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An Agenda for Development

Excerpts concerning peace and development

3. Development is a fundamental human right. Development is the most secure basis for peace.

15. While there is war, no State is securely at peace. While there is want, no people can achieve lasting development.

A. Peace as the foundation

16. Traditional approaches to development presuppose that it takes place under conditions of peace. Yet that is rarely the case... Because the United Nations is active at the forefront of humanitarian aid, refugee assistance, and the range of peace operations, it is deeply and inextricably involved in peace as a fundamental dimension of development.

17. Development cannot proceed easily in societies where military concerns are at or near the centre of life. Societies whose economic effort is given in substantial part to military production inevitably diminish the prospects of their people for development. The absence of peace often leads societies to devote a higher percentage of their budget to the military than to development needs in health, education and housing. Preparing for war absorbs inordinate resources and impedes the development of social institutions.

30. Pulling up the roots of conflict goes beyond immediate post-conflict requirements and the repair of war-torn societies. The underlying conditions that led to conflict must be addressed. As the causes of conflict are varied, so must be the means of addressing them. Peace-building means fostering a culture of peace...

From the beginning of its Culture of Peace Programme, UNESCO has kept in close contact about it with the United Nations and its specialized agencies. In response to a letter on this subject written from UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor in February 1993, UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali invited UNESCO to work together in a coordinated fashion with all other United Nations agencies and organizations on the peace-building challenges outlined in An Agenda for Peace. He pointed out that 'the concept of peace-building is complex and can apply to pre-conflict, conflict, and post-conflict situations'.
Since that time, the Culture of Peace Programme has taken part in numerous meetings with the UN, its specialized agencies and individual staff, both in the context of the national culture of peace programmes and international conferences. The Programme has been involved in the UN inter agency meetings concerning the continuum from relief to development. Other meetings are mentioned below with the institution concerned.
Given the extensive work of the United Nations system which contributes to a culture of peace, it is only possible to describe a few examples in the following pages. The examples are chosen to illustrate how the UN helps develop alternatives to all of the functions that have been served by war during the course of history. Economic security is addressed by institutions such as the United Nations Development Agency and the UN Research Institute for Social Development. Political security is addressed by the Centre for Human Rights, the Division of Electoral Assistance and the UN University, among others. Disarmament and economic conversion are dealt with by the UN Institute for Disarmament Research and other agencies. The contributions of these, along with other UN institutions specifically concerned with children and women, will be explored here.

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The United Nations helps develop alternatives to all of the functions that have been served by war during the course of history.

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