At a time when human suffering caused by conflict and war is very high and in addition there is a very real danger of two of these wars leading to World War 3 and nuclear war under certain conditions, the United Nations should launch a big worldwide initiative involving people at various levels for peace and conflict resolution. In addition this effort should involve improvement of humanitarian aid effort in various conflict zones.
Now is just the right time for starting such a peace initiative as this will make it possible to achieve a significant breakthrough for peace during the week 25 December 2024 to January 1 2025. Christmas is a very opportune time for various sides of any conflict to make announcements for peace and ceasefire. Similarly January 1, 2025 is also a very opportune day for this and for starting the next year on a peaceful and happier note.
The UN initiative should call upon, encourage and facilitate several individuals, groups and organizations that are particularly important from the point of view of peace and conflict resolution to contribute to this effort. They should be known for their commitment to justice based peace and for working in unbiased, non-partisan ways, keeping commitment to justice-based peace above anything else. The UN should also play a coordination role for such groups and persons.
These groups can belong to various categories; at least six are suggested here. In the first category there can be diplomats and statesmen known for their commitment to peace with justice. Secondly there can be another group of academics and scholars known for their commitment to peace. Thirdly there are various peace organizations. Then there can be various student/youth groups and women’s organizations. Last but not the least there are the various humanitarian aid organizations.
There can be several mobilizations under this peace initiative for each category, whether at regional or other levels.
Each mobilization should prepare an appeal for peace and for ending various conflicts as soon as possible. This can be a general appeal or/and this can contain solutions or proposals for ending specific conflicts like the middle-east, Ukraine and Sudan ones. Each appeal should also contain information of any further contribution that this mobilization can make for peace and conflict resolution, and whether it will continue working in the next year (2025). As a part of this effort, this mobilization will also collect funds for humanitarian aid which will be handed over to a humanitarian aid agency known for its integrity on Christmas day or on the first day of the next year 2025 (or on any other suitable day).
What is really important is that these mobilizations should be committed to peace with justice, should be free from power-politics and the biases related to this.
The United Nations will help these various mobilizations to know about each other’s efforts, progress and ideas. Hence it is hoped that several creative solutions, including those emanating from people who have suffered a lot in conflicts and wars, will be circulated and shared extensively and hopefully will also be considered by important decision-makers at high levels. There can also be hope that some of these ideas with the most potential for justice-based peace will become a rallying point for several peace efforts and movements.
Such a peace initiative can hopefully achieve some significant gains for conflict-resolution and moving forward on the path of peace with justice by Christmas and around the time the next year starts. In addition it can help to prepare the base for peace efforts to succeed more in the next year 2025 by mobilizing many more people for peace, by increasing the possibilities of these mobilizations working in cooperation with each other to add to their strength and success and by generating and sharing widely a diversity of ideas that can give new hope to peace processes and to resolving conflicts.
At the same time the humanitarian aid effort also gets strengthened in the process of these efforts.
Several of these mobilizations and efforts can also contribute to organizing conferences and dialogues on the unacceptably high risks and dangers of World War 3 or nuclear war and why continuing and high-level mobilization of people for peace is an essential safeguard for ensuring that World War 3 and nuclear war never take place.
Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, Planet in Peril and A Day in 2071.
