The peace movement does not have a visibly big presence, at least relative to its need, in a deeply troubled world. However the number of people who want to live in a peaceful world is clearly in a big majority and hence, as threats to peace continue to increase, potentially the peace movement can be much more influential and effective. A lot depends on how carefully the priorities of the peace movement are decided and taken among the people. These should reflect the real needs of society and should be taken forward in such a way that increasing numbers of people are motivated to work for these priorities. So here is an effort to draw up a list of 20 priority tasks and challenges for the peace movement.
- Various possibilities of ending the existing conflicts and wars should be discussed sincerely and widely, and there should be campaigns for the most promising possibilities that emerge.
- Places where possibilities of new conflicts are building up should be carefully identified, suggestions for defusing the tensions there should be obtained and widely circulated.
- In conflicts as well as in potential conflict zones, organizations and individuals working sincerely for peace should be identified, highlighted, protected and their hands should be strengthened in various ways.
- There should be a campaign with continuity for elimination of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons but also other WMDs and AI or robot weapons, and for preventing any possibilities of space warfare.
- There should be a campaign to ensure that various other long duration and exceptionally painful and disabling weapons such as landmines, cluster bombs and depleted uranium weapons are also given up entirely or banned.
- There should be a campaign to minimize firearms and other dangerous weapons in private hands.
- There should be a strong campaign against the military-industrial complex, exposing its corruption and greed and the many ways in which it promotes and increases the possibilities of war and relentless arms race.
- There should be many-sided efforts for preventing the spread of sectarianism, hatred and violence against others citing religious motivations or justifications. These efforts can take the form of religious/spiritual scholars or leaders of all religions getting together at various fora to clearly state publicly that religion does not allow the spreading of violence, hatred and terror by anyone. At the same time several religious and spiritual leaders (of course also others) can be involved, at a more positive level, in campaigns that promote inter-faith harmony, dialogue and understanding. The forces of secularism should be strengthened.
- There should be a strong campaign against violence in daily life (including gender violence, child abuse and all such aspects) in such a way that widely pervasive impact of violence in daily life is widely understood and at the same time there is increasing recognition of the importance of reducing violence at all levels, ranging from wars to violence against other forms of life.
- Widespread efforts should be made to change value systems in favor of non-violence and peace with justice, and living life in accordance with the principle of minimizing the possibilities of causing violence and distress to others.
- There should be a campaign that the idea of any single country always maintaining dominance and taking pre-emptive actions and pursuing a very aggressive agenda for this is fraught with the possibilities of too many wars, and hence should be given up.
- There should be a campaign against covert actions, regime change operations and other similar activities. If action against any country for very serious human rights violations etc. is needed, this should be taken up only in transparent, fair manner by the United Nations system in which the accused also get a fair hearing.
- There should be a campaign to reduce military expenditures and budgets, particularly by those countries which account for a disproportionately high share of this.
- There should be continuing efforts and campaigns to ensure that any possibilities of a third world war and a nuclear war should be firmly removed by timely and effective international efforts.
- Alternative governance systems, including those at the world level, which can contribute in very significant ways to increasing peace and disarmament should be widely discussed and those found to be the most promising from the perspective of peace with justice should be promoted extensively.
- The principle of resisting injustice with non-violent resistance should be widely promoted and such non-violent struggles for justice should be supported.
- Efforts should be made for bringing together various peace activists, organizations and movements and increasing their cooperation and solidarity.
- The peace movement should be strengthened by increasing its cooperation and solidarity with other equally relevant and important movements such as those for justice and protection of environment.
- The concept of peace should be increasingly identified as peace with justice.
- Diplomacy as a solution for conflicts and disputes and to achieve justice with peace and peace with justice should be increasingly promoted
Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, Planet in Peril, Man over Machine and A Day in 2071.
