Peace and Security through the United Nations
THE UNITED NATIONS, 27 October 2014
by Surya Nath Prasad, Ph. D. – TRANSCEND Media Service
On the Eve of United Nations Day, 24 Oct 2014
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization established on October 24, 1945 to promote international co-operation. A replacement for the ineffective League of Nations, the organization was created following the Second World War to prevent another such conflict. At its founding, the UN had 51 member states; there are now 193. The UN Headquarters is situated in Manhattan, New York City and enjoys extraterritoriality. Further main offices are situated in Geneva, Nairobi and Vienna.
The organization is financed and assessed by voluntary contributions
from its member states. Its objectives include maintaining international
peace and security, promoting human rights, fostering social and
economic development, protecting the environment, and providing
humanitarian aid in cases of famine, natural disaster, and armed
conflict. – (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia – Redirected from the United Nations)
Anniversary of the United Nations
On October 24, 1945, when the United Nations (UN) came into force,
the five permanent members of the Security Council, viz. France, the
Republic of China, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United
States ratified the charter. In 1947, 24 October was declared the
anniversary of the Charter of the United Nations by the United Nations
General Assembly to be devoted to make known to the peoples of the world
about the aims and achievements of the United Nations and to gain their
support for. The United Nations Day is not restricted to 24th October,
but it is part of the United Nations Week, which runs from 20 to 26
October. Since 1948, the anniversary of the event of the United Nations
Day is observed to celebrate, highlight and reflect on the work of the
United Nations and its specialized agencies. In 1971, the United Nations General Assembly
adopted a resolution (United Nations Resolution 2782) declaring the
United Nations Day to be an international holiday and recommended it to
be observed as a public holiday by all United Nations member states.
On and around October 24, many activities like concerts; flying the UN
flag on important buildings; debates on the relevance of the work of the
UN in modern times are organized in the United Nations’ offices in New
York, the Hague (Netherlands), Geneva (Switzerland), Vienna (Austria)
and Nairobi (Kenya). On the United Nations Day, several international schools
throughout the world also celebrate the diversity of their student
body. Celebrations often include a show of cultural performances in the
evening and a food fair, where food is available from all over the
world.
Proclamations by the state heads and other leaders for the United Nations are issued. In the United States, the President issues a proclamation each year for the United Nations Day since 1946. US President Barack Obama in his Presidential Proclamation on the United Nations Day 2013, inter alia,
said, “…Today, 68 years after the adoption of the United Nations
Charter, we mark United Nations Day by reaffirming our commitment to its
purposes and principles. We celebrate the organization’s challenging
and often unheralded work of forging a world in which every man, woman,
and child can live in freedom, dignity, and peace. … I, Barack Obama,
President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States do
hereby proclaim October 24, 2013 as United Nations Day. I urge the
Governors of the 50 States, and the officials of all other areas under
the flag of the United States, to observe United Nations Day with
appropriate ceremonies and activities. …”
Secretary-General of the UN Ban Ki-moon said on
October 14, 2014, “This year again, we saw the United Nations come
together on armed conflict, human rights, the environment and many other
issues. We continue to show what collective action can do. We can do
even more. In a world that is more connected, we must be more united. On
United Nations Day, let us pledge to live up to our founding ideals and
work together for peace, development and human rights. ”
Need and Importance of the United Nations
Today most of the nations are facing the problems of ‘genocide’,
‘ethnic cleansing’ and ‘global terrorism’. Besides these, people are
suffering from hunger, disease and ignorance. And nation-states are
unable to check them, and sometimes they become parties to all inhuman
acts. Nation-states have been utter failure in protecting the rights of
the people and their lives, and providing proper means to fulfill even
their basic needs. In these circumstances of insecurity and
peacelessness, United Nations is the only hope and help to the existing
aggrieved, oppressed, ignorant and tortured fellow human beings. The
United Nations is also essential for relief to the victims of war (like
refugees, destitute children, old, women and other handicapped persons;
and natural calamities (like earth quake, flood, famine, and other
similar disasters); and also problems like AIDS. It is essentially
needed to assist the nation-states in the development of all areas of
the nations which affect the lives of the people like population,
environment, education, agriculture, economics, science, technology,
health and food. It is also needed to check international crimes and
corruption to control illicit drug, to suppress trafficking and to help
farmers not to grow narcotic crops. Its demand is also for helping the
nation-states in the establishment of democracy and in providing
education for all people for their respective nations with the hope to
receive from them their assistance for good governance in future.
Even all nation-states adopt democracy, and promise for better
governance to the people in their respective nations, they cannot do so
individually because today all nation-states are interdependent. No
nation can develop alone economically, scientifically, educationally
even socially and culturally without the mutual help of each other, and
for this, the United Nations is a must.
