Universal Declaration on the Right to World Peace

Universal Declaration on the Right to World Peace

Sponsors:

World Organization of Human Rights and Environment Rights

International Buddhist Ethics Committee & Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights

World Association of Buddhism

World Association of Buddhist Universities and Progressive Education

Maitreya Buddhist University

International Association of Buddhist Socialism

World Association of Theravada

Amitabha Buddhist Society

January, 2016

PREAMBLE

Paying tribute to the great spiritual movements, social initiatives and philosophical ideas that have transformed history of humankind by contributing to world peace;

Considering all previous international declarations that are related to the Right to Peace, especially resolutions such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights held in 1948; the Declaration on the Promotion among Youth of the Ideals of peace, mutual respect and understanding among peoples in 1965; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1966; the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning relations of friendship and cooperation between States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations held in 1970; the Declaration of the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace held in 1971; the Declaration on the Use of Scientific and Technological Progress in the Interests of Peace and for the benefit of humankind held in 1975; the Declaration on the preparation of societies to live in peace held in 1978; the International Convention for the establishment of the University for Peace and Charter of the University for Peace held in 1980; the Declaration on the participation of women in promoting peace and international cooperation held in 1982; the Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes held in 1982; the Declaration on the Enhancement of the Effectiveness of the Principle of Refraining from the Threat or Use of Force in International Relations made in 1987; the Declaration on the Prevention and Removal of Disputes and Situations which may threaten international peace and security and the role of the United Nations in this field carried out in 1988; the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance in 1995; the Declaration and Plan of Integrated Framework on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Democracy in 1995; the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in 1998; the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace in 1999; The Hague Agenda for Peace and Justice for the 21st Century in 1999; the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples held in 2007; and the Santiago Declaration on the Human Right to Peace in 2010;

Supporting the spiritual statements regarding the Right to Peace, such as the Universal Declaration of Spiritual Rights in 2015 and the Universal Declaration of Ecological Rights in 2015;

Agreeing that this Universal Declaration on the Right to World Peace is shared with the United Nations, its Member States and all organizations of civil society, since the Purpose enunciated by the preamble of the United Nations Charter is peace, freedom and human rights as supreme universal values;

Recognizing that the achievement of world peace is not the mere absence of war; it is a complex phenomenon that demands political, economic, cultural and environmental development of the peoples to meet the intrinsic dignity of human being;

Recalling that the appropriate implementation of the principles and norms of International Law is fundamental not only to resolve controversies and conflicts between States through peaceful means, as noted by the Charter of the United Nations, but also to protect security and justice, which implies the prohibition of using physical or verbal violence among peoples;

Reminiscing that the general principle of international law is a commitment to peace, according to the Statute of the International Court of Justice;

Claiming that the universal right to peace is inseparable, inalienable and interdependent from the right to life, which is the most important of all spiritual values, human rights and fundamental freedoms;

Understanding that world peace can only be based on conditions of social justice, health and poverty eradication of the peoples, as stated by the ILO, FAO and WHO;

Perceiving the circumstances of vulnerability of some individuals, groups and peoples suffering constant subjugation of their freedom, dignity and right to a peaceful and healthy life;

Being aware that spiritual education is an indispensable structure for the establishment of a civilization of peace, because violence and war begin in the minds of human beings and is in the mind where the pillars of world peace must be built, as has been affirmed by both Siddhartha Gautama and UNESCO;

Taking into consideration the prohibition of any incitement to greed, hatred and deceit, which are the main sources of violence and war, but always doing this ethical adjustment in full compatibility with freedom of expression, acting in accordance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;

Showing concern for the mass extinction of species, global pollution and the destruction of nature, so it is necessary to oblige governments to respect the healthy and appropriate lives of present and future generations;

By checking that mind peace and social peace are intertwined with a healthy life in harmony with Mother Earth;

Appreciating the international instruments that have been written about environmental issues, such as the Stockholm Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in 1972; the World Charter for Nature of 1982; the Convention on Biological Diversity of 1992; the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992; the Rio Conference on Environment and Development of 1992; the  Kyoto Protocol of 1997; the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters  in 1998; the Earth Charter in 2000; the Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development in 2002; and the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth in 2010;

By expanding the commitments made by States in relation to international instruments such as the African Charter on the Rights of Man and Peoples, the American Convention on Human Rights and Protocol of San Salvador, the Bangkok Declaration, the European Convention for the Protection of Human rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union;

