Nonviolent Peace Force

    We need to develop a multiethnic, interfaith standing peace force that would be trained in nonviolent strategies and deployed to conflicts or potentially violent areas at the invitation of local peace movements.  The international peace force would have to include thousands of trained volunteers committed to strategically put themselves in harm's way to defuse violence and create the space for peaceful resolution.
    Collectively, we have the capacity to make such a peace force a reality. Many veterans of the nonviolent movements of this century are still living.  They have the expertise to shape the force.  Thousands of citizens have demonstrated their willingness to put themselves in harm's way to stop violence and oppression.  They will continue to be available.  Youth and retirees are longing for commitments that provide meaning to their lives. The internet provides an instant means for such a force to recruit, monitor and communicate.  And the cost for the nonviolent peace force will be infinitesimal when compared to military operations.
    At the Hague Appeal for Peace conference in the Netherlands, a small group of nonviolent activists began talking about the prospects of developing a standing, nonviolent peace force.  Six meetings took place during the conference.  Individuals taking part in these conversations came from a variety of organizations and brought a rich diversity of experience to the discussions.
    Most people doing peace team work, conflict resolution and/or nonviolent training had shared the vision at some point in their work of building a standing nonviolent peace force of significant size.  Some still entertained the idea.  Usually the idea had been abandoned, sometimes because of lack of resources, especially financial, and sometimes because the work in a particular area had become so consuming or specialized that the vision of a larger scale operation was lost.  While some people thought there were too many problems, especially a lack of significant money, most people thought that the idea was worth exploring and developing.
    The task is daunting.  The endeavor is replete with problems, contradictions and questions.  We must live those questions.  In the last 50 years, nations - some of whom were former enemies - came together and created NATO, able to administer sophisticated and strategic responses to armed conflict.  In the next 50 years, we must develop an international peace force with similar commitment, cooperation and sophistication that promotes peace over war and life over death.

For more information, contact: Peaceworkers, 721 Shrader St., San Francisco, CA 94117 USA;
 Email: peaceworkers @igc.org or Global Nonviolent Peace Force - Canada, 91A Fourth Ave., Ottawa, ON  K1S 2L1.
Tel.: 613-569-7942. Email: canada@nonviolentpeaceforce.org 

Source: www.quaker.org/fptp/43peaceforce.html