Culture of Peace

It is of utmost importance that the United Nations continues to support the global movement to promote the culture of peace, its Declaration and Programme of Action, and that our response and recovery efforts are guided towards implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

UN Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace

The UN Declaration and Programme of Action, was adopted by UN General Assembly on September 13, 1999. It is the fundamental document of the culture of peace, and one of the great documents ever produced by the United Nations, on a par with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as it spells out in concrete terms how the United Nations can achieve its original purpose, which is to abolish war.

International Day of Peace
21 September

2024 Theme: Cultivating a Culture of Peace

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption of the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace.

In that declaration, the United Nations’ most inclusive body recognized that peace “not only is the absence of conflict, but also requires a positive, dynamic participatory process where dialogue is encouraged and conflicts are solved in a spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation.”
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Roadmap

2030-2045 | SDG 18, Culture Goal
Promote a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity

2024 | International Day of Peace, 21 September
Theme: Cultivating a Culture of Peace

2015-2030 | UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

2000-2015 | UN 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

2000-2010 | International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World

2000 | International Year for the Culture of Peace

Culture of Peace baseball cap

Culture of War vs Culture of Peace

Because of opposition from the European Union and its allies, expressed by procedural maneuvering, the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace was almost never even considered by the General Assembly (see Early History of the Culture of Peace).

Eventually, however, the resolution was considered, thanks to the persistent efforts of the countries of the South. As a result it went into nine months of informal diplomatic discussions, guided by the Ambassador from Bangladesh, Anwarul Chowdhury. I was told at one point that there were more informals for this resolution than ever before in the most in the history of the UN. Why? Because of sustained opposition by the European Union, the United States and their allies. At one memorable informal on May 6, 1999, the German representative on behalf of the EU insisted that no mention should be made of “culture of war” because “there is no culture of war and violence in the world.” The EU and the United States objected to reference to the “human right to peace” with the US delegate saying that peace should not be elevated to the category of human right, otherwise it will be very difficult to start a war.

Many compromises were made, including a very important concession by which the possibility of a voluntary fund to support activities for a culture of peace, was removed from the resolution. As a result, in the succeeding years, the UN secretariat has had no budget and no actions for the culture of peace. And, as discussed elsewhere, all mention of the culture of war was removed from the text of the resolution, thus making it difficult for readers to understand the underlying rationale.

– by David Adams, UNESCO Director of the United Nations International Year for the Culture of Peace (2000)

United Nations / UNESCO
David Adams