Peace Education for Protection of Human Rights
EDUCATION, 15 Dec 2014
Surya Nath Prasad, Ph. D. - TRANSCEND Media Service
UN Human Rights Day, 10 December, 2014
10 December as Human Rights Day is celebrated annually across the world to honor the United Nations–General Assembly‘s adoption and proclamation, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Since 1950, Human Rights Day when General Assembly of the United Nations passed Resolution 423 (V), is observed on10 December of each year. The day is marked by organizing conferences, meetings, cultural events and exhibitions dealing with human rights issues by governmental and non-governmental organizations. The five-yearly United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights and yearly Nobel Peace Prize are awarded on 10 December.
Human Nature
Human rights are inherent to the nature of all men and women to be protected to become human beings. Assured and protected human rights build a just and non-violent society. Protection of these rights is conducive to peace- individual, national and global. Hence, human rights are bases of all peace.
But knowledge, high rank and money give power or authority to man. The power, through which he dominates others – his own fellow-beings, makes him oppressor, exploiter and tyrant. Thus everyone aspires to have power, and everybody wishes to have the right to control his fellow-men. The power-game is multi-polar and the resultant output of tyranny is more tyranny, which is bound to be greater than before. Domination is its central theme and exploitation is its main ethos – of men by men, of women by women, of women by men, of men by women, of weak by strong, of strong by weak, of age and sex groups by each other, of men by systems and of systems by men. While these things – knowledge, high rank and money – which he or she receives, are at the cost of others or at the cost of his or her own fellow-beings.
Hence, his or her prime duty is to serve them, being trustees of these possessions, not masters of them. The dispossessed have rights on possessed. Have-nots have due on haves or poor on rich, illiterates on literates and learned, weak and handicapped on strong and healthy, patients on doctors, students on teachers, sons and daughters on parents, youth on elders, employees on employers, masses of people on leaders. This is because human beings are not physically, mentally, intellectually, socially, economically, emotionally, and even nationally equal, but spiritually, we are all equal, and on this basis, the sense of equity should be encouraged, enriched and flourished to the development and welfare of all mankind everywhere.
If a competent person fails to serve others, he or she creates a society which will certainly be violent. Therefore those in whose hands the power lies, whether it is government or business, corporations or institutions or individuals, should see themselves as keepers of a trust to be used for the benefit of all mankind, and not the selfish interest of one person, institution or nation.
Thus the nature of man (human beings) may be good or bad; it depends on his or her environment – social, cultural, religious, economic and political system. Apart from his or her basic needs being fulfilled, the man (human beings) wants power or authority within the group to control his or her fellow-members or he or she has to lose the authority to be controlled for his or own survival. Those groups may be family, school, religious institutions, other organizations and states within the nations. Men who do wrong are the victims of their own wrong system. So they need compensatory education or psychiatric help to become good and healthy. Till then they should be kept free from gaining authority or power in any institution. And good and sane persons should replace them, and these persons should also occupy berths in the offices of government, public, business, corporations or institutions. In the Mahabharat period of ancient India, King Bharat (on whose name the name of the Indian country is known) discarded his own sons from being his own successors as king because they were not fit for the post. A great teacher in ancient India in the Fourth Century B.C., Chanakya-Kautilya (originally a professor of economics and political science at the ancient Takshashila University and author of ‘Arthashastra’, India’s first book on political philosophy, principles and practice), with the help of his followers, dethroned King Dhananand from the State of Magadha, who was bad for his subjects, intellectuals and advisors, and installed the righteous and healthy young Chandragupta as the King of Magadha in Ancient India.
Centuries ago, Plato, whose teacher Socrates was poisoned to death by the order of unhealthy persons in the government of the State of Athens, warned us saying this, “The penalty good men pay for refusing to take part in government is to live in the government of bad men”. Hence good men must accept and enter every post of governmental and non-governmental institutions. Because human needs and human rights will guide the policy of nations in a politically stable and just community. But these rights are increasingly under attack due to the authority being in the hands of insane personalities.
Merely knowledge about human rights cannot bring peace unless it is practiced. Rights of the dispossessed have been robbed by the possessed or by those who have authority, power and high rank. There are several reports which reveal that the rights of have-nots have been systematically violated by haves. Although United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been accepted by all the UN Member States, all most all of the signatory States are violators of human rights.
