«Peace Means Patriotic Solidarity among Sovereign Nations»

Hans Köchler addresses 2026 Forum of the International Patriotic Pact Organization in Nairobi

Nairobi (Kenya) / Vienna, 21 September 2026
RE/30739c-is

Addressing the annual forum of the International Patriotic Pact Organization (IPPO) at the United Nations Office in Nairobi, Kenya, the President of the International Progress Organization, Dr. Hans Köchler, emphasized the international dimension of patriotism in an ever more interdependent world. He said that the peoples of the world must not tolerate attempts by any power to impose a kind of neocolonial order in self-declared "spheres of interest," and they must never accept a relapse into an age of anarchy due to unrestrained use of military power. According to Köchler, the International Patriotic Pact launched by the IPPO has been a major and innovative step to give meaning to the United Nations Charter’s promises and pledges in the name of “We the Peoples of the United Nations,” as solemnly expressed in the Charter's Preamble, and that the proposed IPPO Review Mechanism regarding the Right to Development, with its non-confrontational approach, is a constructive step in that direction.

Addressing the members and supporters of the IPPO, he said: "We must raise awareness and a sense of obligation on the part of decision-makers in all countries that the national interests of any country – whether large or small, weak of powerful – need to be pursued with due regard for the rights of all other members of the international community. No country has the right to impose its agenda on the rest of the world, and no country is entitled to proclaim itself the 'indispensable' nation. Too often in history, practices of colonial domination and exploitation have been hidden under the pretext of exceptionalism."

Concluding his address, the President of the International Progress Organization distilled the essence of patriotism under the aspect of peaceful co-existence – at the regional and global level – into the following formula: "Peace means patriotic solidarity among sovereign nations."

***

* Text of speech

* IPPO Forum, United Nations Office at Geneva, 1 October 2025   

* IPPO Forum (Spring), United Nationbs Office at Geneva, 1 April 2026