World Organization for Peace, Geneva, Switzerland 11.05.2007
A question that we are always asked is why we insist on the need for a university cultural program in favor of Peace, or why we suggest to develop it right now in the world with the support of all the UN member states and the contribution of the private sector, based on the first UN University in Ciudad Colon, Costa Rica, adapting it to each culture. The history of humanity taught us a lot, in each of its pages we can see human mistakes being repeated along the years, leaving us with a bad taste knowing that our predecessors acted just like we are acting now and we cannot understand why it is so difficult for the human being to learn from the mistakes men did in the past, while we keep on hating our fellow men so much as to reach the point to arrange its destruction or extermination. This only means destroying ourselves, as long as we cannot recognize that we are one big family living under the same roof, and that we will find through our DNA that we all are distant relatives.
We know that within a family there is also diversity, as it is logical, due to style, education, culture, elements that underline the great ability of humankind – what is incomprehensible is that we are not able to take advantage of it to live in Peace. It all begins with disagreements that generate conflicts and all parties involved claiming they are right. Wars are always brought about in a subtle and hidden way, for private interests, ambitious intentions and the eagerness of having the power – facts that postponed the evolution of humanity, for simple interests that benefited few people and wasted the lives of the majority.
These misunderstanding between man and society, commonly called disagreements, have never been faced in a savvy way trying to find a pacific solution. As a matter of fact people have always preferred to use the force, which separate man from his essence and differentiate him from beasts, worsening the situation until achieving tragic results, causing innocent victims and irreparable damages. After conflicts, parties involved have therefore always turned to the initial point, to the use of dialogue and diplomacy to restore the situation and to heal open wounds, such as hatred and resentment that would last for generations postponing once again the evolution of humankind and dismissing the most sacred word, love for the neighbor.
In the moment of a violent confrontation, justice is the first victim as it loses its power to govern with impartiality, while injustice becomes the sovereign. The overall wellbeing and human dignity get far from reach, human rights are just a mere illusion, impossible to be respected. While men unite in only 24 hours to destroy other known or unknown enemies and prepare wars for massive destruction, the chance to achieve Peace seems millenniums far.
We clearly know that man have been using since his origins the use of force to impose his rights and satisfy his needs, facing wild animals to get the chance to survive, and could not discern fighting animals from fighting men, which is the origin of the misunderstanding. Human ignorance in those times led to believe that man was only a survivor in the planet earth and for this reason he put himself at the same place as animals.
Today is different, we have evolved in our humanity and we now have at disposal knowledge and tools to be able to distinguish between good and evil, how we should behave and what the parameters of a new society are, specially with reference to those who are plotting wars and confrontations, such as hidden terrorism here is where criminal premeditation stands, which is on the basis of any act attempting human life, not knowing that just one only life is a world of continuity.
Man fortunately has undergone a complete change that brought about sense and order in his life, through the religious messages of the prophets that gave man new parameters to set humanity, which are, if well interpreted, the basis of human rights and respect for the people, setting an organized society able to achieve Peace and harmony, as the main principle together with the culture of the truth and the respect for the others.
In addition, the means of communications fostered a new multicultural meeting, where knowledge and travels are immediate and fast, and people learn the unknown without invasions or impositions, as it should be. However, not in every part of the world people are ready to understand and tolerate a different skin color or a different religion, which is the origin for intolerance and discrimination that increase ignorance even in the most culturally educated people. This is the basis that man lacks, enabling true understanding and pacific coexistence and harmonious cohabitation, through organized cultural plans.
For this reason it is important that the world have Centers of Studies for Peace, one in each region of the world, to teach the new generation to develop pacific skills, to enlarge permanent knowledge enabling the evolution of humankind. This is a lesson to teach to everyone, from children to the highest educational levels, even creating masters for Peace as the University of the United Nations in City Colon of Costa Rica, did, a University founded by its president Mr. Rodrigo Carazo in 1981, which became a model that can be adapted to different cultures in the world. For this reason we urge the need to train all university students with a cultural, pacific and intelligent program, as they are the next professionals in charge of leading the world population as managers, entrepreneurs, public employees and they will need to carry out their projects based on a culture of peace, so to avoid any war or confrontation. These programs could be improved in any moment either by public or private educational institutions in order to enhance the value of the people living in this world, so they would never use the force to face confrontations and did the same mistakes people did in the past.
We address Mr. Kofi Annan, that have fought pacifically to support the cultural encountering of the peoples of the world, which is the way to enable the wellbeing of all, as the World Organization for Peace, an organization composed by a Council of Communicators, with reporters from all over the world, a Superior Interreligious Council, represented by Ministers of different Religions and Faiths, a Honorable Advisory Council, represented by former presidents of states, all with the mission to serve disinterestedly. Our goal is to promote and support the idea that a University for Peace should be established in every country.
We furthermore propose that all books dealing with war should be changed with other teaching strategies to reach Peace.
Carlos Peralta
President
World Organization for Peace OMPP WOFP
Geneva, Switzerland, 5th November 2007
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