Fruits of Development Reaching only to the Rich: The Utter Violation of Human Rights of the Poor
Development makes a few affluent and the rest maximum poor. The United Nations itself had made great efforts to secure development in the backward areas all through the years 1960-1970, the decade was declared by the United Nations as the Development Decade. But, in fact, it has been the finding of the Development Decade that the gains of growth have, all over the Third World, been eaten up by a few well-to-do. The theory of development has failed also in the North World. The O. E. C. D. Report 1969 and several evaluation reports of the development decade, e. g. Pearson Report, Jackson Report etc. have revealed that development has made some countries of the developing world richer and more powerful than the rest. It has also made in each nation some regions, some ethnic groups and ultimately a few families powerful and wealthy, leaving a great many to languish behind. Development increased also poverty of the masses and created much violence in the pocket of growth.
Adam Curle, Emeritus Professor of Peace Studies at Bradford University, who had been involved in the Third World Development for some time, also realized that the sort of projects which they had been working on were either projects which were, in fact, of indirect benefit to rich countries rather than poor ones or, even if they were helping the poor countries in which they were involved where in jeopardy from violence which was constantly breaking out. Some of this violence was a direct result of the inequalities and oppressions which were so rife.
Thus development promotes exploitation and oppression of majority week by the minority rich. Mahatma Gandhi considered exploitation as supreme form of violence. Because every development has a violent content in it, as any plan for development emphasizes production and does not keep the principle of distributive justice in mind. Unless proper measures are adopted by the international community like the United Nations to promote international equity, efforts to ensure the realization of human rights in developing countries will be to little avail. True development cannot be attained in the absence of respect for human rights. The Third World should attach to the need to relate human rights to its pre-eminent concern, development. A positive duty for rich states is to make regular transfers of financial and other resources to those states that are at present unable to ensure the satisfaction of the fundamental human rights of their citizens and also rich people of the nation must share their resources with the poor masses in fulfillment of their basic human rights. Hence development in the North must reduce the consumption raw materials, most of which are imported from the South. And the development in the South must work towards bringing an end to the poverty. Besides this, rich people of of North and South must be free from greed, must minimize their desires and set their lives based on basic human needs to protect and fulfill the human rights of the needy people of both regions for true development of poor and rich both. Because one’s man or a few men’s freedom from hunger and want is not a true development until all men are free from hunger and want. Hunger knows no nationality. Peace is secure only if the people of the world are free from hunger. And if there is poverty in any region of the nation or part of the world, it is danger to the prosperity everywhere. In this regard, we find the best reasons for justification in the prayer written in Veda as:
May all be happy,
May all be free from diseases,
May all perceives welfare,
May none be in grief.
A great Indian poet Jaishankar Prasad also advised to all human beings:
O Man, see laughing others,
Laugh and be happy.
To expand your happiness,
Make others happy.
Therefore, if development may be of any use for bringing peace at all levels, it must be linked with the protection of human rights all over the world. And when development, which will give emphasis equally on both – production and principles of distributive justice, is attached with human rights protection, which has equity content in it, then there will be no development of a few rich, but limitation of wants in affluent, in lowering down of standard of living of the few rich and powerful, and thus libration of rich and poor both for attainment of sustainable peace to them.
Legislation for Human Rights Protection
Humankind has not yet evolved sufficiently to suffer the barbs of persistent dissent. Human nature is not basically changed. The spirit of tolerance, “freedom for the thought we hate” is not a natural phenomenon with us. Hence to protect the rights of individual, in the past, there were Magna Carta (1215), habeas corpus( 1674), and a Bill of Rights (1689), in England, a Declaration of Rights (1789), in France a Declaration of Rights, and in United States (entered into force 1791),and Legislation concerning the protection of the individual against actions by the authorities dates back to about 1350 in Italy. And now the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 and two the International Covenants of 1966, on civil and Political Rights, and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights were expressions of deep international concern for human rights protection. The Declaration has now been accepted by virtually all of the today’s Nation-States of the world. The International Covenants have also been ratified by the member states of the United Nations.
Violations Human Rights by State Agencies
However, some of the Signatory States are the most violators of human rights as it is evident from the report of Amnesty International. The Human Rights Organization’s Global Survey Report covers 142 countries and uncovers massive and ruthless violations of human rights in practically every part of the world. The 1992 Annual Report of the Organization has listed 26 countries where people “disappeared”, 45 countries where extra-judicial executions were carried out and 50 countries where death sentences were handed down. The victims of human rights violations detailed in the Government opponents, women, children and juveniles, academics, journalists, artists and human rights activists.
