by Lynde Navarro

Created on: September 16, 2009   Last Updated: September 20, 2009

THE CHALLENGE

The escalation of global strife, civil wars and extra-judicial killings in some regions and in some countries where crime and violence are facts of life ... I see the supreme irony: Attaining peace and keeping it, requires a constant battle, as we fight to stem the ravages of power and its manifestations which lead to the continuing breakdown in civility everywhere.

World peace is a universal dream. How does civil society promote peace? Rallies and demonstrations have been given more prominence, but this is not all that civil society can do.

There are many ways to promote peace in the world, but perhaps the best way is to promote it within ourselves. I read an article saying that world peace is not a world problem. It is an individual problem. War, like peace, starts in the mind and heart of the individual. When the mind of the individual is disturbed, unhappy or resentful, when it is full of hate, anger and greed, then it becomes a problem of conflict or war. Peace, too, must start in the mind and heart of the individual. I agree with this. A change in perception leads to a change in attitude, which leads to a change in behavior, which leads to a change in the world. Or perhaps, another effective approach in the control of violence is to communicate the message that peace-making and peace keeping is a personal responsibility requiring active movement.

The challenge is huge. I am not just talking about the structure of family, of community and society, but of politics as well. These morbid happenings in some parts of our globe are also manifestations of political insecurity. Political security remains a fundamental security today. Every government is based upon the proposition to promote national security in order to attain authentic peace.

In closing, I believe that life and liberty are inalienable rights of an individual. Then it must follow that the function of the government is to guard and protect these rights, to the end that every person may have the most perfect exercise of them within his own sphere. All these challenges to human security require collective governance and the maintenance of peace must be reciprocal.

Foremost, the promotion of peace, international humanitarian law and respect for the sovereignty of countries must be instilled in the minds and hearts of every citizen. The time has come for humanity to wake up and consciously take part in attaining global peace and security.

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