International Day of Peace

— The United Nations has declared September 21 as the permanent date for International Day of Peace which should be observed as the day of peace and cease fire throughout the world. This day has now been observed in 192 countries since 2002 when the UN General Assembly officially approved the date. This day is dedicated to commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples, create public awareness for creating an environment for peace, promote and encourage respect for human rights and to encourage groups and communities to contemplate and communicate thoughts and activities on how to achieve peace. The United Nations charter makes it obligatory to the member States not to launch war, but this apex world organisation has failed to prevent war among member States. The United States launched war against Iraq forming an ad hoc coalition of willing partners in its global war against terrorism and the UN remained a mute spectator. Recently Russia invaded another sovereign country Georgia with impunity. The conflict between Israel and Palestine continues and the UN failed to intervene. Thus the history of the League of Nations and the United Nations is a history of failures to prevent war.

War starts in the minds of men. Therefore seeds of peace must be sown in the minds of men. To that extent observance of the International Day of Peace is surely fruitful. More than wars the threat of terrorist attack keeps the nations and the people in their toes. The cult of violence spread by Osama-bin Laden and his jehadi brethren is a threat to world peace. Cross border terrorism encouraged and sponsored by a neighbouring country to destabilise India threatens our sovereignty and security. The various insurgent groups operating in the North East disturbs peace and development of the region. Unless the mind set of these people can be changed peace would remain elusive. Therefore it is the duty of the civil society to create public awareness against all forms of violence and bring these protagonists of violence to the path of peace. In this context, the Centre for Development and Peace Studies, a local NGO and think tank, which observed the International Day of Peace by a round table discussion participated by Gandhian philosophers, human right activists, academicians, journalists and administrators deserve our appreciation. The participants from various disciplines agreed that violence won’t pay and Gandhi’s teachings were still relevant for conflict resolution. The civil society should strive to propagate the ideals of Gandhi to create an environment for peace. source: assam tribune editorial 23.09.08