Education to build a culture of peace and justice: Key stakeholders convene for ICC/OTP-UPEACE co-hosted exchange
Today, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the United Nations (UN)-mandated University for Peace (UPEACE) Centre The Hague are holding a one-day strategic meeting at the Peace Palace, in The Hague (The Netherlands). Key education stakeholders from all over the world will discuss the role of education in contributing to peace and justice, including organisations such as Education Above All, Facing History and Ourselves, and Invisible Children.
Meeting participants will exchange on strategies, best practices and content proposals on the crucial topic of education for peace and justice. The results will be shared with the Ministries of Education of the 121 States Parties to the Rome Statute - the Court’s founding treaty - for possible inclusion in their national curricula systems.
“My mandate, in accordance with the Rome Statute, is to end impunity for the most serious crimes in order to contribute to the prevention of such crimes” said ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda. “Today, an estimated 1.5 billion children live in conflict-affected countries, thousands of them actively participating in government armed forces, militias and armed opposition groups. My Office has identified education as one of the fundamental means to maximize the Court’s contribution to the prevention of future crimes.”
“The field of education for peace is full of good examples of work and dedication of committed educators, researchers, activists, and members of global civil society, who seem to concur in expressing strong faith in the capacity of the education systems to achieve for humanity the ultimate goal that will ensure a desirable future,” UPEACE affirms.
The Hague Agenda for Peace and Justice for the 21st Century (2000) is a significant example of such a community, articulating their mission in these terms:
“A culture of peace will be achieved when citizens of the world understand global problems, have the skills to resolve conflicts and struggle for justice non-violently, live by international standards of human rights and equity, appreciate cultural diversity, and respect the Earth and each other. Such learning can only be achieved with systematic education for peace.”
“It is our view that time is ripe to actively engage with this process, triggering transformations that will move societies away from the present cultures of violence, by creating viable spaces within the formal education systems, where such transformed cultures can be intentionally cultivated.” according to UPEACE in their recent “Curriculum Outline on Education for Peace for Formal Education Institutions in Africa”.
Mr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, former ICC Prosecutor and special representative of Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda for this education initiative, confirmed: “Education is the only “never again” policy. More than 2 billion children have to be educated on peace and justice in order to stop the cycle of massive atrocities.”
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