Only 19.8 per cent of world’s population lives wholly free. Rights of maximum people are violated severely everywhere. Violation and violence are inherent in the structure of the systems of today’s about 139 non-democratic countries of the world, where people are not free even to meet their basic needs, and one or dozen persons hold the decision-making power that enables them to declare which persons or groups of nations should die. Violation of human rights is structured in the system of apartheid, economic depression, and discrimination against minorities including women. Violation of human rights is built into social, political and economic structures.
Even in about 50 to 60 democratic or quasi- democratic countries, violence of violation of human rights committed by the persons through manipulation of money, power and other resources. Here a very small number of individuals (the economic and political elites), who control the presidency or the cabinet, the communication media and the political parties, are really making most of the crucial decisions violating the rights of the rest of many. Citizens of the small number of democratic countries also are not free to avail human rights truly. Here several court cases regarding employees’ illegal suspension and reveal that in every office of private government sectors, employees are oppressed and exploited badly by their employers. Very few get justice, and maximum are made victims of whims of their officers through their manipulation and tricks. And those, we cannot face this sorry state of affairs, are also not free to work as per rules and to live as human. They are treated as domestic servants and slaves.
In a few democratic states, courts are considered as “Temple of Justice”, and judiciary has independent identity in deciding the case, and protecting the rights of the people through its judicious judgments. But the recent report about 58, 519 pending cases in Supreme Court and more than 32 million pending cases in high courts and subordinate courts in India show perpetual violation of human rights for longer uncertain periods of persons who filed their cases for redresses of their grievances. Eminent Jurist Nani Palkhivala admitted in his popular book: We, the Nation: The Lost Decades that he got court judgment in 35 years in his case. On December 08, 2014, nearly 40 years after the then Railway Minister Lalit Narayan Mishra was killed in 1975in a blast in Bihar, a Delhi court pronounced its judgment convicting the murderers and conspirators. No explanations by anybody can ever justify such a delay. The case of the author of these lines is pending in a High Court since 1998 for redress of his grievance, but the judgment is still awaited for uncertain period. Jefferson has rightly doubt on judiciary in democracy and warned saying, “Nothing is more dangerous to democracy than the independent judiciary.” In democracy, laws are twisted and manipulated and justice is hijacked by rich, mighty and tricky people of the society. Here the court , “The Temple of Justice” becomes “Market of Justice” where selling and buying of justice are being done. The then President of India K. R. Narayanan, on 28 January 2000, addressing the golden jubilee function of the Supreme Court, stressed the need for an accountable judiciary in the country to dispense quick, affordable and incorruptible justice to the people to sustain their faith in courts. Speaking in favor of delivering expeditious and inexpensive justice to the poor, he quoted Mahatma Gandhi that the law has become the luxury of the rich and joy of the gambler. In a Press Interview, then Chief Minister of Kerala State in India, Namboodripad said that Marx and Engels considered the judiciary as an instrument of oppression and that the judges are dominated by class-hatred, class-interest and class-prejudices, that when evidence is balanced between a well-dressed, pot-bellied rich man and a poor, ill-dressed and illiterate person, a judge instinctively favors the former.
Though the states have written constitutions to execute the scheme and programs of people’s welfare, rarely the persons in the governments of the states follow them violating the rights of the people to make them suffer. Though the states have provisions of courts and tribunals for redresses of people’s grievances, rarely and timely they are addressed, ultimately their genuine and rightful human rights are violated at the hands of persons in the states, particularly by the bureaucrats and their subordinates. It is very much justified by the statement made by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 15, 2014 to end the harassment by officials, and admitting the facts he said that Rs. 27, 000/- crore lying unclaimed in PF accounts are to be given back to their claimants. “I have to give back this money to the poor. This Rs. 27, 000/- crore belongs to the poor,” he said. There are many cases of arrears of back wages and amount of other retirement benefits are due to be paid by the different departments of the government. Some cases are pending in the courts for long uncertain periods to get relief for payment of their due money, and some claimants of their due money with the government did not reach to the court due to high fee of lawyers and uncertain periods to get relief from the courts. And who cares for their genuine dues with the government. These are utter violation of human rights of the claimants of their dues by the government officials. Here the author of these lines wish to cite a particular case to enlighten the readers and the human rights activists how the government officials dare to violate the human rightists of the claimant for not paying long pending dues by perpetually delaying for the long periods to execute their own decisions while some govt.’s decisions are as per the the orders of the High Court in the similar matters. The university concerned in Maharashtra issued its letter dated 14 December, 2010 to its concerned officers and a copy to its concerned Professor communicating its decision referring to the orders of the High Court, Nagpur, dated 02 August, 2002, decision of the Govt. of Maharashtra, dated 10 September, 2008, letter of the Joint Director, Higher Education, Nagpur Division, Nagpur, dated16 September, 2008 and dated 10 November, 2010. But even after expiry of four years, the concerned professor did not receive the due arrears of revised pay, and it is not certain when the decisions of different officials of the govt. will be executed. Here the author of these lines would like to give thanks Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his intervention in the case of a woman assistant professor who was harassed for many months for her gratuity, got her gratuity amount of Rs. 40, 000/- raised to 1.6 lakh from a leading Institute at Noida after running from pillar to post since 2013. Such cases of harassment and violation of human rights of employees by government officials are many which need Citizens Charter in every government office for time-bound compliance of the orders of the government. Liability should be fixed be fixed for delay of compliance of any decision and orders of the government. Punishment and penalty should be given to the concerned officials for their delay in compliance of decisions of the government. And interest and compensation should be given and paid to the aggrieved.