Taking responsibility for denouncing the production and sale of weapons as a threat to universal peace and also as a violation of human rights which jeopardizes human development of present and future generations;

Fostering that the violation of the Human Right to World Peace is considered as a crime against humanity by the International Criminal Court;

Underlining the important role of women, children, young and elderly in peace processes and international cooperation;

Expressing that the achievement of peace has never been carried out by states and governments of the world, but for the millions of activists and civil organizations who have dedicated their lives to the good of all humanity;

Highlighting that the creation of a civilization of peace and social justice is the purpose of the Universal Declaration on the Right to World Peace, by eliminating war, poverty, illiteracy and pollution as forms of political, economic, cultural and environmental violence;

By enunciating that impunity and injustice are incompatible with the pursuit of peace and truth, the victims being understood as beings in need of repair, recognition and reconciliation;

Establishing that any police or military institution, whether state or private, should be fully subordinated to compliance with the obligations derived from international Law, human rights and the attainment of the right to World Peace;

Ensuring that the establishment of world peace implies the right of everyone to live in security and harmony in whichever country they want, either through voluntary migratory processes and through processes of involuntary refuge or exile;

Proclaiming that the Human Right to Global Peace will not be effective without the realization of liberty, equality and fraternity, by eliminating cultural practices and beliefs that are incompatible with universal human rights, for example, discrimination based on race, nationality, lineage, ethnicity, color, sex, age, language, religion, political opinion, economic position and psychophysical state;

Ensuring that world peace is the maximum desire of every human civilizations throughout history, so that the integration of all peoples is fundamental to effectively carry out this horizon of spiritual evolution;

It is solemnly proclaimed the following Universal Declaration on the Right to World Peace

Article 1. Human Rights for Everyone

Every individual, group and people has the right and duty to protect and defend Human Rights locally and internationally.

Every individual, group and people has the right to an appropriate pathway of internal and external peace that is sustainable in time, so that States and multilateral organizations should ensure compliance with this supreme human right to world peace, by carrying it out with no distinction or discrimination.

Every individual, group and people has the right that violations to World Peace, such as armament, war, genocide, persecution, terrorism, corruption, drug trafficking, discrimination, intolerance and oppression, are considered as crimes against humanity and peace and which are prohibited by International Law.

Article 2. Rights to a healthy and safe lifestyle

Every individual, group and people has the right to psychical peace, which means the Cure of the poisons of mind such as attachment, aversion and unconsciousness, in addition to the right to social peace, which means the Evanescence of the evils of society such as greed, hatred and deceit.

Every individual, group and people has the right to demand that States, governments and international organizations apply the foundational purposes of the United Nations in order to secure peace and collective security, peacefully solving disputes through the International Law.

Every individual, group and people have the right to enjoy a peaceful, free and enlightened life, which involves having satisfied their human rights and political, economic, cultural and environmental needs, particularly the right to adequate resolution of conflicts, the right to healthy living, the right to advanced education and the right to a relationship of contemplation and harmony with nature.

Article 3. Right to civil disobedience and peaceful resistance

Every individual, group and nation has the right not to be considered and treated as an enemy of the State when exercising practices of civil disobedience against activities that violate the Right to Peace, or when they refuse to participate in any military or immoral activity that harms other human beings or nature.

Every individual, group and people has the right to conscientious objection and public denunciation in face of States violating human rights or producing military armament, which is a violation of the Right to World Peace.

Every individual, group or people has the right to resistance and peaceful opposition to any kind of regime that commits violations of international law and human rights, especially when it comes to States accused of genocide, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, war crimes or Ecocide.

Every individual, group or people has the right and the supreme duty to criticize and oppose war, arms industry, violence, oppression, discrimination or any other activity that violates the Right to World Peace.

Article 4. Right to disarmament and elimination of armies

Every individual, group or people has the right to demand that states develop and implement a global plan for disarmament and gradual elimination of armies which is internationally regulated, seeking the early elimination of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

Every individual, group or people has the right to demand that military expenditures and budgets are redirected toward the global elimination of poverty, ignorance and pollution, radically increasing governmental budgets in terms of health, food, housing, work, education and environment.

Every individual, group or people has the right to live in a world without threats and without using force, by resolving conflicts through peaceful means.

