| CHARTER FOR
A WORLD WITHOUT VIOLENCE
Violence is a preventable disease.
This document is the result of several years work of
Nobel Peace Laureates and Organizations. It was approved at
the 7th World Summit as the "First Draft of the Charter
for a World without violence". The final version of the
Charter was approved by Nobel Peace Laureates and Organizations
at the 8th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates.
No state or individual can be secure in an insecure world.
The values of nonviolence in intention, thought, and practice
have grown from an option to a necessity. These values are
expressed in their application between states, groups and
individuals.
We are convinced that adherence to the values of nonviolence
will usher in a more peaceful, civilized world order in which
more effective and fair governance, respectful of human dignity
and the sanctity of life itself, may become a reality.
Our cultures, our histories, and our individual lives are
interconnected and our actions are interdependent. Especially
today as never before, we believe, a truth lies before us:
our destiny is a common destiny. That destiny will be defined
by our intentions, decisions and actions today.
We are further convinced that creating a culture of peace
and nonviolence, while a difficult and long process, is both
necessary and noble. Affirmation of the values contained in
this Charter is a vital step to ensuring the survival and
development of humanity and the achievement of a world without
violence.
We, Nobel Peace Laureates and Laureate Organizations,
Reaffirming our commitment to the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights;
Moved by concern for the need to end the spread of violence
at all levels of society and especially the threats posed
on a global scale that jeopardize the very existence of humankind;
Reaffirming that freedom of thought and expression is at the
root of democracy and creativity;
Recognizing that violence manifests in many ways, such as
armed conflict, military occupation, poverty, economic exploitation,
environmental destruction, corruption and prejudice based
on race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation;
Realizing that the glorification of violence as expressed
through commercial entertainment can contribute to the acceptance
of violence as a normal and acceptable condition;
In the knowledge that those most harmed by violence are the
weakest and vulnerable;
Remembering that peace is not only the absence of violence
but that it is the presence of justice and the well-being
of people;
Realizing that the failure of States to sufficiently accommodate
ethnic, cultural and religious diversity is at the root of
much of the violence in the world;
Recognizing the urgent need to develop an alternative approach
to collective security based on a system in which no country,
or group of countries, relies on nuclear weapons for its security;
Being aware that the world is in need of effective global
mechanisms and approaches for nonviolent conflict prevention
and resolution, and that they are most successful when applied
at the earliest possible moment;
Affirming that persons invested with power carry the greatest
responsibility to end violence where it is occurring and to
prevent violence whenever possible;
Asserting that the values of nonviolence must triumph at all
levels of society as well as in relations between States and
peoples;
Beseech the global community to advance the following principles:
First: In an interdependent world, the prevention and cessation
of armed conflict between and within States can require the
collective action of the international community. The security
of individual states can best be achieved by advancing global
human security. This requires strengthening the implementation
capacity of the UN system as well as regional cooperative
organizations.
Second: To achieve a world without violence, States must abide
by the rule of law and honor their legal commitments at all
times.
Third: It is essential to move without further delay towards
the universal and verifiable elimination of nuclear and other
weapons of mass destruction. States possessing such weapons
must take concrete steps towards disarmament, and a security
system that does not rely on nuclear deterrence. At the same
time, States must sustain their efforts to consolidate the
nuclear non-proliferation regime, by taking such measures
as strengthening multilateral verification, protecting nuclear
material and advancing disarmament.
Fourth: To help eliminate violence in society, the production
and sale of small arms and light weapons must be reduced and
strictly controlled at international, regional, state and
local levels. In addition there should be full and universal
enforcement of international disarmament agreements, such
as the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, and support for new efforts aimed
at the eradication of the impact of victim-activated and indiscriminate
weapons, such as cluster munitions. A comprehensive and effective
Arms Trade Treaty needs to be enacted.
Fifth: Terrorism can never be justified because violence begets
violence and because no acts of terror against the civilian
population of any country can be carried out in the name of
any cause. The struggle against terrorism cannot, however,
justify violation of human rights, international humanitarian
law, civilized norms, and democracy.
Sixth: Ending domestic and family violence requires unconditional
respect for the equality, freedom, dignity, and rights of
women, men and children by all individuals, institutions of
the state, religion and civil society. Such protections must
be embodied in laws and conventions at local and international
levels.
Seventh: Every individual and state shares responsibility
to prevent violence against children and youth, our common
future and most precious gift. All have a right to quality
education, effective primary health care, personal safety,
social protection, full participation in society and an enabling
environment that reinforces non-violence as a way of life.
Peace education, promoting non-violence and emphasizing the
innate human quality of compassion, must be an essential part
of the curriculum of educational institutions at all levels.
Eighth: Preventing conflicts arising from the depletion of
natural resources, in particular sources of energy and water,
requires States to affirmatively and, through creation of
legal mechanisms and standards, provide for the protection
of the environment and to encourage people to adjust their
consumption on the basis of resource availability and real
human needs.
Ninth: We beseech the UN and its member states to promote
appreciation of ethnic, cultural and religious diversity.
The golden rule of a non-violent world: Treat others as you
wish to be treated.
Tenth: The principal political tools for bringing into being
a non-violent world are functioning democratic institutions
and dialogue based on dignity, knowledge, and compromise,
conducted on the basis of balance between the interests of
the parties involved, and, when appropriate, including concerns
relating to the entirety of humanity and the natural environment.
Eleventh: All states, institutions and individuals must support
efforts to address the inequalities in the distribution of
economic resources, and resolve gross inequities which create
a fertile ground for violence. The imbalance in living conditions
inevitably leads to lack of opportunity and, in many cases,
loss of hope.
Twelfth: Civil society, including human rights defenders,
peace and environmental activists must be recognized and protected
as essential to building a nonviolent world as all governments
must serve the needs of their people, not the reverse. Conditions
should be created to enable and encourage civil society participation,
especially that of women, in political processes at the global,
regional, national and local levels.
Thirteenth: In implementing the principles of this Charter
we call upon all to work together towards a just, killing-free
world in which everyone has the right not to be killed and
responsibility not to kill others.
To address all forms of violence we encourage scientific research
in the fields of human interaction and dialogue, and we invite
participation from the academic, scientific and religious
communities to aid us in thetransition to non-violent, and
non-killing societies.
Nobel Signers:
• Mairead Corrigan Maguire
• His Holiness the Dalai Lama
• Mikhail Gorbachev
• Lech Walesa
• Frederik Willem De Klerk
• Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu
• Jody Williams
• Shirin Ebadi
• Mohamed ElBaradei
• John Hume
• Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo
• Betty Williams
• Muhammad Yunus
• Adolfo Perez Esquivel
• Wangari Maathai
• International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear
War
• Red Cross
• International Atomic Energy Agency
• American Friends Service Committee
• International Peace Bureau
Supporters of the Charter:
• Mr. Walter Veltroni, Mayor of Rome
• Mr. Tadatoshi Akiba, Mayor of Hiroshima, President
of the World’s Mayors for Peace
• Mr. Agazio Loiero, Governor of Calabria Region, Italy
• Prof. M. S. Swaminathan, Former President of the Pugwash
Conferences on Science and World Affairs, Nobel Peace Laureate
Organization
• David T. Ives, Albert Schweitzer Institute
• Peace People, Organization founded by Nobel Peace
Prize Laureates Maired Corrigan Maguire and Betty William,
Belfast (Northern Ireland)
• Bob Geldof, singer
• George Clooney, actor
• Don Cheadle, actor
• Associazione "MEMORIA CONDIVISA"
• Basque Government
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