BSR Insight | Nobel Laureate José Ramos-Horta on Fostering New Democracies
In the wake of the attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi, José Ramos-Horta, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former president of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, wrote about the struggles of new democracies to move out of instability and into peaceful, solid statehood.
Ramos-Horta, who worked successfully for his own country's independence, highlighted the need for new democracies to focus on holistic development and education at all levels of society:
"Stabilizing these new democracies cannot stop with containing a mob or stopping bloodshed. Once violence is contained, peace must be built. It is built with education, with employment, with human rights education, with the citizenry starting to see a better life for their children ahead."
—José Ramos-Horta, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and former President, Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (September 14, 2012, Huffington Post)
Ramos-Horta will be a plenary speaker at the BSR Conference 2012, taking place from October 23-26 in New York.
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Julia Robinson, Communications Associate
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