What does “people’s right to peace” mean?

What does “people’s right to peace” mean?

On April 11, we invited the PulseWire community to participate in a questionnaire regarding the “right to peace”, and the role of the state and international community in maintaining peace. The responses will be shared with the United Nations Human Rights Commission, allowing the women leaders of the World Pulse community an opportunity to express their ideas and concerns with the UN. There's one week left to do so!

The idea of “right to peace” was a bit vague and unclear to me at first, and maybe it was for you. I did so more research about what the UN might have meant by this phrase, and would like to share it with you here, in hopes that it will help you fill out the questionnaire.

The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution in 1984 called the “Declaration on the Right of Peoples to Peace”, which reaffirms the United Nations goal to maintain international peace and security.

The Declaration recognizes that life without war is a prerequisite for the material well-being, development and progress of countries, and that the maintenance of peace for peoples is the sacred duty of each State. The four principles of the declaration are the following:

1. Solemnly proclaims that the peoples of our planet have a sacred right to peace;




2. Solemnly declares that the preservation of the right of peoples to peace and the promotion of its implementation constitute a fundamental obligation of each State;




3. Emphasizes that ensuring the exercise of the right of peoples to peace demands that the policies of States be directed towards the elimination of the threat of war, particularly nuclear war, the renunciation of the use of force in international relations and the settlement of international disputes by peaceful means on the basis of the Charter of the United Nations;




4. Appeals to all States and international organizations to do their utmost to assist in implementing the right of peoples to peace through the adoption of appropriate measures at both the national and the international level.

Click here to fill out the survey. Please submit your questionnaire by: 25 April, 2011.

If you already submitted a questionnaire, please send me a message so we can share your names and where you're from with the UN and get you credit for your great ideas!

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. We look forward to receiving your feedback!

Warm regards,
Breese & the World Pulse team