"INTERNATIONAL DECADE FOR A CULTURE OF PEACE AND NON VIOLENCE FOR THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD (2001-2010)" Implementation of the Resolution A/RES/53/25, (19/11/98, 53rd session) "If we are to reach real peace and if we are to carry on a real war against war WE SHALL HAVE TO BEGIN WITH CHILDREN." MOHANDAS K. GANDHI
(19/11/1931 - Young India) "I have a dream my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by content of their character." Martin Luther King Jr. (Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C, 28/8/1963)
Copy for the Head of States and Government, and the Permanent Representatives at the United Nations PROPOSED DRAFT ACTION PLAN PREAMBLE
Objective of the Decade At the end on the Decade, before December 31st 2010, an "International Convention on a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World" should be adopted by consensus at the General Assembly of the United Nations as a constructive sustainable result of the Decade to reduce the suffering of the children which is the final goal of this Decade. This Convention will embody - in law - the determination of the World community to achieve objectives set forth in
As stated in the UN Charter, the first objective for the foundation of the United Nations is "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war". As stated in the UNESCO Constitution: "The Governments of the States Parties to this Constitution - on behalf of their peoples - declare that since wars begin in the minds of Human beings, it is in the minds of human beings that the defenses of peace must be constructed." As stated in the historical "Appeal For Children" signed by all the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates: "Today, in every single country throughout the world, there are many children silently suffering the effects and consequences of violence. This violence takes many different forms: between children on streets, at school, in family life and in the community. There is physical violence, psychological violence, socio-economic violence, environmental violence and political violence. We wish to contribute to reduce their suffering. We believe that each child can discover, by himself, that violence is not inevitable. We can offer hope, not only to the children of the world, but to all of humanity, by beginning to create, and build, a new Culture of Non-Violence." Clearly, the world community is agreed on the fact that all the adults must work together to reduce the suffering of children. This is an objective that can bring together all women, men and children, without any discrimination of any kind and with the positive value of the diversity of their opinions on other subjects. Coming together to care for children, through the proposed action plan, will help to unify the human community and contribute to build a "caring society", a "Beloved Community" as express by Martin Luther King's vision. In order to establish this Convention with the will of its real implementation, a worldwide consultation and democratic implication of people will be organized during the Decade. The Convention will be the result of a patient democratic process – step by step - from the smallest democratic unit of the human community in each country, unto its main organization of the "United Nations". Confident in the wisdom of the people of each country, this gradual process will enable the growth of consensus among humankind at all levels of society, respecting specific cultures and building, step by step, a culture of peace and non violence at the local level first, then the national and regional level and finally at international level. For each step, both the actions of the Government, the non-governmental organizations and the civil society are required with the contribution of the main actors already defined in the resolution 53/25. "We cannot change history, But we could at least try to do our best Now and in the future To promote peace." Mrs. Kim Phuc (UNESCO Ambassador for the Culture of Peace) A culture of peace and non-violence can be built only through a democratic process, with the direct and methodical participation of the people without any discrimination of any kind. Focal point in the United Nations' system & Logo Every nation has its illustrious military academies. Why are there so few, if any, schools, universities, laboratories or institutes that teach not only the virtue of peace, but also the art of winning it and preserving it otherwise than with the instruments of war - armaments ? Elie Wiesel Nobel Peace Laureate The Focal point in the United Nations' system for the Decade will be the United Nations University for Peace, based in COSTA RICA, which will co-ordinate the action of the system of the United Nations for the above purpose with a specific support of UNESCO and UNICEF, and all the UN system. A specific Committee for the Decade will be created by the Rector of the University to assist any Government in the implementation of the Action Plan of the Decade, and to report every year to the Secretary General of the United Nations. The Committee will create the instruments for evaluating the implementation and the impact of the Decade with appropriate experts. The official Logo of the Decade is the gift from the Nobel Peace Laureate Mr. Adolfo Pérez Esquivel (annex). National Commission Promote "an active disgust for war" Bertha Von Suttner (1st woman Nobel Peace Laureate) In each country, the Parliament will form at the beginning of the Year 2001, a permanent "National Commission for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence" who, in relation with the UN University for Peace, will contribute to the inter-ministerial co-ordination of each Government’s action for the Decade, and facilitate communication of information and documents. This commission should involve officers from the ministry of Culture and Education, with advisers from the appropriate non-governmental organizations and representative