Non-State Violence and Violation of Human Rights
Today violation of human rights, and violent acts and killings continue in different parts of the world by non-state agencies. The whole world is in being gripped by terrorism. In the future, terrorists may use nuclear, chemical and biological weapons achieve their ends. Today’s enemies of the common people are not only the nation-states, but also a group of violent individuals. Most of nation-states are facing “genocide”, “ethnic cleansing”, and “global terrorism”.
How can the people of the world forget the painful attack by terrorists at the World Trade Center, New York, USA on September 11, 2001 killing 2, 996 innocent people violating their human rights to live? People of the world can also never forget the terrorist attack at the Indian Parliament in New Delhi on 13 December 200 leading to the death of 14 people including the death of five terrorists. In 2013, a total of 9,707 terrorist attacks occurred worldwide, resulting in more than 17,800 deaths and more than 32,500 injuries. In addition, more than 2,990 people were kidnapped or taken hostage. And today, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has emerged a new terrorists group violating the human rights of their own fellow-beings. By June 2014, according to United Nations reports, ISIL (ISIS) had killed hundreds of prisoners of war and over 1,000 civilians. According to the Global Terrorism Index:
- 17,958 people were killed in terrorist attacks last year, that’s 61% more than the previous year.
- 82% of all deaths from terrorist attack occur in just 5 countries: Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria.
- Last year terrorism was dominated by four groups: the Taliban, Boko Haram, ISIL, and al Qa’ida.
- More than 90% of all terrorist attacks occur in countries that have gross human rights violations.
- 40 times more people are killed by homicides than terrorist attacks.
Besides the suffering committed on the common people by the violent groups of the society through violating their human rights, well-settled, well-established and well-recognized and well-to-do groups violate the human rights of those who are not equal to their status. Non-state agencies are committing more violence and violating human rights of the people within the nation than state agencies. Repression, exploitation and other forms of violation inflicted upon the vulnerable and non-vulnerable groups of all the societies of the world including our own such as tribal, bonded laborers, children, women, scheduled castes and minorities, servants, workers, laborers, employees-governmental and non-governmental. No doubt, these groups have tribunals set up by the respective governments for their grievances but they are only white wash.
Violation of Human Rights by Non-State Agencies in collusion with State Agencies
Many times State agencies work in collusion with non-state agencies. It means sometimes human rights of people are violated by state agencies and sometimes by in collusion with both the agencies. And in all times, the greater sufferers are common people or masses who are in dispossessed position.. Hence the tribunals or the courts either delay, or deny, or give ‘no justice’ to the victims of violation of their rights. In this way, if justice is delayed, the victims are still harassed and tortured; if denied, victims are doubly oppressed and exploited; and if ‘no justice’ is granted, injustice to victims is sustained and their suffering is maintained.