Rittberger and Bruhl (1999) in their essay entitled – Global Governance: Civil Society and the United Nations have rightly said, “Since
the degree of independence is high (and still rising), national
regulations cannot solve existing problems, most notably in the areas of
economics and the environment. Thus decisions are transferred to a
‘higher’ level of governance- to the international level-and distance
between policy makers and citizen grows even further.”
The United Nations is the only best and suitable way for security and peace of the peoples in 21st Century.
It is the only United Nations which can face the challenges of the
diverse world, and solve the existing problems of the peoples of
different regions, races, languages, sects, ideologies and nations. In
this sense, the United Nations is very important and useful
organization.
A Vision Hope: The Fiftieth Anniversary of the United Nations (328 pages), which is a large record of the work of 50 years of the United Nations, and Human Rights: The New Consensus (304 pages), which is record of works and activities for promoting and protecting human rights
around the world through the Human Rights Council (UNHRC) of the United
Nations. Both the books are published by Regency Publications, London,
U.K. for the United Nations. Sufficient copies of these books are
available with the author of these lines for free distribution.
Receivers of the books will have to pay only the actual charges for the
postage or shipping of the books. The author of these lines will feel
happy to receive the requests for the books from any persons,
educational institutions; cultural, social, political, religious
organizations and libraries from anywhere.
“The United Nations saves lives, changes lives, and offer hope and opportunity to millions,” observes G. M. Sorensen, then Under- Secretary-General of the United Nations. This
report has also declared that there is no substitute for United Nations
as the global forum for leadership in identifying and legitimizing new
issues for international agenda. As it did in respect of international
development, cooperation, human rights, environment, population and the
women’s issues to name but a few. It observes also that the UN provides
hospitable, peaceful and equitable conditions of life for its people. It
acts on behalf of all nations. The United Nations is a voluntary
organization of sovereign Nation-States. Article 2 of its Charter
declares, “The organization is based on the principle of sovereign
equality of its members.” However, persons deputed to the United Nations
by the nation-states are the experts in the field of international
relations which might not be possible when they would be elected for the
United Nations.
The United Nations has contributed much to the international
understanding, cooperation, promotion of democracy and global stability.
Its importance is established with its tremendous achievements in every
aspect of peoples’ lives around the world during the span of 69 years.
The United Nations through its programs and organs, specialized agencies
and other autonomous organizations and commissions and committees, and
ad hoc and related bodies, and peace-keeping operations and
peace-building functions has done a lot of services to the welfare and
development of people of almost all the nations of the world.
The Co-Chairman of the Commission on Global Governance, Former Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson of Sweden has described Commission’s five strong reasons to have the United Nations for international relations in the 21st Century (for details see Ingvar Carlsson, Foreign Policy No. 100, Fall 1995).
The author of these lines Surya Nath Prasad emphasized the need and importance of the United Nations in his speech at the 19th Anniversary of the International Day of Peace on the theme: Global Governance in 21st Century at Kyung Hee University, Republic of Korea (September 19-20, 2000). A world renowned Korean peace thinker Dr. Young Seek Choue,
Founder & Chancellor of Kyung Hee University strongly favors the
United Nations for global governance and to strengthen it and he wishes
to create Pax United Nations and he believes that the ten-point
recommendations of the then UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar in this regard must be implemented. Dr. Young Seek Choue
who is initiator of Global Common Society (GCS) wants that the United
Nations should give birth to Global Common Society or Global Cooperation
Society which he calls the world of GCS a Pax United Nations. And he
hopes under the Pax United Nations, people would enjoy perpetual peace
and common prosperity which is spiritually, rewarding, beautiful and
worthy. Px United Nations which Dr. Choue considers as not a world
government. According to him, UN Pax will be a global mechanism geared
to maintaining security and promoting peace and welfare of people, it
should not meddle in the domestic affairs of the member states which
have little bearing on the question of international peace and security.
The exercise of sovereign rights of each nation should be honored. Dr.
Choue is very much right in the sense that real
Governance lies with self-governance, i.e. moral governance. Nobody
will govern others, but everybody would be self-governed. Governance
means to serve others for their welfare and peace. In this sense, moral
governance supports the national as well As global governance in which
people are involved for the good of others.
Charles Mercieca, Founder and
President of International Association of Educators for World Peace
(IAEWP) in his paper ‘Pax United Nations Versus Pax Americana” has
written, “…If the world has to be dominated by some entity of any
kind, the most suitable would be the United Nations. Our primary
obligation is to strengthen Pax United Nations… It is possible for us
all to see one day Pax United Nations becoming an effective instrument
to enable the world to solve all of its problems without resorting to
violence… .”
