28 Right to Peace

Dr. Aneesh V. Pillai

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Table of Contents

 

1.0 Objectives

 

1.1 Introduction

 

1.2 Concept of Right to Peace

 

1.3 Elements of Right to Peace

 

1.4 Need for Right to Peace

 

1.5 Right to Peace as Group Rights

 

1.6 Broad Questions

 

1.7 References

 

 

1.0 LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

  • To understand the meaning and concept of Right to Peace
  • To know the elements of right to peace
  • To examine the need for right to peace as a right
  • to discuss the need for categorizing the right to peace as a group right

1.1 INTRODUCTION

The societies in which people live in peace will always try to live in harmony and avoid violence and they condemn any aggressive behavior and discourage any violent behavior. The basic notion of establishing a state through social contract theory is itself establishing peace in the society. Peace means order, discipline, prosperity and benefits. It is peace which makes us live happily and comfortably. It affects life in so many ways. The opposite of peace, the violence or conflicts mean destruction, fear, sadness, injuries, sufferings and death. Hence everybody desires peace – harmony and balance forming comfortable life for themselves, family, communities and ultimately society.Peace is considered as a set of values, attitudes and modes of behaviors promoting the peaceful settlement of conflict and the quest for mutual understanding. In fact, peace is one way to live together. Martin Luther King Jr., once said, “One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal we seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means.” However, living in a peaceful society is still remaining as a distant dream.

Peace is not just the absence of conflict and violence, however: it is a way of living together so that all members of society can accomplish their human rights. Although not formally codified as a human right, peace is recognized as an essential element to the realization of human rights and belongs to the third generation of human rights or so-called solidarity rights. These are rights that affect whole societies or groups of people rather than just individuals, such as the right to a healthy environment, to sustainable development, to communication or to share in the common heritage of humankind. Peace is also a product of human rights: the more a society promotes, protects and fulfils the human rights of its people, the greater its chances for curbing violence and resolving conflict peacefully. Thus the peace is considered the greatest good in the world today and is the greatest need of the contemporary world. Recognizing the significance of peace in society, the international community had taken various initiatives for developing a binding legal framework for right to peace.

1.2 CONCEPT OF RIGHT TO PEACE

The concept of ‘Peace’, like many other terms, is difficult to define. Generally the term peace refers to an end to war, reconciliation and the establishment of civil order. A peaceful society is considered as a society in which conflict is resolved through negotiation and compromise and where the rule of law is effective, thus providing the conditions for stability. Racial and cultural homogeneity is also seen as a prerequisite for a peaceful nation-state.

The origin of the word peace can be traced from an English word‘pees’. The term pax (akin to Latin pacisci to agree) is the Latin feminine noun from which the English word “peace” is derived. The word has varied meanings the reaching of agreement between two parties; respect for others; quality of life; peaceful time; civil safety and security; etc .The Webster’s dictionary defines peace as, “a state of tranquility or quiet; freedom from civil disturbance; a state of security or order within a community provided for by law or custom; specifically, absence or cessation of war; a state of reconciliation after strife or enmity; etc.”

 

President Kennedy was the first politician to introduce the right to peace and in doing so he defined peace as more than just the absence of war. John F Kennedy, in his address at American University in 1963 stated that, ‘the kind of peace he was promoting was genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope to build a better life for their children-not merely peace for Americans but for all men and women-not merely peace in our time but peace for all time’. Albert Einstein once said, peace is not merely the absence of war but the presence of justice, of law, of order-in short of government.

 

The concept of peace has been interpreted by many ways by different authors. Most importantly Johan Galtung, proposed a distinction between “positive” and “negative” peace. According to him “Positive” peace denotes the simultaneous presence of many desirable states of mind and society, such as harmony, justice, equity, and so on. Positive peace requires the absence of structural violence and emphasizes the promotion of human rights to ensure a comprehensive notion of social justice. The “Negative” peace denotes the “absence of war” and other forms of large-scale violent human conflict. Thus the term negative peace can be defined as the absence of direct, organized, physical violence; efforts to promote negative peace include disarmament and peacekeeping initiatives. Therefore peace can be found wherever direct violence is absent. According to Johan Galtung, peace is much more than just the absence of direct war and violence. He concludes his analysis by developing a new term positive peace and he states that “Positive peace is the best protection against violence”. Thus it can be seen that, ‘peace’ in a society means when exploitation is minimized or eliminated and when there is neither direct violence nor structural violence.

