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Background on the Decade
The passage of a resolution at the 1999 Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America Churchwide Assembly commits the ELCA to join other
denominations and organizations in designating 2001-2010 as the Decade
for a Culture of Nonviolence.
The Decade of Nonviolence originated from the
work of twenty-three Nobel Peace Laureates, including Nelson
Mandela; the late Mother Theresa; Archbishop Desmond Tutu; and His
Holiness the Dalai Lama, all of whom appealed to the United Nations to
call for the Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence.
On November 10, 1998, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously
voted to proclaim the first decade of the twenty-first century,
"International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the
Children of the World" (2001-2010).
A year earlier, the General Assembly voted to proclaim the Year 2000
as the "Year of Education for Nonviolence" to kick-off the Decade.
The United Nations resolution focused
on the importance of:
- recognizing violence in its different forms;
- physical, psychological, socio-economic, environmental and
political violence;
- acknowledging the pain and suffering that this violence inflicts
on children;
- respecting the life and dignity of every human being;
- educating people to build a culture of peace and nonviolence;
- learning to live together in peace and harmony--that "children
learn what they live";
- strengthening international peace and cooperation with a culture
of peace.
- United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) Culture of Peace
- by declaring the year 2000 the "International Year for a Culture
of Peace," the UN commits itself to establishing peace by addressing
the root causes of conflict.
The UN defines a Culture of Peace as a
culture that
- consists of values, attitudes and behaviors that reflect and
inspire social interaction and sharing, based on the principles of
freedom, justice and democracy, human rights, tolerance and
solidarity;
- rejects violence and endeavors to prevent conflicts by tackling
their root causes to solve problems through dialogue and negotiation;
- and guarantees all people the full exercise of all rights and the
means to participate fully in the development process of their
society;
Since the Culture of Peace program focuses on making and keeping
peace, it must begin at the grassroots level through education programs
and mass media communications which facilitate mass participation;
The program seeks to fulfill the Charter's promise of "sav[ing]
future generations from the scourge of war" by preventing conflicts
before they start.
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