EuropaWorld 30/3/2001 Annan Calls Peace Education 'Fundamental' as Conflict Prevention Emphasis Grows

Education for peace was a fundamental part of achieving decent, just and peaceful relations among diverse human groups, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said last week

Mr Annan said that the world's record on education for peace had been weak. "In the next generation, we have a mission to stimulate large numbers of students on every continent to reflect seriously on human conflict, its causes and its consequences, and ways to prevent its deadly outcome," he said.

Mr. Annan also stressed that an awareness of growing dangers in the new century might help fundamentally to change relations among various groups, as well as lead to an acceptance of the mutual benefits to be gained through political accommodation, respect for diversity, and the active promotion of social justice. "It might enable us at last to move beyond the ancient habits of blaming, de-humanising, repressing, and attacking 'the other side'," he added.

The Secretary-General was addressing a briefing of experts from the new University of Peace which is being established in Costa Rica. The University of Peace was a component in a large and rich partnership of educators for peace, he said. "You will be a valuable partner to the United Nations University. I look forward to extensive collaboration between our two institutions," he added.

Moves to study more deeply the causes of conflict and to promote good governance are being stimulated by the ever escalating costs of suppressing conflict once it breaks out, as well as by the economic and humanitarian damage which conflicts cause. Several institutes in Europe, most notably in Sweden, are also turning their attention to this problem, while the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office this week hosted a conference on 'Preventing Conflict In Sub-Saharan Africa.'

British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook has identified three tasks to address in preventing conflict - effective peacekeeping, curbing small arms, and tackling the economic incentives for conflict. Speaking at the conference he said that success in these three tasks alone would make a huge difference to conflict resolution in Africa. "We need to make this century Africa's century - a century of peace and prosperity, not conflict and destruction," he said.