Past and Present of the Peace Agenda Within the United Nations: the Influence of the Socialist Notion of Peaceful Co-existence

• Author: Ch.G. Fernandez - D.F. Puyana
• Position: UNESCO Chair on Peace, Solidarity and Intercultural Dialogue (San José, Costa Rica) - UNESCO Chair on Peace, Solidarity and Intercultural Dialogue (Barcelona, Spain)
• Pages: 81-109

BRICS LAW JOURNAL Volume IV (2017) Issue 3

PaST anD PRESEnT

oF THE PEaCE aGEnDa wITHIn THE unITED naTIonS:

THE InFLuEnCE oF THE SoCIaLIST noTIon

oF PEaCEFuL Co-EXISTEnCE

CHRISTIAN GUILLERMET FERNÁNDEZ,

UNESCO Chair on Peace, Solidarity and Intercultural Dialogue

(San José, Costa Rica)

DAVID FERNÁNDEZ PUYANA,

UNESCO Chair on Peace, Solidarity and Intercultural Dialogue

(Barcelona, Spain)

DOI: 10.21684/2412-2343-2017-4-3-81-109

War and peace perpetually alternate and peace is always seen as an endless project, even

a dream, to be realised in brotherhood by everyone all over the earth. Present generations

should ensure that both they and future generations learn to live together in peace with

the highest aspiration of sparing future generations the scourge of war. The UN Charter is

the most solemn pact of peace in history, which lays down the necessary basic principles

for an enduring peace. Recently, in the context of the joint eort in the recognition of the

high importance of practicing tolerance, dialogue, cooperation and solidarity among

all human beings, p eoples and nations, the General Assembly has raised the voice of

victims to strongly condemn war and to openly reiterate their inalienable right to enjoy

peace such that all human rights are promoted and protected and development is fully

realized.

Keywords: Commission on Human Rights; Human Rights Council; right to peace; Cuba;

General Assembly.

Recommended citation: Christian Guillermet Fernández & David Fernández Puyana,

Past and Present of the Peace Agenda within the United Nations: The Inuence of the

Socialist Notion of Peaceful Co-Existence, 4(3) BRICS Law Journal 81–109 (2017).

BRICS LAW JOURNAL Volume IV (2017) Issue 3 82

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Approach to the Notion of Peace and War in Socialism

2. Elaboration of Peace and War in the Domestic Constitutions

3. Impact of the Soviet Peace Agenda within the United Nations

3.1. Declaration on Preparation of Societies for Life in Peace

3.1.1. Historical Approach

3.1.2. Legal Analysis

3.2. Declaration on the Right of Peoples to Peace

3.2.1. Historical Approach

3.2.2. Legal Analysis

4. Cuba and the Peace Global Agenda

4.1. Commission on Human Rights

4.1.1. Relationship among States

4.1.2. Introduction of the Human Rights Approach

4.2. Human Rights Council

Conclusion

Introduction

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Russian revolution. The year featured

two revolutions: the February revolution which deposed Tsar Nicholas II after more

than 300 years of rule by the Romanov dynasty, ushering in a brief period in which

hopes for a democratic future ourished. Lenin’s Bolsheviks, a small, marginal faction

of people who were not taken seriously in the aftermath of the February uprising,

took control in the October revolution.

The Bolshevik government passed a plethora of legislation in the immediate

aftermath of the Oc tober Revolution. The Bolsheviks had no experience with

government and there was little guarantee that the Bolsheviks would have maintained

power for any length of time. Despite the apparent chaos, the leaders of the Bolshevik

Party managed to meet for six hours every day for two months in the relatively safety

of the Smolny Institute. In this time they introduced 193 new laws that were to have

a major change on Russian society once they were implemented.1

In the present paper, the research intends to approach the notion of peace and war

from a historical perspective. To understand the meaning contained in these notions,

1 Social Reforms of 1917, The History Learning Site, 22 May 2015 (Sep. 2, 2017), available at http://www.

historylearningsite.co.uk/modern-world-history-1918-to-1980/russia-1900-to-1939/social-reforms-

of-1917/.