A Ministry of Peace in every state

«Come on, let's make peace». How many times have we said or heard this phrase? "Making peace" is a simple expression that explains that peace is first and foremost a concrete action that changes the world. Even Pope Francis reminds us often, inviting us to ask "the wisdom to make peace in the small things of every day, but pointing to the horizon of all humanity" (homily to S. Marta 08/09/16).

This is why we must educate ourselves to this "doing" and create the conditions for "making peace" at local and international level.

With this in mind, the Geneva office of the APG23 in recent years has always sought to promote peace and the human right to peace within the United Nations , strongly supporting the adoption in 2016 of the Declaration on human rights "of every individual to enjoy peace "(A / RES / 71/189).

We also did it at the last Human Rights Council in Geneva, organizing a round table on the occasion of the International Day of Peace (September 21), launching the proposal to create a Ministry of Peace in every State of the world .

 

Starting from the prophetic thought of Don Oreste Benzi according to which: "for centuries men have organized the war, while today has come the time to organize peace " and from the reflections born within the Italian campaign for the Ministry of Peace, we proposed to all states the creation of a Ministry of Peace - a control room for actions at national and international level that promote and defend peace as well as respect for all human rights.

Those who can not enjoy human rights and fundamental freedoms do not live in peace. The multitudes of men and women, families and single children who migrate from poor countries and in war to rich and peaceful countries are a constant demonstration of this. This is why it is important today more than ever that peace becomes a reality for all.

The dream can become reality, as Giovanni Paolo Ramonda told us that, opening the meeting, he told how in Italy, in the 80s, conscientious objection to military service was also a dream that, thanks to many young people who believed in it to the end, it became a reality. And how it is time to change course, to make a U-turn by introducing policies of disarmament and peace that first of all help us to disarm ourselves against the other, to arrive at a "politics to the service of peace". The topic of conscientious objection was then taken up by Michael Wiener of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Anche Giulia Zurlini Panza (ricercatrice e volontaria di Operazione Colomba) durante l’incontro, ci ha ricordato che: «se le vittime scelgono la via dell’odio e della vendetta, adottano un approccio distruttivo di gestione del conflitto e finiscono per trasformarsi in carnefici. Se, invece, hanno la possibilità di scegliere la modalità nonviolenta, le vittime adottano l’approccio costruttivo di gestione del conflitto uscendo dalla loro posizione di oppressione».

David Fernandez Pujana – ambasciatore dell’Università della Pace del Costa Rica – e la prof. Carmen Parra dell’Università Abat Oliba (Spagna) cattedra UNESCO, hanno poi ricordato l’importanza dell’educazione alla pace perché come diceva Gandhi: «Non c'è una strada che porta alla pace; la pace è la strada».

At the event, we of the APG23 office in Geneva, we presented the publication Calling for Ministries of Peace , written thanks to the precious work of two girls (Serena Viscardi and Manuela Sportelli) in international civil service, illustrating reasons for creating so many in the world Ministries of Peace, one in every nation.

The Ministry of Peace is an innovative response to the need for safety and well-being of our societies. It will build non-violent alternatives to armed defense, promote new forms of security and coexistence, preventing wars and conflicts through the realization of a positive and sustainable peace creating both the way to a better world where human rights are protected and guaranteed for all .

The Ministry of Peace already exists: here's where

Some countries have already established the Ministry of Peace: in addition to Costa Rica, which has long chosen to convert military spending to education, health and development by creating the ministry of "justice and peace", including the Solomon Islands, the South-Sudan and Nepal have created their own Ministry of Peace. Recently the Republic of San Marino has also chosen this route. The Ministry would make peace a reality for all, nationally and internationally. Applying the principles of adaptability, subsidiarity, inclusive participation, transparency and transversality, the Ministry of Peace would promote respect for all human rights, the culture of peace and the promotion of peace policies, the prevention of conflicts and violence and mechanisms of reconciliation and peaceful resolution.