There are many cases of violation of human rights of employees by the private managements. Here, the author of these lines wishes to cite his own example. He was an Associate Professor in a College of Education. The College is run by Private Management, but it is on 100 per cent salary grant by the government. Though the college is private one, it is a State under Article 12 of the Constitution of India being run by the Private Management Registered under the Society Registration Act. He was illegally prevented to sign the muster roll and to take the classes, and was not paid his monthly salary. Then he approached the Hon’ble High Court through his lawyer for its direction to pay his monthly salary. The court directed the college management to pay his monthly salary. The college management complied with the order of the court, but it did not allow him to sign the muster roll and take the classes. After a few months, the college management purchased his lawyer who accepted his termination letter. And Hon’ble High court referred his case to the College Tribunal for redressal of his grievances. He discharged his lawyer and approached to the Tribunal, appeared in person, pleaded and argued his case on laws and merit both after studying his case deeply and thoroughly, and ultimately he own the case. The Tribunal considering his termination illegal passed the order to reinstate him and pay his back-wages with cost. Though the Tribunal took two years to decide his case, it reserved its order for 10 months after the close of the final hearing of his case. The College Management complied with the Tribunal’s order partially by reinstating him. In law, partial compliance of the court’s order is no compliance. Hence he filed a contempt petition in the High Court for compliance of full order of the Tribunal in his case especially for payment of back-wages. In the first hearing, his contempt petition was admitted, and in the second, the court passed the order to pay his 25 per cent of his back-wages. After two weeks, he pressed his case in the High Court for payment of the rest 75 per cent back-wages. Here he had to face humiliating, insulting and degrading and unlawful comments of the Hon’ble Judge who uttered: “Have you digested Rs. 50, 000/- within two weeks?” He humbly replied him, “Me Lord, imagine the condition of the unpaid employee of for the last four years how he would have run the family and his dependents.” The Hon’ble Judge put another question before him: “If the judgment of the Tribunal would not be in your favor regarding payment of back-wages, what did you do? He replied, “Me Lord, this question does not arise here, because the judgment regarding payment of back-wages is in my favor.” Then the Hon’ble judge put third question before him: “‘If no work, no pay’ is applied in your case, then what would you do?” He replied him, “First, in my case, the court has given its judgment that I was working and hence I am entitled for my back-wages. Second, ‘no work, no pay’ judgment of Supreme Court was for Railway employees who did not attend their duties during strikes. But, in my case, I attended the college but prevented to sign the muster roll and to take the classes. Third, my case is before this Hon’ble court for its direction to the contemnor to comply the full orders of the Tribunal by paying my back-wages.” Then the Hon’ble judge told, “This Bench cannot grant you second relief within two weeks. Move your case before another Bench to get further relief.” The readers may think with doubt how a learned judge of the High Court debated with the author of these lines (who was a party in the case in his contempt petition) on the judgment of the competent court (which was in his favor) rather to compel the contemnor to comply its orders. And this act of the judge amounts to violation of human rights of the author.
Violation of Human Rights by UN Peace Keepers
Even UN peace keepers have been violators of human rights. The 36 page report, which was obtained by The Washington Post, accuses UN peace keepers from Morocco, Pakistan and Nepal of seeking to obstruct UN efforts to investigate a sexual abuse scandal that has damaged the UN’s standing in Congo. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said there was “clear evidence that acts of gross misconduct have taken place” in the United Nations’ Congo Mission, which began in 2000. A confidential report prepared by Prince Zeid Raad Al-Hussein-Jordan’s Ambassador to UN – dated November 08, 2004, says the exploitation “appears to be significant, widespread and ongoing”. Fifty countries represented in the UN’S Congo Mission.
Violation of Human Rights by American Soldiers in Iraq
American Soldiers in Iraq, who were supposed to bring democracy and peace there, did inhuman deeds there. Peter Graff of Reuters says that the Red Cross saw US troops keeping Iraqi prisoners naked for days in darkness at the Abu Ghraib Jail. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the United States and the United Kingdom must “take a strong and firm stand to ensure that those kind of activities are not repeated, because it does do damage, as you can see from reactions in the region.”
UN Commission on Human Rights
Any one may bring a human rights problem to the attention of the United Nations and thousands of people around the world do this every year.
When it met for the first time in 1947, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights saw that procedures for handling communications would be needed. The procedures were established as the confidential and public.
- a) The Confidential Procedure: The first procedure set up by the UN Commission on Human Rights was the Confidential 1503 procedure named after the resolution of ECOSOC in 1959 under which it saw set up. In the case of gross and massive violation of human rights and fundamental liberties, any victim and any organization has the right to submit a communication to the Secretariat of the United Nations.
- b) The Public Procedure: The drawbacks of the confidential procedure are no doubt the reason why most of the NGOs prefer to use the public procedures of the Commission. These procedures have been introduced since the beginning of the 1980’s. The Commission nominated Special Rapporteurs and representatives, experts and working groups entrusted to study certain theme and certain situations and to submit a report with recommendations to each annual session.
However, the United Nations is not capable to control the nations which violate the human rights. The Commission on Human Rights can recommend, can adopt resolutions and decisions and can vote to condemn violation of human rights. But it cannot force the world to be free of human rights violation.
