Sustaining World Peace

We are going out of order !

When violent conflicts are on the rise, becoming more drawn out, complex and deadly in many parts of the world today. When civilians are no longer killed in cross-fire; but becoming the targets of direct attacks. We are going out of order for sure. It is very unfortunate to see an unprecedented number of people leaving their homes, out of fear and desperation.

We had envisioned a world in which disputes were resolved in meeting rooms and not battlefields. A world in which wars were stopped before they broke out. A world that didn’t wait for lives to be lost before springing into action.

But, we are failing and how !

Of the past 3,400 years, humans have been entirely at peace for 268 of them, or just 8 percent of recorded history.
At least 108 million people were killed in wars in the twentieth century.
Estimates for the total number killed in wars throughout all of human history range from 150 million to 1 billion.
The World War II cost $20,388 per person.
Two decades ago 80% of the whole humanitarian fund would go for the relief of the victims of natural disasters. Now, the same 80% goes for the people and areas hit by violence and conflict.
In the wars of the 1990s, civilian deaths constituted between 75 and 90 percent of all war deaths. Civilians are shot, bombed, raped, starved, and driven from their homes.
An unprecedented 8 millionpeople around the world have been forced away from home.
Nearly 1 person is forcibly displaced worldwide every two secondsas a result of conflict or persecution
War has several other effects on population, including decreasing the birthrate by taking men away from their wives. The reduced birthrate during World War II is estimated to have caused a population deficit of more than 20 million people.
The combined armed forces of the world have 21.3 million people. More than 300,000 worldwide are child soldiers.
The proportion of prisoners held in detention without sentencing has remained almost constant in the last decade, at 31% of all prisoners.
Among the institutions, the most affected by corruption are the judiciary and police.
Corruption, bribery, theft and tax evasion cost some US $1.26 trillion for developing countries per year; this amount of money could be used to lift those who are living on less than $1.25 a day above $1.25 for at least six years.
49 countries lack laws protecting women from domestic violence.

What do we need now ?

A new approach to fostering and sustaining world peace is needed now. A peace that is inherent in all. A peace that is measured not in months or years, but in generations. The kind of peace that won’t disappear at the next election cycle. As the saying goes by , “Prevention is better than cure.”, we should work on sustaining peace, instead of finding solutions once a conflict has come across.

UN was born majorly out of the dire need of peace and justice in a world torn with wars. As such, peace is at the center of its global agendas too. SDG 16 – “Peace, Justice And Strong Institutions “ envisions to help “Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”. SDG 16 is both an end in itself, and a crucial part of delivering sustainable development in all countries. It aims to :

16.1 Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere

16.2 End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children

16.3 Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all

16.4 By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime

16.5 Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms

16.6 Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels

16.7 Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels

16.8 Broaden and strengthen the participation of developing countries in the institutions of global governance

16.9 By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration

16.10 Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements

16.A Strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime

16.B Promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development

How can we achieve it ? Some might say that true lasting peace is impossible in certain parts of the world. But the reality is that even people who have suffered for more than half a century due to violence, are excited about their future and are vowing to refrain from further conflicts. Such is the power of peace.

Education is the key to peace and prosperity, and the foundation of equality. Lack of education in many regions of the world is one of today’s greatest travesties and a major contributor to conflict, inequity and poverty. With every year of education a person completes, a new door opens, and as the years go on, each one of those doors opens wider. Conversely, with every year of education lost, doors close, opportunity dwindles and poverty deepens.

The power of education reaches far beyond the individual child and his or her family. Education is a strategic development opportunity. Better educated girls and boys are more likely to be healthy and earn higher incomes. They are more likely to create peaceful, prosperous economies and societies. When girls are able to complete a quality education, they are likely to marry later, have fewer children and provide them with better healthcare and education.

Peace education goes a long way in mentoring the psyche of children for a peaceful world order. Its activities promote the knowledge, skills and attitudes that will help children either to prevent the occurrence of conflict, resolve conflicts peacefully, or create social conditions conducive to peace. Core values of nonviolence and social justice are central to peace education.

Despite the benefits of education being widely known and recognized, today more than quarter of a billion children are not in school. For those in school, a lack of quality teaching and materials, an outdated curriculum, or an unsafe or discriminatory environment that is inconducive to learning means they are not empowered or equipped with the skills that they need to make the most of opportunities, or to create new ones for themselves.

As many as 1 in 3 of the world’s out-of-school children lives in a country affected by war or disaster. Conflict and disaster are major causes of children missing out on school. Violence and injustice against children is on rise :

Violence against children affects more than 1 billion children around the world and costs societies up to US$ 7 trillion a year.
Talking of children, wars have left 2 million killed; 4-5 million disabled; 12 million left homeless; more than 1 million orphaned or separated from their parents; some 10 million psychologically traumatized.
50% of the world’s children experience violence every year.
Every 5 minutes, somewhere in the world, a child is killed by violence
1 in 10 children is sexually abused before the age of 18.
9 in 10 children live in countries where corporal punishment is not fully prohibited, leaving 732 million children without legal protection.
1 in 3 internet users worldwide is a child and 800 million of them use social media. Any child can become a victim of online violence.
Child online sexual abuse reports to NCMEC has grown from 1 million in 2014 to 45 million in 2018.
246 million children worldwide affected by school-related violence each year.
1 in 3 students has been bullied by their peers at school in the last month, and at least 1 in 10 children have experienced cyberbullying.
Approximately 28.5 million primary school age who are out of school live in conflict-affected areas.

