Ministry of Peace? More than a Utopia, a Necessity

"The rules of human coexistence are breaking down: we need to build a great alliance for peace, starting from the territories, because people do not want war": this is how Francesco Occhetta, general secretary of the Fratelli Tutti Foundation, opened yesterday's meeting in Rome, dedicated to the presentation of the proposal for a Ministry of Peace, promoted by the "Ministry of Peace" Campaign. A proposal that "is not a utopia born of a pacifism decontextualized from history - Occhetta specified - but a concrete urgency, which is based on actions such as mediation, preventive diplomacy, the strengthening of humanitarian law, the protection of rights, post-war reconstruction. These are the pillars of the ministry we have in mind. It is not enough to reduce weapons, we must disarm the spirits, the hearts, the words and the choices we make every day to stem the war psychosis, which makes us consider war an inevitable solution. Together with Anci – he added – we have built an agreement that asks municipal administrators to build peace starting from the municipalities, because people do not want war. From the territories we can rebuild a great alliance for peace ».

An alliance more urgent than ever, at a time when "we are recording the highest number of conflicts - 59 - since the Second World War - said Laila Simoncelli, national coordinator of the "Ministry of Peace" Campaign - Military deterrence has evidently failed: it did not and does not guarantee peace. And yet, we continue to entrust security to it, while there is a lack of public policies that favor the prevention of conflicts. Today we are holding a small counter-summit: while in The Hague they are discussing raising defense spending to 5% of GDP, we are proposing a ministry capable of giving structure to the commitment to peace . And we have already prepared a bill for this purpose. We are asking for a national unarmed civil defense, which is recognized and endowed with a strategic function in the national security system. We are asking that education for peace become part of the school curriculum. We are asking that peace have a political home, to oppose the drifts we are witnessing: peace is not an ideal or a declaration, it must become a government choice. The Ministry of Peace would be the political response. to this necessity: it is not enough to desire peace, we must organize it".

This commitment becomes particularly necessary at a time when " we see a regression in international relations to before the emergence of humanitarian law, to before the Geneva Convention, which committed to saving human lives - Michele Nicoletti, professor of Political Philosophy at the University of Trento, forcefully denounced - Today we do not have declarations of war, but bombings at night, which kill thousands of children. But what do children have to do with it? We are faced with the denial of equality between all peoples and the reduction of individuals to cannon fodder. Our country must commit to forcefully reaffirming rights and dignity, also by strengthening the internal framework, starting with migrants, asylum seekers, detainees, against whom persistent violations occur. If we want to build international relations of peace, we must respect people's rights, but Italy is the only EU country that does not have an independent authority for human rights, despite its obligation. Today's initiative forces us to talk about international politics and to put the right and duty of Peace back at the center".

The presidents of the three promoting associations intervened to articulate the reasons and contents of the proposal: Matteo Fadda (Pope John XXIII Association), Giuseppe Notarstefano (Catholic Action), Emiliano Manfredonia (Acli).