World Peace Day; Responsibility of People, Civil Society and Human Rights Activists / Arash Sadeghi
Introduction:
The performance of the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council in the fight against international terrorism and humanitarian assistance, resulting from developments in the concept of peace, is of great importance. The establishment of international judicial bodies, which began in the 20th century and reached its peak in the last decade, is crucial in achieving world peace. Today, the establishment of the International Criminal Court has been instrumental in ensuring the rights of nations in determining their destiny. The prohibition of any recourse to force outside the provisions of the United Nations Charter, which originated from the Treaty on the Prohibition of War between the two World Wars, has now been given a significant role due to international mechanisms and procedures, particularly governmental and non-governmental international organizations and their increasing number and authority in the globalized system of international law. The obligations of each country towards the international community, which have led to increased solidarity between countries, have also been addressed.
The United Nations has held many missions to maintain peace and has prevented many wars by providing a platform for dialogue and interaction among different countries. However, despite the fact that since its formation in 1945, bloody wars like World War I and II have not been repeated, occupations, invasions, and civil wars have occurred multiple times.
A world full of peace, justice, and security has always been the desire of humanity in all eras, and today’s world is more in need of it than ever before.
In this article, I will introduce the history of World Peace Day and take a general look at the human rights situation in Iran, as well as expectations from the international community regarding the issue of peace and human rights.
History of World Peace Day
Undoubtedly, achieving peace and reconciliation is considered one of the highest human values and ideals. The United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 36/67 on November 30, 1981, to designate September 21 as the International Day of Peace, in order to emphasize the importance of creating peace and reconciliation and to urge for progress in this path. In fact, the motivation behind the UN General Assembly’s decision to name this day was to promote peace among different nations. The International Day of Peace is dedicated to peace; it focuses on the absence of war and violence and has even led to temporary ceasefires in war-torn areas to allow for humanitarian aid. This day serves as a reminder that humans and human societies are deserving of the opportunity to grow and prosper in peace and justice, without any disrespect, indifference, or violence.
Peace is a concept of social friendship and empathy in the absence of enmity and savagery. In this concept, peace is a state of calm, selflessness, and free from agitation, conflict, and rivalry. According to the famous Dutch philosopher Spinoza, “peace is not the absence of war, but a virtue that comes from the power of reason. Just as freedom is not only the absence of imprisonment, peace is not only the absence of war.” Only in a state of lasting peace can humans of any gender, race, or religion show love towards each other, and this love is not forced by the power of the other party.
Emmanuel Kant, a famous German philosopher, also wrote a book called “Perpetual Peace” in 1795 AD, in which he outlined the foundations for achieving a lasting peace. Based on his theories, lasting peace is the result of a state in which governments accept a democratic system (rule by the people) and work towards a peaceful union and adherence to global laws. In essence, peace is a state in which all vital values of society are protected and the community is able to pursue its national interests while also having the opportunity to achieve common ideals. Welfare and comfort, universal peace, public order, the fundamental rights of people, social justice, and the freedoms of individuals are all present in a stable and democratic government that respects human rights and international laws.
Peace is usually not achieved without the presence of democratic governments and respect for human rights standards. Governments that act dictatorially and are not committed to democratic values, international standards, and human rights can themselves be the source of war and violence. Therefore, in order to achieve peace, respect for human rights and recognition of the rights of all individuals from every ethnicity, race, and religion is essential.
The human rights situation in Iran.
Unfortunately, systematic violation of human rights by our rulers over the years has been one of the main obstacles to achieving peace and tranquility in our country and even in the region. The government of Iran’s refusal to allow human rights organizations to operate and its opposition to the free flow of information are also contributing factors. Obstacles to freedom of assembly, lack of freedom of expression, systematic discrimination and oppression against religious and ethnic minorities and other groups, physical and sexual violence against women, increased pressure on them despite discriminatory laws, arbitrary detention of young protesters, heavy prison sentences and executions for some political and civil activists, the highest rate of executions in the world in proportion to the population, execution of child offenders, imprisonment of lawyers, journalists and civil and human rights activists, and so on, all indicate that lack of respect and implementation of human rights standards and laws is one of the main obstacles to achieving peace and tranquility in our country.
The international responsibility of governments towards peace and violation of human rights.
International responsibility of states is one of the issues that has occupied the international community since ancient times. The first attempts to formulate regulations on international responsibility date back to the Hague Conference on Private International Law in 1930. However, despite the efforts of the international community, apart from a few drafts prepared by the United Nations International Law Commission, no concrete results have been achieved. Despite the lack of written regulations on the scope of international responsibility of states, it must be acknowledged that the work of the United Nations International Law Commission in this regard, if not considered as one of the sources of international law on the subject, at least the most important international documents that can be used in this matter. For this reason, legal experts also use the work of the International Law Commission in presenting their opinions.
Since the day that the observance of human rights has been recognized as an international commitment, violating it leads to an illegitimate action and in turn creates the possibility for governments and international organizations to demonstrate their reaction through acceptable means of international law.
Severe, widespread, organized and unprecedented human rights violations have caused anger and disgust towards justice and have greatly affected public opinion. This has compelled many governments and international organizations to resort to various measures to ensure the protection of human rights.
It is necessary for conditions and limitations imposed by international law on actions that governments and international organizations can take in response to human rights violations to be defined and specified, both for the preservation of peace and friendly relations between ruling governments and for the protection of human rights.
Today’s situation has created a very heavy burden, especially for the authorities of Western countries. In recent decades, they have sent thousands of their young citizens to places like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria under the pretext of fighting terrorism, in order to demonstrate their seriousness in the fight against state-sponsored terrorism and human rights violations.
If these authorities are sincere in their claim, they have no right to use economic interests as an excuse to extort official and unofficial tributes from governments that threaten regional and global peace through regional and international adventures, and convince them that the global community has no choice but to pay tribute to these regimes.
Western powers should know that any form of collaboration or silence towards what is being done by these governments is an incentive for further threats to world peace.
The responsibility of the people, civil society, and human rights activists.
It seems that the continuation of activities and increased pressure from the people, human rights activists, and civil society, with a growing emphasis on peace and improving the human rights situation, accompanied by increased pressure on non-democratic and authoritarian governments, and raising awareness among the global community about the systematic violation of human rights through insisting on abolishing the implementation of death sentences, abolishing laws that allow torture or other forms of mistreatment under the guise of punishment, as well as abolishing all discriminatory laws against women, ethnic and religious minorities, and demanding from the international community not to prioritize negotiations and economic interests over the fundamental rights and freedoms of the Iranian people, and using various means to urge the rulers of Iran to put an end to the systematic violation of human rights in Iran, are among the demands and responsibilities that must be pursued with even more determination and a louder voice (by the people, civil society, and human rights activists).
If we desire a world free from violence and war, assassination and terrorism, poverty and migration, homelessness and displacement, tyranny and self-interest, and oppression against other classes and strata under oppression, where all human talents can flourish in peace and tranquility, there is no solution other than fighting for the recognition of human rights standards and overcoming obstacles in its path.
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Arash Sadeghi Human rights Human rights activists Monthly Peace Line Magazine Number 124 peace line World Peace Day