International Day of Peace – 2008

Consider for a moment Peace, or the absence of Peace in our own community and what defines it. It is an absence of personal trauma. It is an absence of community conflict. It is about creating an environment that is harmonious within ourselves and within our networks.

“In 2008, September 21, Peace Day takes on special meaning. 2008 marks the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR60) being adopted by the United Nations. This is the basic blueprint of 30 Articles striving for a “common standard of achievement for all people and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms…”
http://www.un.org/overview/rights.html

Unfortunately gross violations of Human Rights still exist and unfortunately the bulk of these are still being perpetrated against women. Soroptimists are all too aware of the state of the world and human rights issues needing to be addressed. Every country still suffers from anti-peaceful activity and violence. Please take the time to pause and reflect on this day on what HAS been achieved in the last 60 years for women and the framework for getting these acknowledgements into place. Some examples are:

• The 1995 Beijing platform for action
  http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/platform/
• The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) established in 2000
  http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/
• • 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
  http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/

Upon reflection, how can we play a further role in making the world more peaceful? How can we actively participate in Peace Day? Some suggestions are:

• DEVELOP our own inner peace – with our families, work colleagues, friends and community. Make a strong effort on Peace Day to compliment rather than criticize;
• EDUCATE by posting the UN Declaration on school notice boards and share our Human Rights understanding with the educators;
• COMMIT to a special project in your area that incorporates Peace Day values. Share your ideas and activities with your Programme Directors;
• SIGN UNIFEM’s “Say NO to Violence Against Women” petition – you can access the following link from the SI website: http://www.saynotoviolence.org/;
• ENCOURAGE your community leaders to take a minute of silence and acknowledge the women who have been subjected to violence in its many forms;
• REACT to acts of anti-peace – greed, lies, violence. Keep your conscience sharp and do not be lulled into a sense of numbness;
• ASK the difficult questions. Why do these issues still exist? Why are we collectively not doing more to combat Human Rights issues?
• CULTIVATE friendships with women and families from other religions, backgrounds and opinions. Have a meal or an outing together;
• SPREAD the message of Hope. As Soroptimists we strive for the best in humankind. Let the public take its cues from our example; and
• ADVOCATE for more women to strive for positions of power. We need our voices and opinions to be heard in parliament.
• Study the SI Peace statement in Where We Stand; it begins with these words:

“Soroptimist International believes that all peoples should strive to live in peace. Global peace cannot be measured solely by the absence of conflict but is integral with a sustainable environment, with the just sharing of natural resources, with fair social and economic development and with the promotion of human rights.”

Let each of us make September 21 2008 a day to remember by promoting PEACE.

Sources & further reading:

1. http://www.wunrn.com
2. Amnesty International Article on Human Rights Failures
3. http://www.cwgl.rutgers.edu:80/globalcentre/policy/udhr60/demands.html
4. Where we Stand – The Soroptimist Position – PEACE Statement – www.soroptimistinternational.org

In friendship,

Margaret Lobo
International President