A Peace Nonkillingly Sustained
POETRY FORMAT, 20 Aug 2012
Francisco Gomes de Matos – TRANSCEND Media Service
Many types of peace Humankind may see
Many ways of promoting peace there may be
One specific realization of Peace that all human beings could share
Would be a peace in which in nonkilling decisions all governments dare
For a globally sustainable peace to be more than highly desirable today
A universal committment to a peace nonkillingly sustained will pave the way
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Francisco Gomes de Matos is a peace linguist and human rights educator from Recife-Brazil, author, among others, of the book Nurturing Nonkilling: A Poetic Plantation (2010, Center for Global Nonkilling, Honolulu-Hawai’i). Downloadable at www.nonkilling.org. Co-founder: The World Dignity University Initiative.
This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 20 Aug 2012.
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One specific realization of Peace that all human beings could share
Would be a peace in which in “abiding by international human rights norms” decisions all governments dare
For a globally sustainable peace to be more than highly desirable today
A universal committment to “international human rights norms” will pave the way
Referring to “non-killing decisions” as mentioned in the above poem, some people ask me why “non-killing decisions” are not enough.
My answer to that question: Look at prisoners detained at Guantanamo, for example. The US authorities are practicing the “non-killing decisions” at Guantanamo. But how these prisoners are treated there? You know that. So, “non-killing decisions” are not enough. Let the US (and any) authorities comply with relevant international human rights norms.