Every individual, group or people has the right to abandon the military civilization to enter the pacifist civilization of the future, which is an international structure of values, attitudes, behaviors and lifestyles based on respect for life, non-violence, dialogue, liberty, friendly settlement of conflicts, unity in diversity, protection of nature, equality, justice, democracy, solidarity and pluralism.

Article 5. Rights of refugees, victims and vulnerable groups

Every individual, group or people has the right to receive shelter without any discrimination anywhere in the world, especially when they are persecuted and their life is endangered, when their surroundings are no longer safe and healthy or when they are discriminated because of race, nationality, lineage, ethnicity, color, sex, age, language, religion, political opinion, economic position or psychophysical state.

Every individual, group and people that is refugee has the right to receive the benefits of social inclusion in the country where they want to live, enjoying the human rights and civil rights like any other citizen.

Every individual, group or people that is a victim of human rights violations has the right to recognition, solidarity support, access to the Truth, effective justice, integral reparation and guarantees of non-repetition, being an imprescriptible and inalienable right.

Every individual, group or people that is a victim of impunity has the right to resort to popular or ethical tribunals, human rights institutions, international organizations and spiritual movements that can contribute to the Truth, Reconciliation and peaceful resolution of conflict.

Every individual, group or people that is vulnerable has the right to recognition and protection of their inherent spiritual dignity, since it is a situation of vulnerability in which many women, children, youth, disabled, elderly, poor, marginalized, minorities, refugees, prisoners and aborigines are immersed.

Every individual, group or people that is a refugee, a victim or is suffering a situation of vulnerability has the right to participate in the prevention and peaceful resolution of conflicts, by promoting ties of solidarity and interexistence.

Every individual, group or people that are deprived of their liberty have the right to rehabilitation, education, training, spiritual development and recovery of civil liberty, while also have the duty of restitution and fair and adequate indemnity toward victims of their actions.

Article 6. Right to Liberty of thought and expression

Every individual, group or people has the right to access to plural and uncensored information in order not to be manipulated by any public or private body, by being able to and having the duty to denounce facts that threaten the human right to freedom of thought and expression. This free participation in political, economic, cultural and environmental activities is full requirement of the Right to World Peace.

Every individual, group or people has the right to remove disseminations of messages of hate, prejudice and discrimination against human beings for being something contrary to the ethical principles of peaceful coexistence and friendly cooperation of the peoples

Article 7. Right to pacifist education

Every individual, group or people has the right to learn the lifestyle based on respect for human rights and the promotion of mental and social peace, which is one of the main conditions to vanish war and violence in order to build a new wise and compassionate civilization. This advanced education should be available to every human being, since it is the foundation of the spiritual evolution of humanity based on ties of solidarity and mutual support between responsible and committed citizens.

Every individual, group or people has the right not only to be trained in processes of non-violent conflict resolution, but also to learn to think a global framework of tolerance, mutual respect and understanding in order to develop a civilization of peace. This advanced education must provide skills to transform the inner and outer world, allowing the prevention and creative solution of the problems inherent in the Path of Life.

Every individual, group or people has the right to enjoy subjects, courses and careers related to World Peace at every level of formal and non-formal education, and must be created Schools and Colleges of Peace in all countries of the world in order to this supreme learning is available to all humanity.

Every individual, group or people has the right to intercultural and interfaith dialogue as a means of promoting tolerance, peace and reconciliation in the world, by encouraging openness, freedom of critical thinking, mutual listening, solidarity and ethical reasoning at all times as non-violent antidotes against fanaticism, exclusion and intolerance.

Every individual, group or people has the right that science and technology are geared towards respect for human rights and the peaceful progress of the world, which is a material and spiritual development of people, since without the guidance of ethics this kind of advances in knowledge leads to superficiality and self-destruction of humanity.

Every individual, group or people has the right to practice compassion and tolerance but never justification, condescension and indulgence facing social injustice, considering that tolerance is an attitude that recognizes the universal values of human rights and the inherent dignity of others, rejecting dogmatism and absolutism in pursuit of pluralism and democracy so that humanity can live in a world of peace and harmony.

Article 8. Right to sustainable development and ecological harmony

Every individual, group or people has the right to participate in a political, economic, cultural and environmental development wherein the human rights and fundamental freedoms such as the Right to Peace and Harmony with Mother Earth are self-realized.

Every individual, group or people has the right to Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, by eliminating fear, oppression, discrimination and violence that impede the full development of humanity when generating a civilization of injustice and exclusion.