of the civil society composed by the main actors as defined in the resolution 53/25. The Parliament will also create a permanent "National Research Institute for the prevention of violence and non violent resolution of conflicts". We should invest for peace and in prevention of violence to discover adequate alternatives to violence and war through a rational research organization supported by the UN University for Peace. "More than ever, Our societies need women With a vision of the future" Rigoberta Menchu Tum (Nobel Peace Laureate) Women and youth must be deeply and specifically involved in those new institutions. Voluntary Fund "The feeling that one ought to Leave the world a better place" Jane Adams (Nobel Peace Laureate) A Voluntary Fund will be created by the Secretary General of the UN, as soon as the action plan is adopted, to receive the contribution of any country, enterprises, non-governmental organizations, human beings or foundations which wish to bring specific financial support for the success of this Decade. The Board of the UN University for Peace will manage this specific fund and report to the UN Secretary General each year. This fund will allow allocation for Master and Doctorate degrees in appropriate fields of research, and also provide adequate support for appropriate non-governmental organizations as those already involved as partners of the UN for the Years 2000. IMPLEMENTATION: 6 PHASES, from 2000 to 2010. Phase 1: Year 2000, Preparatory stage for the Decade. "Manifesto 2000". During the Celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a document named "Manifesto 2000", was drawn up by the "Foundation Appeal of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates for the Children" and UNESCO at UNESCO Headquarters (copy enclosed in annex 3). This document was conceived as the principal means of creating public awareness and personal commitment. UNESCO published the Manifesto 2000 on March 4th 1999 at a Press Conference of the Director General at the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The "Manifesto 2000" has been translated in many languages and distributed in every country by UNESCO and several non-governmental organizations. UNESCO has set up a specific Internet site for this campaign. Both Governments and non-governmental organizations have worked together for the implementation of this preparatory phase. This specific Internet site will continue to be a main tool of information and communication during all the Decade, for Governments, non-governmental organizations and the civil society. Phase 2: 2001-2002, Information and Consultation. Local level. As far as possible, the information must reach the basic unit of the human community: the family and the communication to build the Convention must be based on the proposal from the families of each state. As stipulated on the Convention on the Right of the Child (Article 12 / 1.: States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.). As the children and youth are directly concern, they have to express freely their opinions who will have to be taken into account with the respect due to each human being. At the beginning of the year 2001, the Declaration for a Culture of Peace and Non Violence and the resolution 53/25, adopted by the United Nation, will be distributed by the "National Commission for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence" to the Mayor of each communal unit (or "local Government" according to countries). The Mayor (or "elected Chairperson") will be invited to distribute a copy to each member of the Municipality Council and to the director of each school of the municipality. The UN's system - as the World Bank and UNICEF for schools - may assist the financially poorest countries for the distribution of this information. The Municipality Council will be invited to create a permanent "Municipal Committee for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence", compose by members of the elected Council's members and representatives of the non-governmental organization and the civil society. This Committee will elaborate a "Municipal Resolution to promote a culture of peace and non-violence for the children of the municipality" before the end of the month June 2002 based on the consultation of the population of the municipality. The education and empowerment of women Across the world is bound to lead to more peace, More justice, more tolerance and more solidarity Aung San Suu Kyi Nobel Peace Laureates For this specific purpose, "Five basic training for the benefit of the children" will be proposed to each Municipality Council to be adopted in an official resolution of the Municipality Council (annex 4). These practical training are a continuation of the "Manifesto 2000", in a deeper practical and simple way, as a base of an "universal humanist code of ethics". The director of each school will organize a specific process of consultation of the teachers, the children and their parents. During the year 2001, the teachers, the parents and the children will be invited to express their proposals regarding what should be done to promote the practice of non violence 1) in the family life, 2) in the school community and 3) in the communal life by meetings organized in each school. A synthesis of the proposals will be written by the school’s teachers and offer by the director of each schools - before the end of December 2001 - to the Mayor for consideration and the adoption of a resolution by the Municipality Council. A provision will be made in the "Municipal Resolution to promote a culture of peace and non-violence for the children of the municipality" stipulating that the resolution will be systematically reviewed every five years – beginning in 2007 - in order to adjust it to the evolution of the people of the municipality and verify the real impact on the daily behavior of the children. The regular evaluation will be based on a learning process, based on the answers given to