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Ten commandments for a culture of peace

1. War and violence are not automatically part of human nature; the desire for peace lies deep in the heart of every creature.

2. Nothing should be excluded from the peace-building process: all methods must be explored, from the simplest, to the most sophisticated...

3. The creation of a culture of peace is a work of the spirit, based on convictions: let us be guided by the spirit of pacifism, of non-violence...

4. The culture of peace has several dimensions and includes several areas of development: democracy, human rights, tolerance, sustainable development, environment, disarmament...

5. Armed peace is not true peace, it is merely enforced security... Peace should be made concrete.

6. One day, disarmament will become a reality. We shall contrive it. There will be ups and downs ... but in order that the process should not be too long, let us start now.

7. ...Let us demonstrate that peace lies neither in speeches nor in utopias; it is strictly linked with our own behaviour in everyday life.

8. The continued existence of humanity, of our planet, is dependent of the preservation of peace. But because 'every war makes worse the evils it is supposed to prevent', ... even an unjust peace is to be preferred to a 'just war.'

9. Now and always, let us oppose fatalism and indifference; let us remain awake, ready to support every peace project, whether at local or universal levels.

10. UNESCO Clubs are wedded to peace. Let us from now on carry the torch, let it burn by day and night. Let us propagate the message of peace and fight for this just cause, the noblest of all.

From: Working Document for Fourth World Congress of UNESCO Clubs (slightly abridged)


with the first UNESCO Club set up in Sendai (Japan) in July 1947, followed by another in Kyoto the same year, before Japan had become a member of the Organization.
The Working Document for the Fourth World Congress cited UNESCO's Culture of Peace Programme. It stated that 'the activities of UNESCO Clubs clearly fall within the scope of this programme. While adhering to the ideals and specific orientations of UNESCO, they develop and adapt them to particular local contexts. This action represents their own original contribution and it is thus that a contact is established between UNESCO and all the citizens of the world.' Ten Commandments for a Culture of Peace were proposed to the UNESCO Clubs - as shown in the accompanying box.
The theme of a culture of peace was featured at a roundtable at the Congress. The National Federation of UNESCO Clubs in Burundi was acclaimed for their project, 'Travelling school for peace'. This project addresses schools and universities through a wide range of learning activities, including: audio visual programmes; organization of tournaments between classes within and between schools; the teaching material 'Let's build peace' for children, orphans and their teachers; popularization and distribution of illustrated human rights brochures in French and Kirundi languages; and work in networks with other youth organizations such a scouts, guides and Xaveri.
The roundtable showed that UNESCO Clubs can be privileged spaces for the realization of peaceful social interchange and convergence, even in national situations of conflict. Educators, teachers, students, trainers, volunteers find that they can come to the Clubs to work for a culture of peace. It was even discussed how it can be diffused in military bases and how resources now used to forge intolerance and aggression can be reoriented to the cause of peace. Clubs can serve as a space where people encounter and listen to those with different perspectives, an atmosphere of dialogue, of tolerance, of self-criticism.

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