APPEAL OF THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATES

From: Nobel Peace Prize Laureates
To: Heads of States of all member countries of
the General Assembly of the United nations

<< FOR THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD >>

Today, in every single country throughout the world, there are many
children silently suffering the effects and consequences of violence.

This violence takes many different forms: between children on streets, at
school, in family life and in the community. There is physical violence,
psychological violence, socio-economic violence, environmental
violence and political violence. Many children - too many children -
live a "culture of violence".

We wish to contribute to reduce their suffering. We believe that each child
can discover, by himself, that violence is not inevitable. We can offer hope, not only
to the children of the world, but to all of humanity, by beginning to create, and
build, a new Culture of Non-Violence.

For this reason, we address this solemn appeal to all Heads of
States, of all member countries of the General Assembly of the United nations,
for the UN General Assembly to declare:

• That the first decade of the new millennium, the years 2000-2010, be declared the "Decade for a Culture of Non-Violence";

• That at the start of the decade the year 2000 be declared the "Year of Education for Non-Violence";

• That non-violence be taught at every level in our societies during this decade, to make the children of the world aware of the real, practical meaning and benefits of non-violence in their daily lives, in order to reduce the violence, and consequent suffering, perpetrated against them and humanity in general.

Together, we can build a new culture of non-violence for humankind which will
give hope to all humanity, and in particular, to the children of our world.

With deepest respect,

The Nobel Peace Prize Laureates

Signed by:

Mairead Corrigan-Maguire, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Aung San Suu Kyi, The 14Th
DalaI Lama (Tenzin Gyatso), Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, Shimon Peres, Elie Wiesel,
Mgr. Desmond Mpilo Tutu, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Yasser Arafat, Mgr Carlos Felipe
Ximenes Belo, Jose Ramos-Horta, Norman Borlaug, Oscar Arias Sanchez, UNICEF,
Frederik Willem de Klerk, Betty Williams, Lech Walesa, Joseph Rothlat, The International
Peace Bureau, The American Friends Service Committe.

Appeal of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates: Share with the Children of the World
B.P. 20797 - 60207 Compiegne Cedex 2 - France / Fax: (33-3) 44.86.39.07 / C.C.P. n° 42.207.77.S.

Why was the Appeal made ?

The conflicts of the second half of this 20th century with
the devastating power of their atomic and chemical weapons have
shown that the human species and its environment are under
threat of extinction. Violence, under so many forms,
has invaded human society.

It is therefore urgent to do everything in our power, with
determination and tenacity, to reverse the processes which have
made our 20th century the scene of the greatest carnage in history.

We will transmit to the children of the third millennium the wonders
of our technology, with its promises of progress in all of Life's spheres.

But our legacy is also our sick planet, global economic war in our global
economic village, a human family - broken and confused - worshipping
before the altar of the Free Market.

If we are to escape from the ever-increasing threat of famines, war,
poverty, exclusion and ecological catastrophes, then our children
must acquire the wisdom that we lack.

This aim of Appeal is not senseless dramatization. The aim of the
Appeal is to bring people together to reflect, in the simplest of terms, on
the future we want to build for ourselves and our children. Never in
human history has mankind disposed so much power to transform
himself and his world, the possibilities for creating a better life
and a healthier environment - or - of destroying it all.

Life is permanent transformation by organic processes.

If we, as human beings, do not - at long last - sincerely opt for Peace,
and give ourselves the means to achieve Peace through non-violence,
then we will have opted for extinction.

But Peace is not an inborn reflex. It is something to be acquired, learnt, merited.

We believe that it is our duty to participate in the eclosion of a peace
generation. Our duty also to invite our children, and - through them - future
generations, to avoid our own errors, and break free from the suicidal culture
of violence that we live in. It is our duty to help them become aware of the
possible alternatives, so that they may live in self-respect, at peace
with their consciences, at peace with their world.