On September 21, people all across the world commemorate the International Day of Peace (also known as Peace Day). The UN created it in 1981 as a means for people all around the world to unite and put aside their differences in the service of peace. It was declared a Day of Ceasefire and a Time of Nonviolence in 2001.
Peace is the absence of violence from peers, lovers, relatives, strangers, and the government. Empathy is the foundation of peace. Peace means having the freedom to develop, flourish, and be oneself. Freedom from binary ideas and thinking is peace. Acceptance of different religious traditions, or the absence of them, is peace.
Let’s not drown this earth in sadness; let there be peace today and tomorrow. Give a chance to peace. Peace will avert a great deal of grief today, tomorrow, and forever. Any civilization can see how important peace is. Without peace, neither a country nor an individual can advance. Only in an environment of peace can humanity achieve greater heights. According to Hobbes, a community without peace is similar to life in the natural world, which is brutish, primitive, brief, uninteresting, and unappealing.
Peace and harmony entail dealing with disagreements and conflicts in a fair and appropriate manner using neutralization and Middle Way principles in order to advance both the welfare of each individual and the benefit of humanity as a whole. Long-term value can be found in harmony and peace. It will look at the recipe for peace and define the four steps needed to build it: building equity, building harmony, making peace with the past, and settling the present conflict.
Let’s contemplate on the circumstances of PEACE itself……
P= Practice of unity
E= Ensure the Humanity
A= Action for Peacekeeping that brings Hope
C= Confidence in harmony
E= Illuminate the world
These words are mostly very much relevant to exercise the broader aspects of peace in the family, society and the world. Spirituality, justice, compassion, discourse, active nonviolence, stewardship of/a sense of kinship with the Earth, and other values are appropriate to these dimensions. The eight pillars of positive peace that make up the positive peace framework are: a well-functioning government, a healthy business environment, equal distribution of resources, acknowledging others’ liberties, respectful neighborly relationships, the free flow of knowledge, high levels of talented individuals, and low levels of fraud.
In Bangladesh perspective, we have adopted a four-pronged strategy for promoting peace, which entails nonviolent governance, nonviolent social action, nonviolent economics, and nonviolent education. instead of using police and security personnel to stifle dissenting voices, have favored conversation as a solution to issues. Bangladesh has long been a major provider of police and soldiers to UN peacekeeping missions, which has elevated our status in the discussion over UN peace and security architecture improvements.
We expressed our support for the Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) plan put forth by the Secretary-General for UN peacekeeping operations. Bangladesh’s unshakeable commitment to this cause was reinforced by the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s gracious attendance at the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit and UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Meeting on the Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) in September 2018. In order to carry forward the common commitments of member states in a coordinated manner, we have been actively assisting the Secretariat in its implementation efforts of A4P.
To advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and foster a culture of peace, young people can demonstrate their concrete achievements at the 2023 Youth Event for the International Day of Peace and make commitments to further action. Now is the time to discuss four subthemes of 4E – education, employment, the environment, and engagement as the youth works to “Aim Higher to Deliver more for the earth.” It is important to employ youth in disaster and climate response projects as well as green skill development initiatives toward bringing peace to the planet.
As the International Day of Peace honors the ability of international cooperation to create a world that is both peaceful and sustainable, let’s include the left behind community that included marginalized minorities, diversified gender community, gypsy, persons with disabilities, vulnerable women, widows, single mothers, Dalits, plain lands ethnic minorities, indigenous people and others deprived communities (like Rohingyas- called by our brothers and sisters who are stateless).
Having a common theme with 2023 on World Peace Day: Our aspiration for the #GlobalGoals is Actions for Peace. Let’s incorporate every citizen of the planet in the message of hope in freedom and peace with respect for humanity.
– Manik Esahak Biswas, a Bangladeshi Social Development Worker.
