Permanent Council of the OAS / Commitee on Hemispheric Security

PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE
ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES

COMMITTEE ON HEMISPHERIC SECURITY

OEA/Ser.G
CP/CSH-229/99 rev. 3
5 October 1999
Original: Spanish

NOTES FOR THE CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE MEETING OF GOVERNMENT EXPERTS TO DESIGN A DRAFT PROGRAM OF EDUCATION FOR PEACE IN THE HEMISPHERE

(Adopted by the Committee on Hemispheric Security at its meeting of October 5, 1999)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

At its meeting of October 5, 1999, the Committee on Hemispheric Security adopted this document, entitled "Notes for the Conclusions and Recommendations of the Meeting of Government Experts to Design a Draft Program of Education for Peace in the Hemisphere," as a background document for the Meeting.

NOTES FOR THE CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE MEETING OF GOVERNMENT EXPERTS TO DESIGN A DRAFT PROGRAM OF EDUCATION FOR PEACE IN THE HEMISPHERE

(Adopted by the Committee on Hemispheric Security at its meeting of October 5, 1999)

The government experts of the member states of the Organization of American States, meeting in Cartagena, Colombia, on October 14 and 15, 1999, to design a draft Program of Education for Peace in the Hemisphere, in fulfillment of the mandates contained in General Assembly resolutions AG/RES. 1604 (XXVIII-O/98) and AG/RES. 1620 (XXIX-O/99),

CONSIDERING that the Organization’s member states, meeting at the San Salvador Regional Conference on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures in follow-up to the Santiago Conference, adopted the Declaration of San Salvador on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures, where they recommended that the Permanent Council’s Committee on Hemispheric Security complete its drafting of the Program of Education for Peace agreed upon by the OAS General Assembly, and that it begin implementing it; and

HAVING EXAMINED the document prepared by the General Secretariat of the Organization and adopted by the Committee on Hemispheric Security, “Guidelines for Drawing Up a Program of Education for Peace in the Hemisphere” (CP/CSH-160/99 rev. 1), the contributions of UNESCO, the Inter-American Defense College (IADC), the University for Peace, FLACSO, and other entities and experts, and particularly the presentations and views of the government experts at the Cartagena meeting,

AGREE TO SUBMIT to the Permanent Council of the Organization for its consideration the following recommendations, which constitute general guidelines for a Program of Education for Peace in the Hemisphere and which may be adopted by the states in the form they deem most appropriate:

RECOMMENDATIONS

I. The Program’s general objective

The Program of Education for Peace in the Hemisphere proposes:

1. To foster a process for the purpose of developing among the population values, knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and behavior conducive to a stronger democratic political culture and a culture of peace.

2. To emphasize the relationship between democratic values and practices and peaceful coexistence.

3. To contribute to a better understanding of respect and tolerance and appropriate treatment of problems which, at the hemispheric, regional, subregional, or local level, constitute a threat to peace, whether domestically or between states.

II. Beneficiaries

The ultimate beneficiary of the Program of Education for Peace in the Hemisphere is the population, in particular, the young. In this connection, the Program will take special account of those institutions and organizations of state and society deemed strategic due to their role as shapers of public opinion and to the multiplier effect of their activities.

III. Program areas

The Program comprises three areas: (1) education for the peaceful settlement of conflicts; (2) education for the promotion of democratic values and practices; and (3) education for the promotion of peace between states.

1. Education for the peaceful settlement of conflicts

a. Objectives:

- To encourage the development of coordination and consensus processes among various sectors of society; - To foster empirical analysis of conflict situations, as well as of mediation, conciliation, negotiation, and dialogue-facilitation processes; - To contribute to the creation of conflict-management mechanisms; - To publicize the importance of eliminating poverty, and of economic development as indispensable elements of peace; - To include civil society participation in the creation of a culture of peace.

b. Activities:

- Organization and holding of regional training courses on techniques of conflict analysis, prevention, and settlement; - Organization and holding of meetings on “best practices” for the settlement of conflict, as well as on the possible ways to institutionalize conflict-resolution systems; - Organization and conducting of public information campaigns on the capacity of dialogue, mediation, and the consensus- and cooperation-building processes to resolve conflict peacefully; - Conducting research and preparing manuals and publications on techniques for conflict analysis, prevention, and settlement; - Research and seminars to encourage the development of mechanisms in government and nongovernmental institutions to treat and handle conflict, including, among others, the empirical analysis of conflict, mediation, conciliation, and negotiation, and facilitation of dialogue.

2. Education for the promotion of democratic values and practices

a. Objectives:

- To promote and disseminate in formal and nonformal education systems increased knowledge and understanding of democratic institutions, values, and practices; - To disseminate universal principles of human rights and the related protection mechanisms, international humanitarian law, and the non-use of force; - To promote and disseminate the concepts of diversity, plurality, and tolerance among the various sectors of civil society, especially among the most vulnerable groups of our societies; - To preserve the environment and encourage appropriate sustainable development.

b. Activities:

- Review of the primary, secondary, and higher education curricula to incorporate new methods for teaching and learning democratic values and practices; - Evaluation of experiences in the area of education for peace in the various countries of the Hemisphere so as to identify the best practices for promoting the teaching of democratic values and practices; - Development of theoretical and practical guides in the area of education for peace for experts, officials, and educators, which may help to support ministries of education and teacher training centers; - Organization and holding of workshops and training courses on the teaching and learning of democratic values and practices for trainers, educational and administrative specialists, staff, educators, and directors of educational institutions; - Organization and conducting of public information campaigns for various sectors of society on democratic values and practices; - Organization of courses on democratic values and practices geared to youth in political parties, universities, the media, NGOs, and the armed and security forces; - Enhancement of relations between civilian and military institutions to facilitate interaction and confidence between the two sectors; - Development of education programs that encourage attitudes of tolerance of and support for displaced persons and refugees.

3. Education for the promotion of peace between states

a. Objectives:

- To promote mutual confidence-building measures to enhance security and peace among states; - To promote among countries of a subregion greater knowledge and understanding of the history, culture, politics, society, law, international relations, and traditions of these countries; - To disseminate steps taken in the Hemisphere to promote disarmament and the fight against illegal arms traffic; - To further knowledge of mechanisms for the peaceful settlement of conflicts.

b. Activities:

- Organization and creation of academic curricula and university posts and the conducting of research on the history, culture, politics, society, law, international relations, and traditions of the countries of the various subregions, and emphasizing the principles of friendship and cooperation among states; - Organization and holding of courses and seminars on the evolution and operation of integration systems as instruments to promote security and peace among states; - Research and seminars to analyze and evaluate policies designed to promote security and peace among states; - Analysis and dissemination of successful experiences to promote security and peace in other countries and subregions; - Organization and holding of subregional meetings to examine these topics; - Organization and preparation of studies on disarmament and the fight against illegal arms traffic.