisans of peace' because the act of making peace requires the love, the time and the dedication of an artisan. He called for the building of a culture of peace 'a culture of life, of harmony, of prosperity, the things which we are in great need of today'.
Five basic conditions were identified by the PARLACEN encounter in relation to national reconciliation and the construction of peace:

* the process of reconciliation is unique to each country and must include the mobilization of the forces of civil society as co-authors of the process;

* elucidation of the truth is an indispensable basis for national reconciliation in order to make it a credible process;

* the objective identification of the structural causes of conflict are essential to develop the social agreements that are needed;

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Elucidation of the truth is an indispensable basis for national reconciliation and the construction of peace.

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