 

Many philosophical, religious, and cultural traditions have referred to peace in its positive sense. In Chinese, for example, the word heping denotes world peace, or peace among nations, while the words an and mingsi denote an “inner peace,” a tranquil and harmonious state of mind and being, akin to a meditative mental state. Other languages also frame peace in its “inner” and “outer” dimensions.

 

The right to peace as a human right includes both negative and positive peace. From an analysis of various literatures about peace, the word right to peace can be defined as a claim for a society which is devoid of physical violence, war, conflict and injustices and where the notion of harmony and integration is fully a reality.

 

The practice of discrimination based on racial, gender, economic and ecological injustices as barriers to peace. The realization of right to peace means the reduction and elimination of violence, conflicts and all forms of discrimination and injustices. Hence, the right to peace can be achieved only if the social injustices are reduced or eliminated and cooperative group relations are pursued. Moreover, the realization of right to peace requires both the absence of violence as well as the positive features of peace including absence of discrimination, cooperation, brotherhood etc.

 

It is generally stated that right to peace is a basic and essential right binding together the entire system of human rights and freedoms because the right to peace is the prerequisite of all other  rights. The Supreme expression of the right to live is the right to live in the totally emancipated and genuinely free environment.

1.3 ELEMENTS OF RIGHT TO PEACE

The Human Right to Peace is recognized as a Universal Right regardless of “race, decent, national, ethnic, social origin, color, gender, sexual orientation, age, language, religion or belief, political or other opinion, economic status or heritage, diverse physical or mental functionality, civil status, birth or other consideration”. This right is considered as bundle of right which composed of various interrelated rights such as right: to Education on and for Peace and Human Rights; to Human Security to live in a Safe, Healthy Environment; to Development and to a Sustainable Environment; to Disobedience and Conscientious Objection; to Resist and Oppose Oppression; to Disarmament; to Freedom of Thought, Opinion, Expression, Conscience and Religion; to Refugee Status; and to Freedom of Movement. Among all these important component rights the most important are:

Right to human security: This right includes the right to have the material instruments, means and resources which enable him fully to enjoy a life worthy of human dignity and, to that end, the right to have essential food and drinking water, primary health care, basic clothing and housing and a basic education. It also includes the right to enjoy fair conditions of employment and trade union participation, and the right to the protection of the social services, on equal terms for persons having the same occupation or providing the same service.

Right to live in safe and healthy environment: The content of this right is that the human beings have the right to live in a private and public environment which is safe and healthy, and to receive protection against acts of unlawful violence, irrespective of whether they are perpetrated by state or non-state actors.

1.4 NEED FOR RIGHT TO PEACE

The right to peace is very important as it transcends all other rights and enables their excise; and offers the innovation needed to lift up society and allow it to achieve its full potential in an interconnected world. Moreover, without basic security of the person, and an opportunity to live in a peaceful environment other human rights are illusions. In recent years the incidents of violence were very widespread all over the world and the nature of such violent conflicts has changed dramatically. The predominant form of violent conflict has evolved from national armies fighting each other(inter-state wars); to armies fighting for independence, separation or political control(intra-state or civil wars); to various forms of violence, involving non-state actors such asrebels, gangs and organized crime. These kinds of conflicts are not easily addressed with traditional instruments, such as diplomacy or military means. The drivers of violence often include a wide range of factors, including political, economic, social and environmental issues. They can include socio-economic in equalities, injustice, joblessness, natural resources management, human rights abuse, political exclusion and corruption. In many cases, it is difficult to define clear causes and the different factors are interrelated and might change over time.

