As we celebrate the United Nations Day of Peace we see that despite the progress made since the Universal Declaration on Human Rights there is so much more which needs to be done if we are to establish peace in the world.
Peace is not only an aspiration for us all but is a universal concept - something we desperately need at every level of society. Peace it self is intertwined with human rights. Rights which are universal and granted to each and every one of us but unfortunately we see that this is not the case.
We see that the world is passing through very turbulent times, many civil wars, mass migration of individuals which is now affecting Europe. Today there is great agitation and restlessness in the world. At the core of this it can be argued that is due to the violation of human rights - people are denied the ability to manifest their religion, the right to freedom of thought or conscience and civic freedom to name a few. Even today in the 21-century when man is deemed to have excelled in intelligence and has become enlightened we have not reached the stage where human rights are enjoyed by all wherever they may be in the world. There is much for us all to do to achieve this.
Well what is the solution? How do we achieve this? I would suggest that at the heart of this solution the key lies in being just - in fact absolute justice at every level of our society and our day to day dealings as individuals. All people should be granted equal rights without any discrimination or prejudice. This is the key and golden principle that lays the foundation for harmony between different groups and nations and for the establishment of peace.
If we are to bring and ensure peace and dignity in to our lives, our society and the world at large then we must strive to ensure each and every individual enjoys the human rights we enjoy ourselves. We must ensure the safety, security, freedom and dignity enjoyed by us is enjoyed by others. Our actions must live up to our words. If we are to put an end to the violation of human rights then we must strive to ask and expect of others what we ask and expect for ourselves.
In this day and age when the world has literally shrunk to a global village in a way that could not have been imagined previously, we must realize our responsibilities as human beings and should try to pay attention to solving those issues of human rights that can help to establish peace in the world. Clearly, this attempt must be focused on fair play and on fulfilling the requirements of justice.
We need to respect the sentiments of each other. This is the way by which the peace of mind of people and their dignity can be kept in tact. We should remember that when the peace of mind of a person is disturbed then the peace of mind of society is also affected. This is a fundamental principle for establishing peace at the local level as well as the international level.
In order to end the unrest prevalent today we should analyse whether or not justice has been properly dispensed.
The truth is that peace and justice are inseparable - you cannot have one without the other... Yet, in general, there is little doubt that restlessness and anxiety is increasing in the world and so disorder is spreading. This clearly proves that somewhere along the line, the requirements of justice are not being fulfilled.
If we desire for peace to be established in the world then we must set aside our personal and national interests for the greater good and instead we must establish mutual relations that are based entirely on justice.
To maintain peace in society it is necessary for one to eliminate all sentiments of hostility that may exist within one's self and to increase one's level of tolerance.
If we truly want to stop and bring an end to the violation of human rights, we cannot and must not give up our efforts. If we stop raising our voices against cruelty and injustice then we will become amongst those who have no moral values or standards whatsoever. Whether or not our voices are likely to be heard or have influence is irrelevant. We must continue to counsel others towards peace.
Peace in society is a two-way process and can only be established if all parties work together towards mutual reconciliation. We must set aside our own personal desires and instead be concerned for the future existence and well being of our next generations. We must adopt selflessness rather than selfishness. When we all join together and come to respect each other's feelings and sentiments then and only then will an atmosphere of mutual love develop. It is then that we will truly see the beautiful society that all peaceful people desire.
All parties need to increase dialogue and open the lines of communication so that they can peacefully discuss the best means to solve the problems of the world.
There needs to be more dialogue and engagement between communities. Irrespective of differences of religion, belief or no belief, for the sake of upholding human values people need to get together to listen, learn and speak about ways to establish peace and compassion in the world. We should all strive to the best of our abilities so that we can keep the flicker of hope alight, that a time will come when true peace and justice will be established in all parts of the world ensuring the enjoyment of human rights for all.
It is surely our duty to care for and respect one another and the best way to practically demonstrate this is to consider the feelings and sentiments of each other, because that is the primary way to establish good human values and, it is the only way to develop an environment filled with peace, justice, and reconciliation. It should be our goal to establish such high values in every village, every town, every city, every country, every society and indeed every part of the world. Let us work together to achieve this.