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Facts
- International Peace Day, 21 September, helps us to commemorate and strengthen the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples
- The International Decade for the Culture of Peace runs between 2001-2010.
- In Cambodia, South Africa, Mozambique and many countries in Latin America communities have demonstrated that enmities can heal and a culture of peace can be developed.
- Since 1980 almost one half of the world's least developed countries have suffered from a major conflict.
- The number of civil wars, which now make up more than 95% of all armed conflicts, rose sharply after World War II, but have declined greatly since 1992.
- State-based wars worldwide have become much less deadly since the 1950s. The war death rate of troops and civilians killed in battles in the 1990s was only one-third that of the 1970s.
- Of the 29 state-based armed conflicts in 2003, only 2 were interstate (India against Pakistan and the US-led war against Iraq). The remaining 27 were civil wars (government against rebels).
- UNICEF estimates that the number of children under the age of 18 who have been coerced or induced to take up arms as child soldiers is in the range of 300,000.
- The budget for UN peace keeping operations for the 12 months to June 2007 is about $4.75 billion.
Sources: http://www.un.org/peace/
http://www.humansecurityreport.info/
http://www.unicef.org/protection/childsoldiers.pdf
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Background
Peace is often defined in the negative as freedom from war. Peace, development and democracy form an interactive triangle. They are mutually reinforcing. Without democracy, fair distribution of economic progress is unlikely, without sustainable development the disparities become marked and can be a cause for unrest and without peace, developmental gains are quickly destroyed.
The United Nations recognises four major stages of conflict resolution and supporting peace:
Conflict prevention
Preventing and resolving conflict before it results in violence is far less costly, both in human and financial terms, than responding to it once it has occurred. Action to address the underlying causes of conflict include strengthening governance, improving access to human rights, economic and social development, destruction of weapons and developing a culture of peace.
Peace making
The first step to peace if fighting breaks out revolves around diplomatic measures to negotiate a ceasefire and an agreement to which all parties agree, accepting that no gains are to be won by continuing the conflict. Implementing the peace agreement and rebuilding communication needs to happen on official and informal levels to build a foundation for future reconciliation.
Peace keeping
Peace agreements are fragile. The presence of groups of neutral soldiers, military observers, civilian police, electoral observers and human rights monitors can encourage hostile groups not to return to the use of arms. Peace keepers’ tasks can include establishing and policing buffer zones, demobilisation and disarmament of military forces, establishing communication between parties, and protecting the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
Peace building
Rebuilding society after conflict is more than the rebuilding of the infrastructure. Peace building is a complex and lengthy process requiring the establishment of a climate of tolerance and respect for the truth. It encompasses a wide range of political, developmental, humanitarian and human rights programs and mechanisms. They include the reintegration of soldiers and refugees, demining and removal of other war debris, emergency relief, the repair of roads and infrastructure and economic and social rehabilitation.
Some of the activities and issues to consider in peace building include:
Humanitarian relief and development
Delivering aid (food, water, health care and reconstruction of infrastructure) to communities that have suffered conflict. This needs to be carefully managed to avoid deepening divisions between groups or prolonging the conflict.
Disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of combatants
Transforming ex-combatants into peaceful and productive members of society is a critical but challenging task. Removing weapons, returning ex-combatants to their homes and supporting return to civilian life are all vitally necessary.
Refugees and displaced people
People returning home after the conflict may find their property has been destroyed, littered with unexploded ordinance and landmines or occupied by others. Mechanisms are needed for resettling people and helping them return to a safe and productive life and preventing future conflict.
Economic development
Assisting communities to become self-supporting after so much has been destroyed is vital. It can be done through small loans, training, and food for work programs. Rebuilding infrastructure supports these developments through making access to markets and contact with other communities easier.
Women
Armed conflict affects women and men differently. Women bear the brunt of sexual assault as a tool of war, experience changes in their role as breadwinner and head of family on their own, and suffer the loss of partners and sons. Their specific needs may be overlooked, as they are not as obvious as the resettlement needs of ex-combatants.
Children
Children’s lives may have been disrupted severely during the conflict. They may have been forced to flee their homes, gone without food, education and health care and even witnessed extreme violence or been recruited or conscripted to be active combatants. Rebuilding their lives entails assisting with social rehabilitation, trauma counselling and peace education.
Reconciliation
All wars are brutal and particularly so where there has been the mass killing of civilians. Developing trust and cooperation within communities of people who have been enemies is a long and difficult process. It involves balancing the competing demands for justice and accountability for perpetrators of violence with the need to reconcile differences and move forward. Timing is crucial as too few compromises may threaten peace in the short run but too many compromises may undermine lasting peace. Reconciliation activities have included public confession, granting amnesty, community involvement to discuss appropriate punishment or acts of reconciliation, community building activities and peace education.
Australia's responses
Preventing conflict and instability in the Asia-Pacific region is a foreign policy priority for Australia and the Australian aid program. The Australian government peace-building initiatives include aid to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development, to avert conflict where possible and to respond to conflict when it occurs. AusAID is increasingly integrating its humanitarian action and development activities to ensure Australian responses are coordinated.
In Bougainville, PNG, and the Solomon Islands peace building has included peace negotiations, peace monitoring, humanitarian relief to disrupted and displaced communities, and support for reconciliation efforts ofwomen's and church groups, and the reintegration into productive civilian life of youth and men involved in the conflict.
In East Timor peace building activities have included taking the lead role in the United Nations Peace keeping force, substantial humanitarian aid during the crisis and its aftermath, and a continuing contribution to post-conflict reconstruction.
In Cambodia Australia took an active role in providing assistance with elections, and support for returning refugees and internally displaced persons and has continued through a broad program of post-conflict institution building, infrastructure reconstruction, and demining.
For further information: http://www.ausaid.gov.au/publications/pdf/conflict_policy.pdf
The global agenda
The Charter of the United Nations calls upon the peoples of the world "to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security", and charges the Security Council with the task of "determining the existence of any threat to the peace and deciding what measures shall be taken". There is ongoing development of processes and programs of conflict prevention and peacekeeping. Preventive diplomacy has expanded to include preventive deployment, preventive disarmament, humanitarian action, and peace-building. Recognising that the United Nations needs to better anticipate and respond to the challenges of peacebuilding, the 2005 World Summit approved the creation of a new Peacebuilding Commission.
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