Great power, little responsibility

Great power, little responsibility

Context

• This an occasion for deep reflection about the prevalence of war, violence and insecurity in many parts of the world.
• Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21st September. Theme for 2020 : Shaping Peace Together.
• This day is dedicated to fortifying the principles of peace, both within and among all member states and peoples.
• This year’s celebrations are particularly significant because it is the 21th anniversary of the UN resolution on the programme of action on the culture of peace.

Origin:

• The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly.
• Two decades later, in 2001, the General Assembly unanimously voted to designate the Day as a period of non-violence and cease-fire.
• The United Nations invites all nations and people to honour a cessation of hostilities during the Day.
• Otherwise commemorate the Day through education and public awareness on issues related to peace.

Global Unrest:

• According to the World Population Review, In the last calendar year, eight countries — Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, Turkey, Somalia, Iraq, Mexico and Libya suffered at least 1,000 deaths each (mainly civilians) through militarised attacks and battles.
• If one includes the Maghreb and Sahel regions of North and West Africa, over 25 countries are being ravaged by deadly wars today.
• To boot, 79.5 million were displaced at the end of 2019, due to armed conflicts, persecution and other reasons, according to the UN Refugee Agency.
• The way the present international system is structured poses enormous obstacles to peace.
• The countries that are escalating violence are predominantly the great powers who have military and economic might.

Instability by P-5 members of the UN Security Council:

• Russia and China uphold peace and stability as the permanent members of the UN Security Council. But in practice, they fuel instability or have a finger in the pie of most ongoing wars.
• For example, the tragedy in Yemen, which the UN has declared as the world’s worst humanitarian disaster, is the outcome of indiscriminate attacks by the U.S.-backed coalition of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, whose geopolitical goal is to counterbalance Iran.
• Yet, undaunted by the moral burden, the Donald Trump administration is eagerly selling copious quantities of lethal weapons to its Gulf allies in the name of their ‘security’.
• War is at once a geopolitical game and big business. This holds true not only for the U.S. but also Russia.
• Libya’s descent into chaos is the product of the active involvement of mercenaries and weapons pumped in by Russia and the U.S.-allied Gulf Arab monarchies to push back Turkey’s influence.
• Like the calamity in Syria, Yemen and Libya are victims of the conduct of great powers who arm and finance regional actors to prey upon weak states for counterbalancing rivals and sustaining profits of their military industrial complexes.
• China has catapulted into the ranks of top sellers of weapons.
• Chinese small arms enable ethnic violence and extreme human rights abuses from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo to Pakistan and Myanmar.
• China also aims to tighten its grip over developing countries through ‘internal security’ aid, a code for technological tools of domestic surveillance and repression, which in turn build up societal pressure and armed revolts against authoritarian regimes.
• Moreover, China’s own hegemonic expansionism against its neighbours and its ‘new Cold War’ with the U.S. have significantly raised risks of military clashes in Asia.
• This year, the UN Secretary General is campaigning for a “global ceasefire” so that everyone’s attention shifts to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The UN as well as regional organisations like the African Union and the European Union are trying to negotiate cessation of hostilities in various war zones.

Core problem:

• The targeted micro-level diplomatic initiatives cannot ameliorate the underlying macro-level problem of great powers and their allies acting with brazen impunity.
• On the International Day of Peace, we should diagnose the core problem the unjust structure which privileges great powers and permits their ghastly machinations and challenge it.
• In India, Mahatma Gandhi has been a torchbearer of non-violent movements, harmony, peace, and brotherhood throughout his life.
• He dedicated his life towards world peace, his philosophy Ahimsa or non-violence spoke highly about peace and solidarity.

Way forward:

• Reinvigorate national efforts and international cooperation to promote the goals of education for all with a view to achieving human, social and economic development and for promoting a culture of peace;
• Ensure that children, from an early age, benefit from education on the values, attitudes, modes of behaviour and ways of life to enable them to resolve any dispute peacefully and in a spirit of respect for human dignity and of tolerance and non-discrimination;
• Involve children in activities designed to instil in them the values and goals of a culture of peace;
• Ensure equality of access to education for women, especially girls;
• Encourage revision of educational curricula, including textbooks, bearing in mind the 1995 Declaration and Integrated Framework of Action on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Democracy for which technical cooperation should be provided by the UNESCO upon request;
• Encourage and strengthen efforts by actors as identified in the Declaration, in particular the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, aimed at developing values and skills conducive to a culture of peace, including education and training in promoting dialogue and consensus-building.