Johan Galtung, an octogenarian and a living legend, who is Founder of Peace and Conflict Studies, Transcend Peace University, Transcend Media Service, International Peace Research Institute and Journal of Peace Research, in his address on the theme: “The UN, Peace and Peace Education” at the 65th Anniversary of the United Nations on October 24, 2010, inter alia, said:
“The United Nations, so filled with Anglo-Saxon paranoia about
“security” (meaning theirs), based on “members are states” can no longer
carry that vision. A United Regions may help. So would, indeed, a UN Peoples’ Assembly with one delegate per million, based on free and fair elections. So would United Local Authorities.
So would a much stronger international civil society. So would
federalism with democracy inside the constituent nations. And equity
across fault-lines: parity between genders and generations, races and
classes, nations and states. For human dignity.”
Suggestions made for the UN on Request
The United Nations may better be called as Peoples Global Serving
Society. Its purpose is same “to maintain peace and security” as set
forth in Article 1 of the Charter of the United Nations. It is pertinent
to mention here that the author of these lines, Dr. Surya Nath Prasad, submitted his reply on July 14, 2000 to the United Nations Institute for Training and Research-UNITAR (Geneva, Switzerland) of its question: How could the United Nations better fulfill their tasks in the field of Peace and Security? The matters of his suggestions cited below are the reply in brief by the author of these lines to the question of UNITAR:
“The United Nations can fulfill its tasks successfully in the field
of peace and security through short and long terms operations.
“For short term operations, the United Nations
should immediately take up the cases of violation of human rights of any
nation, and attack on democracy of the nation, and provide quick relief
to the people of the particular nation. Because principles of
non-interference in internal affairs does not prohibit international
intervention to halt crimes against people or crime against humanity.
“For long term operations, the United Nations should
issue directions to all member States to give top priority to education
by providing free education for all – children of poor and rich both to
make them indebted towards their society in particular, and towards
humanity as a whole in general. And World Bank should be advised to
sanction loan to the States for investment in education, and appeal to
the rich nations to share their resources with the poor nations by
extending their financial assistance for this purpose, and the
respective States should also be asked to encourage their rich people to
donate money for education. Besides this, full facilities and all
comfort should be provided to teachers who control the education and
educational institutions.
“Regarding peace-keeping, I would like to suggest
that peace-keeping forces which operate on the basis of consent,
non-enforcement and impartiality must be taught about integrated science
and religion to make them more efficient, effective and useful which
may help to eliminate structural violence also. Integrated science and
religion enable man to learn and follow the laws of inner and outer life
which lead to peace and prosperity on earth.
“Concerning peace-building, it may be be suggested
that development, democracy and justice which are its main functions
need proper education, training and learning about all these concepts.
Only perpetual education for all can give birth to democratic process of
decision-making which makes man just that ultimately leads to
development and peace for all.
“Concerning on the role of Security Council, I would
like to say that on the issues of threatening world peace, the Security
Council can compel parties to accept decisions of the International
Court of Justice. Like International Criminal Court of Yugoslavia, the
Security Council can also create a permanent International Criminal
Tribunal to hold personally accountable all those who flout the laws of
peace and humanity.
“About the role of Secretary-General of the United
Nations, I would like to suggest that in short term action, the
Secretary-General must bring the attention to the Security council,
without any delay, any problems arise in any nation causing insecurity
of its people and/or its democratic set-up for providing security and
immediate assistance. And for long term action, the Secretary-General of
the UN, inter alia, must bring attention to the Security Council to
take decision that all member States must provide full protection and
all comfort to their teachers and free education all which are the real
foundation of peace and security.”
Peace Education for the United Nations
Since 1815 there are about 1000 peace treaties, agreements, and
pacts, and peace movements all over the world for working in different
areas of human life to end existing violence and war, preventing an
impending war, and educating contemporaries to a different view of world
order. Apart from these, we have UN Charter, UN Declaration of Human
Rights, International Law (which sources listed in International Court
of Justice) based on justice for peace to all, which are part and parcel
of current peace education.
But some signatory nation States are the most violators of human
rights as it is evident from the Report of Amnesty International. The
Human Rights Organization’s Global Survey Report covers 142 countries
and uncovers massive and ruthless violation of human rights in
practically every part of the world. It unfolds a sordid tale of man’s
inhumanity to man.
Even UN peace keepers have been violators of human rights. The 34 page report, which was published by The Washington Post,
accuses UN peace keepers from Morocco, Pakistan and Nepal of seeking to
obstruct UN efforts to investigate a sexual abuse scandal that has
damaged the UN’s standing in Congo. UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan
said there was “clear evidence that acts of gross misconduct have taken
place” in the United Nations’ Congo Mission, which began in 2000.