Indian National Commission on Human Rights
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India is an autonomous public body constituted on 12 October 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Ordinance of 28 September 1993.] It was given a statutory basis by the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 (TPHRA). The NHRC is the national human rights institution, responsible for the protection and promotion of human rights, defined by the Act as “rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the International Covenants”.
“Human Rights” means the rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the constitution or embodied in the International covenants and enforceable by courts in India. “Commission” means the National Human Rights Commission constituted under section of All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights known as Human rights, as commonly understood, are the rights that every human being is entitled to enjoy freely irrespective of his religion, race, caste, sex and nationality, etc. (Jagdish chand, 2007) In Declaration of Independence acknowledged the fundamental human rights. Human right means different thing to different people. Human Rights are not static. New rights are recognized and enforced from time to time. Only persons fully conversant with the latest development about the expanding horizons of Human Rights can promote their awareness better than others. Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
IAEWP and Human Rights Teaching
One of the objectives of International Association of Educators for World Peace (IAEWP) is to help implement Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Hence IAEWP is closely involved in activities linked to the promotion and protection of human rights since its inception in 1969 through its Chapters now in over 100 countries around the world extending its programs of teaching of and conducting research on the relevant theme of human rights, disseminating information about human rights, holding conferences on the topic of human rights and publishing articles, journals and books on the theme of human rights for perpetual sustainable peace for all.
Role of Peace Education for Protection of Human Rights
We are different persons in dealing with each other. We are Americans, Russians, Chinese, Indians and persons of other nations; Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and people of other religions (sects); judges, lawyers, doctors, engineers, teachers and other professionals; husband and wife, father and son, brother and sister and other relations; black and white and other races; literates and illiterates; terrorists and other violent persons, but we are not human. Humanity is missing from us. Hence we violate each other rights. We exploit and oppress each other. Existence of laws, courts, police, armies and other such controlling rules and institutions shows that we are not human because they are to control us and to punish us for our inhuman acts, unjust and violent behavior.
In fact, not any government or system or institution or organization or any ism can give freedom, justice and peace to mankind. Only people’s own conscientization, awareness or awakening about their social, political and economic surroundings, and above all about themselves based on body, vitality, mind, intellect and spirit, can make them free, provide them justice and lead them to peace.
Truly democracy, justice, equity, trusteeship, nonviolence and altruism are the foundations of real protection of human rights of all irrespective of any discrimination. But these values are products of peace education, which is man-making education. Peace education is to be in all educations, it is also beyond all educations, and it will continue till the end of life of each individual man and woman to make them man (human beings). Peace education, therefore, must be included in all educations, which is missing, for learning mutual protection of human rights for peace – individual, national and global.
Thus knowledge with awareness about human rights and practice for their protection makes both – violators of these rights and those whose rights are violated – free from committing exploitation and being exploited. And this job of conscientization to the citizens and people of the different nations of the world about their rights can be done very successfully through the knowledge and practice of peace education leading to all peace – individual, national and global.
Peace education based on universally inherent five elements, viz. body, vitality, mind, intellect and spirit in man and woman everywhere without any discrimination is the only remedy for violation of human rights and all forms of violence. Perpetual peace education based on their five elements for all till at the end of their lives will make all including persons engaged in state and non-state agencies, terrorists and other violent persons nonviolent and mutual protectors of human rights everywhere. In the long run, the practice of this peace education for all will close prisons, courts, police departments, hospitals and other remedial institutions, and self-declared governments in non-democratic nations and government of brokers in democratic nations would be replaced by the governments of people to serve each other – not to rule. Thus peace education enables the learners natural and mutual protectors of human rights that leads to sustainable peace.
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Dr. Surya Nath Prasad is M. A. (Sociology), M. Ed. (Experimental Education), M. Phil. (Nonviolence and Peace Studies), and Ph. D. (Education). He is a recipient of Honorary D. Lit. (Peace Education) at the hands of Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma then Former President, Government of India and has taught for three decades as Assistant and Associate Professor of Education in India. He is Former Visiting Professor of Peace Studies at the Graduate Institute of Peace Studies in Kyung Hee University, Republic of Korea and former President and Currently Executive Vice President of International Association of Educators for World Peace. Dr. Prasad is recipient of several peace and human rights awards to the cause of peace and peace education. Website of his Journal is: http://www.sites.google.com/site/peaceeducationsnp/ One may reach him at: dr_suryanathprasad@yahoo.co.in.
This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 15 Dec 2014.
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