the questions "are the defenses of peace constructed in the minds of our children?" and "what have we learned?" The Committee will follow the implementation of the resolution and evaluate the real impact in the municipality for the well being of the children. The Mayors will send their "Municipal Resolution to promote a culture of peace and non-violence for the children of the municipality" to National Commission before June 2002. The National Commission will publish all the resolutions for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence and made available to the public for free consultation and study before December 2002 by appropriate means (newspaper, radio, TV, Web site, etc…). The municipality will benefit from the wisdom of each member of the municipality through this democratic sharing process. To promote the practice of consultation and participatory democracy is in itself to build a culture of peace and non-violence. As the resolution 53/25 "invite Member States to take the necessary steps to ensure that the practice of non-violence is taught at all levels in their respective societies, including in educational institution", the Ministry of Education will organize a Consultative Committee composed by officers from the Ministry and representatives of teachers, students, parents and the relevant non governmental organizations. The Consultation Committee will work during 2 years on a draft proposal to implement this teaching who will include the teaching to practice the respect of Human Rights and the Environment as part of the practice of non violence. The UN University for Peace will propose appropriate curriculum that is already existing, at an experimental stage, in different countries. Phase 3: 2003-2004, Synthesis of local contribution, Experimentation in Teaching A synthesis of the municipal resolutions will be done to discern what is common to each municipal resolution. Each National Commission before the end of the December 2003 will finalize the synthesis. The country should benefit from the wisdom of each member of each municipality through this democratic sharing process. In 2004, based on the synthesis and taking into account the best of each resolution, a first draft of a "National law to promote a culture of peace and non-violence for the children of the country" will be finalized by the National Commission through a consultation of the appropriate advisers and transmit to the Parliament before the end of December 2004. The Consultation Committee of the Ministry of Education will promote the experimentation of the teaching of the practice of Non-Violence in different institutions as a concrete experimental learning process, in relation with the UN University for Peace. Phase 4: 2005, National level The draft of a "National law to promote a culture of peace and non-violence for the children of the country" will be submitted to the members of the Parliament for consideration at he beginning of 2005. The members of Parliament will be invited to adopt a "National law to promote a culture of peace and non-violence for the children of the country" before December 2005 - the middle of the Decade - with a national consultation of the relevant non governmental organizations and the civil society's representative of the country. Provision will be made in the " National law to promote a culture of peace and non-violence for the children of the country" stipulating that the law will be systematically reviewed every five years – beginning in 2010 - in order to adjust it to the evolution of the people of the country. The National Commission formed in the Parliament will follow the implementation of the law and evaluate the real impact in the country. The National Commission will transmit a copy of the Law for information to the UN University for Peace, with the contact of the Committee who follow the implementation and evaluate the impact of the Decade process. The Consultation Committee of the Ministry of Education will provide information to the UN University for Peace, on the successes and failures of the experiment to teach the practice of non-violence to children, in order to allow a sharing process among countries. The Consultation Committee of the Ministry of Education will finalize the teaching of the practice of Non-Violence, which will be introduced nation-wise in all educational establishments as a part of the basic curriculum from primary schools up the Doctorate degree. Phase 5: 2006-2007, Regional level Around June 2006, a meeting of the representatives of the National Commission for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence from the countries will be organized by the appropriate regional organization (SARC, ASEAN, European Union, etc…), in order to draft a "Regional Resolution to promote a culture of peace and non-violence for the children of the region". It will be based on a synthesis of the "National law to promote a culture of peace and non-violence for the children of the country" of each country, drafted by the secretariat of the regional organization taking into account the best of each National law. Before December 2007 the member countries of the regional organization will approve the "Regional Resolution to promote a culture of peace and non-violence for the children of the region". A provision will be made in the "Regional Resolution to promote a culture of peace and non-violence for the children of the region", stipulating that the resolution will be systematically reviewed every five year – beginning in 2012 - in order to adjust to with the evolution of the people of the region. A Committee will be formed in the regional organization to follow the implementation of the resolution and evaluate the real impact in the region. Each country should benefit from the wisdom of each other country member of the regional organization through this democratic sharing process. In 2007, the National Commission of each country will invite the Mayors to revise and improve the "Municipal Resolution to promote a culture of peace and non-violence for the children of the municipality". Before December 2007 a copy of the revised resolutions will be transmit to the National Commission. Phase 6: 2008-2009, International level Beginning of 2008, synthesis of all the Regional Resolutions, and – on this basis – a first draft of an "International Convention on a Culture of Peace and non-violence for the Children of the World" will be prepared by UN University for Peace including the different aspect of education and the best of each Regional Resolutions. June 2008, the draft will be sent to each Permanent Representative to the United Nations for a process of informal consultations during one year, for a final decision in September 2009. A provision will be made in the "International Convention on a Culture of Peace and non-violence for the Children of the World", stipulating that the Convention will be systematically reviewed every five years – beginning in 2015 - in order to adjust to the evolution of the people of the world. A Committee will be form in the UN to follow the implementation of the resolution year after year and evaluate the real impact in the world. The United Nations should benefit from the wisdom of each Regional Organization through this democratic sharing process. The Convention will help to improve each Regional Resolution and National Laws. 1st Revision of the National Laws before December 2010 according to the International Convention adopted in September. The implementation of this action plan is simple, rational and not costly. The work by systematic synthesis will enable discernment of the consensus at each level of the world community, taking into account the respect of the rich diversity of ideas in Human Family. The systematic evaluation by Committee at each level will allow adjusting each document to the evolution of humanity through a regular learning process. The "Five basic training for the benefit of the World's Children" (daily practical exercises for children, youth and adults) below, are part of the action plan to enable and sustain a "Culture of Non Violence and Peace": it will be widely distributed - by all the participants, UN system, Governments and non-governmental organizations - for the success of this Decade. To contribute to build a "Culture of Non Violence and Peace", a "United People Oath" - as the "Hippocratic Oath" for the Medical Doctors - will be publicly taken by any person receiving an award from any educational institution at any level, and any person who accept a mandate by election at any level of the society : "United People Oath" : "I promise to work for a better world for the children, where all knowledge (science, commerce, technology, arts…) are used in socially responsible ways to build a culture of nonviolence. I will not use my education to any purpose to harm human beings or the environment. I will try my best to practice the "Five basic training for the benefit of the World's Children" adopted by the United Nations. Throughout my career I will consider the ethical implications of my work before I take any decision and action. While the demands placed on me may be great, I sign this declaration because I recognize that individual responsibility is the first step on the path to peace." * * * * * * "If we are to reach real peace and if we are to carry on a real war against war WE SHALL HAVE TO BEGIN WITH CHILDREN." MOHANDAS K. GANDHI (19/11/1931 - Young India) "I have a dream my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by content of their character." Martin Luther King Jr. (Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C, 28/8/1963) Sustaining a "Culture of Non Violence and Peace": Five basic training for the benefit of the World's Children (daily practical exercises for children, youth and adults) First training Aware of the suffering caused to children by the destruction of life, I am committed to do my best to:
Second training Aware of the suffering caused to children by exploitation, social injustice, stealing, and oppression, I am committed to do my best to:
Third training Aware of the suffering caused to children by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, and realizing that words can create happiness or suffering. In order to bring joy and happiness to myself and others and relieve myself and others of suffering, especially children, I am committed to do my best to:
Fourth Training (for youth and adults) Aware of the suffering caused to children by unmindful production and consumption; and realizing that to damage my body or my consciousness with poisons is to betray my ancestors, my parents, my society, and future generations; and understanding that in order to sustain a culture of peace and non-violence for the world's children a proper diet is crucial for self-transformation and the transformation of society. I am committed to do my best to:
Fifth training (for youth and adults) Aware of the suffering caused to children by sexual misconduct and in order to preserve the happiness of myself and others, I am committed to do my best to:
* * * Aware that I will never be "100% non-violent", I am determined to practice these exercises each day as a persistent life's long learning process, to become less and less violent in order to do my best to contribute to reduce the suffering of the children, alive and to be born, and to increase happiness. I will do my best to follow these five training myself and - also - invite my family, my friends, my community and others to follow these training with me. Teams work works. Name : _____________________________ Country : ____________________________ Address : ___________________________ Date and signature : ___________________ Sent to : International Foundation Appeal of the Nobel Peace Laureates for the Children 58 avenue de Huy - B.P. n°20797 - Compiègne Cedex 2 - France Fax : (+33 - 3) 44 86 39 07 - Email : info@nobelweb.org - Web : http://www.nobelweb.org |