Epilogue
Creating a culture of peace
in the new millennium
Cora Weiss: The president of the Hague Appeal for Peace Foundation goes Pacific

ByTess Black, with Enzo Bollettino & Pritam Andreassen

Whatever else we call the last 100 years, by virtue of sheer numbers alone, it will probably be recorded as one of the most violent centuries in human history. The world is weary of fighting, poverty and death; slavery, colonialism and apartheid have been deemed unacceptable by the world’s peoples, why shouldn’t war?

Cora Weiss, speaking in Honolulu late last October, noted that in the past 25 years, the emphasis has shifted from the study of conflict resolution to conflict prevention. A longtime activist, Weiss has devoted most of her life to supporting the movements for peace, the advancement of women, and civil rights. As president of The Hague Appeal for Peace (HAP) Foundation [see “Crossing Boundaries: An Outsider’s Edge” and “The Hague Appeal for Peace: The Making of a New Democratic Diplomacy,” The Liaison, July-September 1999], she is leading a campaign dedicated to building a “world in which violent conflict is publicly acknowledged as illegitimate, illegal and fundamentally unjust.” To this end, she is a strong advocate of civil society and governments working together in a holistic approach in conjunction with the United Nations.

Weiss also spoke the following day, Oct. 28, at the Pacific Hague Roundtable hosted by local community activists and recent delegates to the May conference at The Hague, specifically addressing the concerns of indigenous and Pacific peoples under HAP’s “Root Causes of War/Culture of Peace” program. She pointed out that today the increase in arms manufacture and the ease with which weapons can be sold and delivered internationally have much to do with the increase of conflicts worldwide. Taking this country alone as an example, the recently signed United States military budget of $281 billion supports weapons manufacture, which, in turn, fuels the capacity of any group of people anywhere to escalate a disagreement into armed conflict.

“You cannot have peace without human rights, democracy, gender equality…and clean water,” Weiss stated. Look to the root causes of war and you will find, in their reverse, the root foundations of peace. And education is the key for future generations.

“I often speak of the four R’s—reading, ’riting, ’rithmentic, and reconciliation,” she said. “We are launching a huge peace education program [worldwide] for pre-kindergarten to grade 12, as well as informal community peace education, as one way to prevent conflict.

“War isn’t inherent in human nature,” added Weiss, with characteristic energy. “But peace doesn’t come in our DNA either. To have a peaceful population, we must teach peace.”

If you would like to get involved in this or any of the other eight major campaigns launched at the May ’99 HAP conference (Landmines; Women and Peacebuilding; International Criminal Court; Small Arms, Peace Education; Nuclear Abolition; Child Soldiers; Global Action to Prevent War; Poverty), contact the HAP website: http://www.haguepeace.org.