Alfred-Maurice de Zayas on Peace

"If we want world peace, we must break the vicious circle of violence and reprisal, of an eye for an eye, of endless hate."

"It is the responsibility of all of us to remind governments of their commitments to settle disputes by peaceful means and to negotiate in good faith under the UN Charter, and to denounce war agitation particularly by the media."

"A just, peaceful, equitable and democratic world order must not be undermined by the activities of investors, speculators and transnational enterprises avid for immediate profit at the expense of social and economic progress."

"States should significantly reduce military spending and develop conversion strategies to reorient resources towards social services, the creation of employment in peaceful industries, and greater support to the post-2015 development agenda."

"A democratic and equitable international order can only flourish in a peaceful environment. With conflict prevention being the overarching raison d’être of the United Nations, the hundreds of wars since 1945 indicate that the Organization must reform in order to live up to its purposes and principles."

"The root causes of armed conflict, among them the race for natural resources, economic imbalances, and ethnic and religious tensions must be resolved, respecting the obligation to settle disputes by peaceful means under Article 2 of the Charter. The obligation to negotiate is jus cogens, “negotiation” meaning dialogue and compromise, not the dictates of the stronger over the weaker."

"This reduction implies the release of funds for development and a shift of the labour force previously dedicated to military industries toward peaceful activities, protection of human rights, conservation of the environment, the eradication of illiteracy, promotion of education and scientific research together with enhanced efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals and implement the agenda for the post-2015 period."