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David Adams
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Posted: Oct. 16 2012,04:26 |
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We must await a more detailed description of the Nobel Committee's decision in order to know if this prize was awarded for the old idea of peace (simply the absence of war) or the new idea of culture of peace (the positive development of the cultural basis for peace).
Since they have already mentioned two key elements of the culture of peace, democracy and human rights, I hope they will put the emphasis on culture of peace.
If so, it would be good to recall that culture of peace requires more than democracy and human rights. It also requires disarmament which is not evident in the case of the European Union, as pointed out by the International Peace Bureau. It also requires tolerance and solidarity, which is not evident, for example, in the EU treatment of the Roma people. Furthermore, it requires women's equality, education for peace, sustainable development and the free flow of information. Perhaps we can hope, along with rue89 that in the future ithe EU will develop further all these elements of the culture of peace. If the Nobel Prize can help encourage this, then it will be a worthy choice.
Note added on December 10:
As the Prize was awarded today, a letter was sent to the Nobel Committee by previous winners Mairead Maguire, Desmond Tutu and Adolfo Perez Esquivel, criticizing the decision and saying that the EU and its member states "condone security based on military force and waging wars rather than insisting on the need for an alternative approach." The letter may be found here on the Internet.
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