In the name of the God of Peace and Sallam
Statement of the Iranian Peace Studies Scientific Association on the occasion of the International Day of Peace (2024)
21th September, 2024, marks the 25th year of the adoption of the declaration and action plan of the culture of peace by the United Nations General Assembly, which is considered to be the inspiration for the theme of 2024 “Cultivating a Culture of Peace”. The culture of peace refers to the fundamental belief enshrined in the founding document of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that the source of conflict and tension is in the minds of humans: “Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed”.
Peace is not an ideal concept or a process disconnected from reality; peace is the legacy of a culture of peace; a culture that must be built, learned, repeated and expanded so that peace can find its position in divergent layers of society. Cultivating of a culture of peace requires public education about the value of discourse and tolerance, especially during childhood; because it is in the path of cultivating a culture of peace that the roots of violence are identified and meaningful measures are taken to restraint violence and conflict. The culture of peace institutionalizes values such as tolerance and discourse within the national borders and beyond, and is passed from the present generation to the future generations like a precious heritage. It is through the cultural transformation of peace that we can hope to build a world free from conflict; a world where differences are resolved through dialogue, international cooperation and efforts to reach mutual understanding among nations.
We all live in a complex world with multiple crises such as climate change, terrorism and poverty; a world that hides and exposes the grounds and roots of many conflicts and hostilities, and the emergence of any new state of affairs can easily lead to an increase in disputes. In such a restless world, we are obliged to evaluate our approaches to peace, learn from our past mistakes and try to discover a new path towards peace and international cooperation. Looking back, we are able to see that the roots of all the current problems of mankind, including the destruction of the global environment, terrorism, war and poverty, originate from lack of a culture of peace, hostility and unsustainable development; Hostility and unsustainable development cause anger and disgust towards fellow human beings and raise the flames of violence and social unrest. In societies where sustainable development has been realized along with values such as discourse, pacifism, gender equality and respect for human rights, in addition to restraining poverty and deprivation, a sustainable future perspective has been drawn for future generations as well. This is the reason why moving in the path of peace is both a moral commitment and a social and economic necessity that should be taken into account in the macro policies of development.
Celebrating the International Day of Peace is another opportunity to remember the collective responsibility of all of us to cultivate a culture of peace; a responsibility that must be pursued every day of the year so that the bright horizon of peace becomes visible to us as the present generation and to the future generations as well.
The Iranian Peace Studies Scientific Association, in line with the goals stated in its constitution, as in the past, declares its commitment to cultivate a culture of peace and hereby invites researchers, government and public institutions, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, as well as other actors active in the field of peace and its related branches, to expand the areas of joint cooperation, so we are able to unite our capabilities to realize global peace through cultivating a culture of peace.
Let’s remember that the International Day of Peace is not an opportunity to temporarily cease conflict and war; rather, it is a day for understanding humanity and thinking about the value of searching peace and establishing inclusive societies in which no human being is a victim of hostility and the prevalence of cruelty.
Together towards cultivating a culture of peace