Every individual, group or people has the right to exist in a healthy and safe environment, which is the cornerstone for peace and the adequate survival of human beings, denouncing pollution and armaments as violative of Human Rights, Environmental Rights and the Right to World Peace.

Every individual, group or people has the right that their human rights and environmental rights, whose basis is the Right to World Peace, are also respected throughout the Cosmos, which obliges all States of the world to maintain a harmonious and non-violent relationship towards the rest of the Universe.

Article 9. Right to nature as a healthy and peaceful zone

Every individual, group or people has the right to restoration of nature, a process that shall obligatorily be done by States and responsible companies.

Every individual, group or people has the right that the land and maritime ecosystems of Mother Earth are internationally considered as peace zones, which will contribute to both environmental protection as well as the demilitarization of the peoples and the consequent establishment of universal lasting peace based on justice.

Article 10. Sacred duty to World Peace

Every individual, group or people has certain rights and duties to the theory and practice of the Right to World Peace, the same way as there are also obligations that must be assumed by companies, states and the international community starting from this Universal Declaration on the Right to World Peace. The responsibility for the protection and promotion of the Right to World Peace concerns the entire humankind, especially the non-governmental organizations or civil society organizations, which perform many more efforts to guarantee human rights and sustainable development than any State or international body. Therefore, States should cooperate with non-governmental organizations in order to achieve compliance with the supreme Right to World Peace by learning the spirit of solidarity to implement genuine measures aimed at the construction and consolidation of a civilization of peace that has the protection of human beings as its Purpose facing the evils of war, injustice, ignorance and pollution. This should be interpreted as the establishing of a system of planetary human family that replaces the old illusory divisions between States. With the purpose to protect human rights and inherent spiritual dignity of the human being, especially the Right to World Peace, institutions such as the United Nations must evolve fully and effectively through democratization and transparency in all their activities, in order to assume the integral project of reconstruction of a new world, a Pure Earth or Kingdom of Righteousness, where peace, justice, knowledge and interexistence are the daily life of all humanity. This requires redirecting all the funds that are currently allocated to war to allocate them towards the financing of projects that prevent evil, do Good and purify the mind and heart of all beings. In this context, it should be fully understood that the understanding and respect of the Right to World Peace not only embodies the Peak Knowledge of Human Rights, but also represents the spiritual evolution of peoples. The implementation of the present Universal Declaration on the Right to World Peace is a program of action for the happening of a Planetary Civilization of Peace and Justice, so it is imperative that the United Nations pays Full Attention (Mindfulness) to the practical guidance of this compassionate wisdom, by denouncing any act of armament, war, genocide, persecution, terrorism, corruption, drug trafficking, discrimination, intolerance and oppression as crimes against humanity and peace and as violations of International Law.

Article 11. Consequences of the Right to World Peace

It is recommended the elimination of United Nations Security Council, which must be replaced by the creation of a Council of Supervisors on World Peace which is composed of one representative from each country who is internationally recognized, and who will exercise their functions with complete impartiality and independence from governmental power of the country to which they belong and represent. For the election of the members of the Council it shall be taken into consideration the criteria such as being experts with a high degree of ethics and integrity, with expertise and knowledge in areas such as Human Rights and Ecology, which have been awarded for their work on Peace, and with expertise in philosophy and Spirituality. Representatives of Stateless Nations such as Aboriginal peoples must be also included. The members of the Council of Supervisors on World Peace shall be democratically elected by society from a list of candidates proposed by States and non-governmental organizations. The mandate of the Council members will have a maximum of four years, during which they will have the duty to: uninterruptedly promote the implementation of the Universal Declaration on the Right to World Peace; promoting international respect for human rights; investigate information from various sources on possible acts of violation of the Right to World Peace in order to then issue political and economic sanctions; refer all verified information on violations of human rights and crimes against peace to the International Criminal Court in order to resolve these serious problems quickly through the International Justice; make constant recommendations to all States of the international community in order to implement appropriate measures for the control and full implementation of the Right to World Peace and the human rights in general; effectively implement conventions which prohibit aggression and defense through violent means between peoples; correctly observe that States implement the Universal Declaration on the Right to World Peace through administrative, legislative, judicial, educational and popular measures.

INTERNATIONAL DRAFTING COMMITTEE

President and Spiritual Guide: Buddhist Master Maitreya

Executive Secretary: Master Yan Maitri-Shi

Legal Advisor: Sekkha Dhamma