The United Nations adopted the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace in 1999 to define a culture of peace and develop actions to promote it as the basis for the United Nations International Year for the Culture of Peace adopted for the Year 2000.
In order to involve individuals in this process, the Manifesto 2000 was developed and disseminated around the world, by which individuals could make a commitment to promote a culture of peace in their everyday lives.
The commitments of the Manifesto correspond at the everyday level to the programme areas defined by the Declaration and Programme of Action at a global level. This is shown in the following table. Note that the Manifesto has 6 instead of 8 paragraphs since 3 of the 8 programme areas are included in the final commitment.
| UN Programme of Action | Manifesto 2000: Recognizing my share of responsibility for the future of humanity, especially for today's children and those of future generations, I pledge - in my daily life, in my family, my work, my community, my country and my region - to: |
|---|---|
| Human rights | respect the life and dignity of every person without discrimination or prejudice; |
| Disarmament & Security | practise active non-violence, rejecting violence in all its forms: physical, sexual, psychological, economical and social, in particular towards the most deprived and vulnerable such as children and adolescents; |
| Education for a culture of peace | share my time and material resources in a spirit of generosity to put an end to exclusion, injustice and political and economic oppression; |
| Free flow of information | defend freedom of expression and cultural diversity, giving preference always to dialogue and listening rather than fanaticism, defamation and the rejection of others; |
| Sustainable development | promote consumer behaviour that is responsible and development practices that respect all forms of life and preserve the balance of nature on the planet; |
| Equality of women and men | |
| Democratic participation | contribute to the development of my community, with the full participation of women and respect for democratic principles, in order to create together new forms of solidarity |
| Tolerance, solidarity and international understanding |
The Manifesto 2000 was signed by 75 million people, one percent of planet earth. For a list of signatures by country and links to details for countries with over 5000 signatures, click here.