A confidential report prepared by Prince Zeid Raad Al-Hussein – Jordan’s Ambassador to UN – dated November 08, 2004, says the exploitation “appears to be significant, widespread and ongoing”.
Fifty countries represented in the UN’s Congo Mission. American
Soldiers in Iraq, who were supposed to bring democracy and peace there,
did inhuman deeds there.
Peter Graff of Reuters says that the Red Cross saw US troops keeping Iraqi prisoners naked for days in darkness at the Abu Ghraib jail.
Then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the United States and the United Kingdom must “take
a strong and firm stand to ensure that those kind of activities are not
repeated, because it does do damage, as you can see from reactions in
the region.”
Hence, the United Nations needs peace education for better service to
the sustainable peace and security for all everywhere. But not the
current peace education based on teaching for predetermined values
through knowledge, attitude and skill, which, however, all have no
access to it, and the United Nations endorsed and recognized as its
policy to be adopted by all its member States to establish in their
respective educational institutions. Predetermined values are the
creation or manifestation of great thinkers, saints and scientists,
among some suffered a lot, humiliated, tortured and even killed. And we
should not impose their values on others through indoctrination,
inculcation and regimentation for the sake of peace and security. Hence,
peace education based on universally inherent five elements, viz. body,
vitality, mind, intellect and spirit in all men and women everywhere
without any discrimination is essentially needed for the United Nations
for peace and security all over the world. And this peace education
should be in all educations and also beyond educational institutions
till the end of life for everyone. And its method will be Science of
Learning (Mathetics), not the Science of Teaching (Pedagogy). Because nobody teaches anybody, but we all learn from each other.
Therefore, the author of these lines, Surya Nath Prasad
appeals to the United Nations to amend and replace the concept of
existing peace education, its methodology as teaching and its access to a
few affluent for certain period of certification or diploma or degree
with the concept of peace education based on universally inherent five
elements, viz. body, vitality, mind, intellect and spirit in all men in
women everywhere without any discrimination, its methodology as learning
and its access to all till the end of their lives for integral
manifestation of these elements through creation of their own values
leading to sustainable mutual peace and security. For more information
about the concept of peace education based on above cited five elements
in men and women, its methodology as science of learning and its access
to all, one may refer to the article: Peace Education for Genuine Democracy, Good Governance and Nonviolence written by the author of these lines Surya Nath Prasad published in Transcend Media Service (Solutions-Oriented Peace Journalism) on Apr 21, 2014, and follow the link cited below to read the article: https://www.transcend.org/tms/2014/04/peace-education-for-genuine-democracy-good-governance-and-nonviolence/
______________________________
Dr. Surya Nath Prasad is M. A. (Sociology), M. Ed. (Experimental
Education), M. Phil. (Nonviolence and Peace Studies), and Ph. D.
(Education). Dr. Prasad is a recipient of Honorary D. Lit. (Peace
Education) at the hands of Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma then Former
President, Government of India. . Dr. Prasad has taught for three
decades as Assistant and Associate Professor of Education in India. He
is Former Visiting Professor of Peace Studies at the Graduate Institute
of Peace Studies in Kyung Hee University, Republic of Korea. He is
Former President and Currently Executive Vice President of International
Association of Educators for World Peace. Dr. Prasad is Hon. Associate
Editor of Diplomacy Journal (Republic of Korea). He is a Member of
Editorial Board of Peace and Conflict Review – A Journal of UN mandated
University for Peace (Costa Rica). Dr. Prasad is Founder and
Editor-in-Chief, Peace Education: An International Journal. The Journal
has ISSN number. Dr. Prasad distributes the Journal free of cost
throughout the world. Dr. Prasad is a Co-Initiator of the Global
Initiative for Supporting the Second Renaissance Movement through the
Global Campaign for Restoring Morality and Humanity proposed by Nobel
Laureate Dr. Herbert C. Brown and initiated by Dr. Young Seek Choue,
Founder & Chancellor, Kyung Hee University, Republic of Korea. Dr.
Prasad is a supporter and participant in the Campaign to promote an
International Code of Conduct on Arms Transfers initiated by 17 Nobel
Peace Laureate under the leadership of Nobel Peace Laureate Oscar Arias
then Former President of Costa Rica. Dr. Prasad has visited Republic
of Korea (6 times), Republic of Croatia, Republic of Turkey, Italy (2
times), Spain, Nepal (3 times), Philippines, Malaysia and Republic of
Kazakhstan to deliver his presidential/keynote/guest/special speeches at
the International Peace Conferences sponsored by the respective
governments and/or universities on invitations taking responsibility of
his travel and accommodation expenses. Dr. Prasad is recipient of
several peace and human rights awards to the cause of peace and peace
education.
