This is an organized synthesis of group-work accomplished in the United Nations
and in the civil coalitions of Together First and UN2020,
and as well from other thinkers and groups.

See all of the UN Guidelines & Proposals
including the Global Issues of Environment,
Human Rights, and Economic Development

Human Security is a Human Right

There are multiple reasons for achieving Global Peace and Security, but the most important reason is the protection of human life. The protection of human life must be regarded as a Human Right; and thus, Global Peace and Security should essentially be based on Human Rights – as a necessary precondition for sustainable peace. These rights are promoted in the UN Charter and enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Global Security requires multiple strategies for resolving conflicts and achieving sustainable peace. Peace and Security is not simply the absence of military conflict, for Sustainable Peace requires: disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons, peace agreements, and peacebuilding to achieve cooperative international relations.

Sustainable Peace and Security are also enhanced by inter-national economic cooperation, common projects, and human rights agreements.

Ensuring Human Security and Protections

1. Establish International Peace – through dialogue, negotiation, agreements, and consensus-building.

2. Establish Peace Agreements and International Laws – that will ensure an end to all tribal, racial, and inter-national aggression.

3. Establish reliable security and protections – for women, children, the elderly, disabled, displaced, refugees and immigrants.

4. Establish equal participation in security decisions – with proportional gender and race representation in all security and human rights decision-making.

5. Establish norms and best-practices – for conflict prevention, crisis management, peaceful settlement of disputes, and post-conflict peace-building.

6. Reduce the circulation of harmful weapons – by eliminating the illicit production and trafficking of large weapons, light weapons, and small arms.

Improve the UN structures for Global Security

1. A Security Council that functions effectively

   If the Security Council cannot function in a cooperative and collaborative way, in the way that the original UN intended, then the UN must revise it to be more successful at fulfilling is intended function.
   

2. A stronger Peacebuilding Commission

   The Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), representing all genders and races, needs a more prominent role in all conflict-resolution work.

3. People-centered peacekeeping

   Place local people, proportionally represented in gender and race, at the centre of peace operations, which will give them a rightful participation in their own peace process and also make them accountable for its success.

4. An international prohibition of barbaric and mass-destructive weapons

   There needs to be an end to all forms of warfare and weapons that society deems too barbaric, inhuman, or a cruel violation of human rights, including nuclear and chemical weapons, cluster munitions and killer robots.

5. A international abolishment of all nuclear weapons

   There needs to be an end to the threat of nuclear weapons, because these weapons of mass destruction pose an unacceptable threat to life on Earth, they serve no useful purpose, and they can never be used without committing a barbaric human atrocity.

Revise the UN Peace and Security architecture

1. Revise the Security Council's reliance on consensus and improve the relationship between the UN, Member States, and regional organizations.

2. Upgrade the Peacebuilding Commission into a 'UN Peacebuilding Council' and entrust it with a mandate of both conflict-prevention and reconciliation/transitional justice. The new Council would gain enhanced powers and responsibilities, and be mandated to lead on policy development, coordination, resource mobilization, conflict prevention, and peacebuilding efforts, not being addressed directly by the Security Council.

3. Finalize international agreements to abolish all nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, and all other weapons of mass destruction.

4. Monitor and seek solutions to the problems of inter-domestic armed conflicts, terrorist groups, and lethal autonomous weapons.

5. Monitor and seek solutions to the problems of organized crime, cyber-crime and cyber-warfare.

Begin UN Negotiations for Eliminating Nuclear Weapons

Each year the UN General Assembly calls for a Nuclear Weapons Convention for negotiating a Global Treaty, which would prohibit the threat or use of nuclear weapons and establish a phased program for their complete elimination under strict and effective international control.

However, this Convention is never implemented. Why?

1. It is not supported by major nuclear-armed countries (France, Russia, United Kingdom and the United States) and countries under extended nuclear deterrence relationships (NATO members, Australia, Japan and South Korea);

2. The Conference on Disarmament, which is used to negotiate multilateral non-proliferation and disarmament treaties, operates by consensus.

