How Peace Rights have Changed Over Time

A peace right is the right of “every state, and individuals within those states, to live in peace” (Cambridge, 2013). These rights have changed over the period following WWI – with periods before the war not having any international law in regards to the right of peace.

The establishment of “The League of Nations” acted as a very much infant version of the United Nations as well as the first instance of trying to achieve peace rights, with the Covenant of the League of Nations mentioning that its purpose is to “promote international co-operation and to achieve international peace and security”. However, it was very limited as not all nations joined on, with United States, a major power, as well as Germany, Italy and Japan, becoming instigators and important powers in the following WWII – which can be attributed to the failure of the League of Nations in achieving peace.

Post WWII, the modern international co-operative organisation, The United Nations, was formed with an explicit motive of achieving and maintaining piece – outlined in Article 1(1) “The purposes of the United Nations are: (1) to maintain international peace and security, and to that end; to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace;…”.

Unlike the League of Nations, the United Nations was grated specific powers to ensure peace between nations, as well as the organisation having more countries co-operating and participating in international peace and security measures (including the United States, Germany, Italy and Japan).

It was only following 1984, that there was a declaration for peace with the UN General Assembly adopting the “Declaration on the Right of Peoples to Peace”, that although non-binding, declared that “peoples of our planet have a sacred right to peace”. It emphasised the need for promoting and implementing the right of peace, with an obligation of states to introduce legislation that aimed to eliminate the threat of war, particularly nuclear war, renunciation of the use of force in international relations and the settlement of international disputes by peaceful means on the basis of the UN Charter. Currently peace rights are included in the UNDHR and the ICCPR.

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