Peace allows people to live a life full of dignity and purpose. If a country is in war torn, then the right to education is breached as young children are used as child soldiers; the right to food is violated as officers take food from civilians in order to feed their armies; and the right to be free from torture and unlawful imprisonment is infringed upon as states arrest people accused of working against the state. The right to peace guarantees that people will be able to pursue the rights necessary to live as they choose, thus fulfilling all the rights they are granted in the various human rights conventions and covenants. Peace allows countries the opportunity to pursue a democratic government and work towards development to make their lives and the lives for future generations better. Without peace there is no hope for the future. This is why the right of propels to peace should be a recognized right.

1.5 RIGHT TO PEACE AS GROUP RIGHTS

The right to peace “concerns not only an individual’s right to live in peace, but the greater right of societies to enjoy a common peace.” An individual cannot claim it as a right because the realization of this right requires a group of people or in other words a society is the real holder of this right. The elevation of a human right to peace as a group right would have a profound significance in legal and political discourse. The elevation of right to peace as a group right further expands its reach; because third generation rights create duties that inhere in everyone, outcomes that limit liability for those who merely threaten or promote aggression would be avoided. 198 If this right achieves the real status of group right, it will act as a control mechanism for the use of military as well as domestic intervention by military powers. This will ensure the realization of sovereign equality. So it is argued that the right to peace is constitutive of a truly universal international community.

Conclusion

Today millions of people are starving or dying from curable diseases and too many are highly exploited. True peace is not possible in the face of massive poverty, hunger, discrimination, inequality, exclusion and intolerance22. Thus in order to realize the group right to peace there is a need for cooperation and holistic implementation bystates and non-state actors, including individuals, groups within civil society, NGOs,TNCs, and International organizations that recognize duties and responsibilities in this regard.

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Reference

  • http://globalengage.ibo.org/eng/node/1442
  • Ubud Bali, “World Peace – What do you think are the necessary and most important factors to create and sustain global harmony for more than one day?”, available at http://www.ted.com/conversations/7116/world_peace_what_do_you_thin.html
  • http://www.peace.ca/importanceofcop1.html
  • Nancy Flowers, “CompasitoManual on Human Rights Education for Children”, available at http://www.eycb.coe.int/compasito/pdf/Compasito%20EN.pdf
  • Patricia Daley, “Challenges to Peace: Conflict Resolution in the Great Lakes Region of Africa”, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 2 (2006), pp. 303-319.
  • Naghma Siddiqi, “The Role of ISLAM in Establishing PEACE in the Contemporary World”, http://islamand peace.org/sites/default/files/ConceptofPeaceinIslamandItsRelevanceintheModernWorld.pdf
  • Roberta Lynn Wodenschec, “The Human Right to Peace: Why Such a Right Should be Recognized”, A Research work submitted to the Faculty of the School of International Service of American University, 2006, p.6
  • David P. Barash, Charles P. Webel, Peace and Conflict Studies, Sage Publications, 3rd Edn- 2014, p.4
  • Sumita Chaudhuri,“Peace Education in a Broader Perspective”, Education Journal, Special Issue: Gender, Peace and Education. Vol. 4, No. 1-1, 2015, pp. 6-9.
  • David P. Barash, Charles P. Webel, Peace and Conflict Studies, Sage Publications, 3rd Edn- 2014, p.4
  • Ingvild Larssen, “Peace and Human Rights, A Comparative Analysis on the Role of Human Rights in Norwegian Peace Processes in Sudan”, Master thesis in, Master of Philosophy in Peace and Conflict Transformation, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tromsø, Spring 2009.
  • Baljit Singh Grewal, “John Galtung: Positive and Negative Peace”, available at http://www.activeforpeace.org/no/ fred/Positive_Negative_Peace.pdf.
  • Ingvild Larssen, “Peace and Human Rights, A Comparative Analysis on the Role of Human Rights in Norwegian Peace Processes in Sudan”, Master thesis in, Master of Philosophy in Peace and Conflict Transformation, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tromsø, Spring 2009.
  • David P. Barash, Charles P. Webel, Peace and Conflict Studies, Sage Publications, 3rd Edn- 2014, p.4
  • S.K. Sharma, Privacy Law: A Comparative Study, Atlantic Publishers & Dist, New Delhi, 1994, p.17.