Therefore, in order to move forward on these multilateral nuclear-negotiations:

(a) the rule on consensus needs to be revised.

(b) citizens of those non-supportive countries need to pressure their governments to implement this Convention for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.

Practical Steps to achieve Global Peace Security

1. Respond immediately to instances of violent aggression – with dialogue and de-escalation, without threats or force.

2. Prepare for all types of international response, including military if necessary, to protect civilians, women, children, or the displaced.

3. Buildup more UN standing capacities, such as permanent civilian, police and peacekeeping personnel, along with UN reserve capacities available on short notice.

4. Create peace-teams for achieving a nonviolent resolution of conflicts between nations or tribes, and establish agreements for a permanent end to inter-state, tribal or racial aggression.

5. Invest time and resources in negotiating peace, interim peacekeeping, post-conflict peacebuilding, and building a culture of peace.

6. Involve more women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, and in peace-building and peace-culture activities.

7. Help nations maintain peace, build prosperity, and protect against terrorism, espionage, organized crime, and cybercrime.

Post-conflict Peacebuilding:

1. Rebuilding peace, justice, solidarity and cooperation, with social tolerance, respect for differences, and based on equal human rights.

2. Rehabilitation of community and national economics, with equal rights and fairness for all citizens.

3. Reparations for incurred harms or injustices to people and property.

4. Reintegration of soldiers and displaced people into the economic and social fabric.

5. Restoration of justice through a process of engaged dialogue between victims and offenders, in order to re-build trust and cooperation.

6. Reconciliation between conflicting groups, or between victims and offenders, through a 'ground-up' process of dialogue that seeks to heal both the trauma and anger from inflicted violence, so to not pass on inter-generational resentments and mistrust that may cause future recurrences of violence.

Post-conflict Rehabilitation

1. Humanitarian relief and development
   Delivering aid (food, water, healthcare and reconstruction of infrastructure) to communities that have suffered conflict needs to be carefully managed to avoid deepening divisions between groups by apparent favoritism.

2. Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of combatants
   Transforming ex-combatants into peaceful and productive members of society is a critical but challenging task. Removing weapons, returning ex-combatants to their homes and supporting a return to civilian life are all vitally necessary.

3. Refugees and displaced people
   People returning home after the conflict may find their property has been destroyed, littered with unexploded landmines, or occupied by others. Mechanisms are needed for resettling people and helping them return to a safe and productive life and preventing future conflict.

4. Economic development
   Assisting communities to become self-supporting after so much has been destroyed is vital. It can be done through small loans, training, and food for work programs. Rebuilding infrastructure supports these developments through making access to markets and contact with other communities easier.

4. Protecting Women
   Armed conflict affects women and men differently. Women bear the brunt of sexual assault as a tool of war. If they suffer the loss of partners and sons, women may experience a change in their role to the breadwinner and head of the family. Their specific needs may be overlooked, as they are not as obvious as the resettlement needs of ex-combatants.

5. Protecting Children
   Children’s lives may have been disrupted severely during the conflict. They may have been forced to flee their homes, gone without food, education and healthcare and even witnessed extreme violence or been recruited or conscripted to be active combatants. Rebuilding their lives entails assisting with social rehabilitation, trauma counseling and peace education.

6. Reconciliation
   All wars are brutal and particularly so when there has been the mass killing of civilians. Developing trust and cooperation within communities of people who have been enemies is a long and difficult process. It involves balancing the competing demands for justice and accountability for perpetrators of violence with the need to reconcile differences and move forward. Timing is crucial as too few compromises may threaten peace in the short run but too many compromises may undermine lasting peace. Reconciliation activities have included public confession, granting amnesty, community involvement to discuss appropriate punishment or acts of reconciliation, community building activities and peace education.

Email any suggestions to add, or any comments, or an offering to help -
suggestions@educationforworldsolutions.org
also see Facebook Page

Education for
World Solutions