1 billion people are legally “invisible” because they cannot prove who they are. This includes an estimated 625 million children under 14 whose births were never registered. Birth registration has occurred for 73 per cent of children under 5, but only 46% of Sub-Saharan Africa have had their births registered.

We must ask ourselves, what chance of peace do these children have if they cannot go to school? For children caught up in war or uprooted from their homes because of violence, climate change or extreme poverty, education not only provides a routine, a safe place to learn, and an opportunity to play and make friends. It also offers children a sense of normalcy when their lives have been turned upside down, and gives them a chance to help secure peace and rebuild their communities. It is for these children, and every child missing out on their right to learn, that we must speak out. No longer can we accept that children are not in school and not learning; no longer can we allow girls to be oppressed and discriminated against; and no longer can we rest until the right to education is respected—for every child.

We need more investment in prevention. When conflict causes societies to collapse, social fabric tears. Buildings are destroyed, and no one fixes them. Salaries stop getting paid. Water stops flowing out of taps. So then we spend money on rebuilding – but so much more than what we’d spend on preventing conflict in the first place. Aside from the suffering that we’re failing to avert, that just doesn’t make financial sense. Increasing investment in even a handful of countries can result in billions of dollars of savings for the international community.

The threats of international homicide, violence against children, human trafficking and sexual violence are important to address to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development. They pave the way for the provision of access to justice for all and for building effective, accountable institutions at all levels. While homicide and trafficking cases have seen significant progress over the past decade, there are still thousands of people at greater risk of intentional murder within Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and around Asia. Children’s rights violations through aggression and sexual violence continue to plague many countries around the world, especially as under-reporting and lack of data aggravate the problem.

To tackle these challenges and build a more peaceful, inclusive societies, there needs to be more efficient and transparent regulations put in place and comprehensive, realistic government budgets. One of the first steps towards protecting individual rights is the implementation of worldwide birth registration and the creation of more independent national human rights institutions around the world.

Through intense diplomatic efforts, and real individual as well as political will, peace can be very well persevered. We need to bring world leaders together to focus on conflict prevention, mediation, dialogue and diplomacy. We need to pool actors from across different countries, sectors and societies, and allow them to share their insights. We need to highlight to the masses what the real peace builders are doing – from those running women’s peace huts in Liberia, to those organizing mediation workshops in Kyrgyzstan. The rule of law and development have a significant interrelation and are mutually reinforcing, making it essential for sustainable development at the national and international level.

M.K. Gandhi, a chief advocate of international peace and non-violence , rightly said, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” It is time that every one should become the world’s broker for peace !

We are going out of order !

But, we are failing and how !

Of the past 3,400 years, humans have been entirely at peace for 268 of them, or just 8 percent of recorded history.
At least 108 million people were killed in wars in the twentieth century.
Estimates for the total number killed in wars throughout all of human history range from 150 million to 1 billion.
The World War II cost $20,388 per person.
Two decades ago 80% of the whole humanitarian fund would go for the relief of the victims of natural disasters. Now, the same 80% goes for the people and areas hit by violence and conflict.
In the wars of the 1990s, civilian deaths constituted between 75 and 90 percent of all war deaths. Civilians are shot, bombed, raped, starved, and driven from their homes.
An unprecedented 8 millionpeople around the world have been forced away from home.
Nearly 1 person is forcibly displaced worldwide every two secondsas a result of conflict or persecution
War has several other effects on population, including decreasing the birthrate by taking men away from their wives. The reduced birthrate during World War II is estimated to have caused a population deficit of more than 20 million people.
The combined armed forces of the world have 21.3 million people. More than 300,000 worldwide are child soldiers.
The proportion of prisoners held in detention without sentencing has remained almost constant in the last decade, at 31% of all prisoners.
Among the institutions, the most affected by corruption are the judiciary and police.
Corruption, bribery, theft and tax evasion cost some US $1.26 trillion for developing countries per year; this amount of money could be used to lift those who are living on less than $1.25 a day above $1.25 for at least six years.
49 countries lack laws protecting women from domestic violence.

What do we need now ?

UN was born majorly out of the dire need of peace and justice in a world torn with wars. As such, peace is at the center of its global agendas too.

SDG 16 – “Peace, Justice And Strong Institutions “ envisions to help “Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”. SDG 16 is both an end in itself, and a crucial part of delivering sustainable development in all countries. It aims to :