Crown Prince’s noble mission

Every time the dynamic Crown Prince of Jordan takes the pulpit to speak he stuns his audience, not only by his charm and elegance, but also by his superb handling of the task at hand, his brilliance, his eloquence, his cool fortitude as well as the radiance and the magnificence of his discourse.

The main theme of HRH Crown Prince Hussein has constantly been the empowerment of the youth: the youth worldwide as the primary asset for a safer, prosperous and more peaceful world.

Last April, when it was Jordan’s turn to assume the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member, the 20-year-old Crown Prince was the youngest world leader ever to chair the meeting of the highest world organisation’s executive body. 

Addressing the issue of youth in conflict zones, their role in peacemaking and how youth can confront violent extremism and its “poisonous ideology”, as he described it, the Crown Prince reminded the Security Council meeting that over half the world’s population is under the age of 30, with most living in developing countries.

He warned of the challenges ahead, the challenges that are threatening the world order putting the lives of all of us at risk.

He also told the council session that “the world is facing a formidable challenge, namely, terrorism and extremism, which may be the greatest challenge to world peace and security, with the youth being its prime victims.”

“Today,” the Crown Prince added, “we are facing a disease that is threatening the entire world. No country is immune from the threat of terrorism, whose enemy is humanity, regardless of religion, gender, age or nationality. The war on terror concerns us all,” he strenuously affirmed.

Furthermore, and in order to emphasise the gravity of the situation, Crown Prince Hussein called for “swift measures [to] be taken to stop feeding the fires of terrorism with the blood of our youth, who are the primary target of recruitment, both voluntary and forced, by armies and extremist and terrorist groups”.

In monitoring developments in our region between that April Security Council session and now, we clearly see accelerated deterioration, more violence, rising levels of bloodshed and massive destruction, as well as a steady spread of lawlessness and political disorder, attesting to the undeniable validity of his forewarning.

The latest in a series of outstanding performances of the Crown Prince occurred only few days ago when he gave the inaugurating address of the Global Forum on Youth, Peace and Security, hosted by Jordan under the patronage of His Royal Highness and co-organised by the United Nations represented, on behalf of the Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development, by the Office of the UN Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth, Peace Building Support Office, UNFPA and UNDP, in partnership with Search for Common Grounds and the United Network of Young Peace builders.

This important conference, held at Madaba King’s Academy, from which the Crown Prince graduated before entering Georgetown University, was in fact promised by Crown Prince Hussein in his April Security Council statement when he informed the council of an impending international event aimed at “enhancing the capabilities of young peacemakers in confronting extremism and terrorism” to be hosted by the Hashemite Kingdom under the title: “The Role of Youth in Making Sustainable Peace”, in partnership with the UN in August this year. By any standards, and as expected, this major global event, concluded with the Amman Declaration on Youth, Peace and Security, was widely recognised for its outstanding mission and promising potential.

Not only was the role of the Crown Prince instrumental in achieving such an auspicious conclusion, but his leadership, his vitality, the clarity of his vision and his resolve to globally mobilise the enormous capabilities of the youth in a critical battle which will have to soon determine whether civilised values or chaos end up governing our lives, whether legality, justice, freedom, human dignity, peace and orderly relations will prevail or the horrifying practices perpetrated by states as well as anarchist groups that turned their backs to all known noble values and legal international dealings, preferring instead to resort to barbarism, aggression, territorial greed and denial of the legitimate rights of the others.

The adoption of the declaration described as an “historic milestone” for engaging youth in peace and security by Crown Prince Hussein will have to be taken back by Jordan to the Security Council where it will be shaped into a formal resolution for subsequent and, hopefully, meaningful implementation.

All along, Jordan has been a bastion of peace and stability in a region that for decades barely experienced much of that. 

Let us view this significant event as yet another step in line with what this country and its leadership have committed themselves to. 

Let us view the promise all those inspired young people generated in their Madaba gathering as a crucial moment for stirring the stagnant political waters around the globe.

Let us hope the United Nations Organisation with the Security Council as its essential instrument will heed the deeper meaning of this powerful youth call by ending decades of lethargy and incompetence in handling the very issues these devoted young people are now exposing.

Let us also urge the UN to dig deeper in search of the real root causes of the growing evil that has been manifesting itself in the ugliest forms of extremism, brutal violence, intolerance and savagery.

And finally, and most importantly, let us in this country be proud of the ascending leadership role our beloved Hashemite Crown Prince is confidently and most competently shouldering.