From the Ashes of Gernika: UNAOC Launches Global Call for Peace- Interview with UN High Representative for Alliance of Civilizations Miguel Moratinos

By Ahmed Fathi

 

UNHQ-New York: — At the United Nations Headquarters in New York, just outside the Security Council chamber, a tapestry reproduction of Picasso’s *Guernica* hangs in quiet defiance. It depicts horror, grief, and chaos—a vivid reminder of war’s inhumanity. And soon, the city it immortalizes will become the stage for a new chapter in global peacebuilding.

On April 25 and 26, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) will launch a new global initiative from Gernika, Spain, nearly 88 years after the town was bombed during the Spanish Civil War. The campaign is titled “A Call for Peace, the End of Wars, and Respect for International Law.” It is a timely and urgent response to today’s fragmented world, where armed conflicts rage on, diplomacy weakens, and multilateralism struggles for breath.

I spoke with H.E. Miguel Moratinos, the UN High Representative for UNAOC, who will lead the event in Gernika. In our interview, he did not mince words.

“Gernika is a cry for peace,” he told me. “It’s the city that suffered one of the first bombings targeting civilians. That cry became global thanks to Picasso, and the painting still hangs here, just behind the Security Council, to remind member states what their behavior should be.”

That symbolism, however, is not enough. Moratinos is pushing for something more ambitious—more urgent.

“We all know there’s a lobby for war,” he said. “There are companies, enterprises, making tremendous profits from conflicts. But there’s no lobby for peace.”

With those words, the heart of the initiative comes into focus. *A Call for Peace* is not just another UN campaign—it is a declaration that peace must be mobilized , intentional, and strategic. A *lobby for peace*, in Moratinos’ words, is long overdue.

As we walked through the halls of the UN, he explained that this isn’t only about moral leadership—it’s also about economics.

“Even from a business perspective, peace matters,” he said. “Entrepreneurs should be interested in stability. Peace creates jobs, attracts investment, makes societies livable. It’s common sense—but we must mobilize to make it common policy.”

The two-day event in Gernika will include roundtables with representatives of faith-based organizations, civil society, women, cultural performances, youth-led discussions, and a screening of *Why War* by Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai. It will also feature a solemn tribute to the victims of the 1937 bombing—an act that shocked the world and inspired one of the most iconic anti-war artworks in history.

But this initiative is not simply retrospective. It is forward-facing and deliberately inclusive. Women and youth will not be token participants—they will be central to the process.

“There will be a ‘Women for Peace’ roundtable,” Moratinos said. “Because history shows women are powerful peacebuilders. And youth—they are not just the future. They are our present. We need them to lead now.”

This campaign also marks the beginning of a broader journey. After Gernika, UNAOC plans to carry the initiative to Sarajevo and potentially Nagasaki—two cities also shaped by the trauma of war and the resilience of peace.

The effort coincides with the United Nations’ designation of 2025 as the International Year of Peace and Trust. But as Moratinos stressed, this moment is not about slogans or ceremonies—it is about serious, sustained global engagement.

“This is not just a commemoration,” he said. “It’s a mobilization.”

Indeed, as I listened to Moratinos, surrounded by the echo of diplomatic voices and the ever-present hum of UN corridors, it became clear: what is being launched in Gernika is not simply a program. It is a movement.

And perhaps—finally—the world is ready to listen.