CONVOCATION 28 September 2025: In Legitimate Self-Defence and for Human Security, Positive Peace

 

In Legitimate Self-Defence and for Human Security, Positive Peace

Women from different parts of the world who are living or have lived through wars or armed conflicts consider war and weapons to be the main enemy. Conflict is innate to humanity, war is a social invention and therefore learned (Seville Manifesto on Violence).

Women, society and ecosystems say that war is humanity's main enemy and that it has never been and never will be  adjustable or controllable, nor will it be possible to protect women and children from it. In Legitima Defensa, we need a world without war.

For the United Nations (UN) Charter, Legitima Defensa is based on the fact that the law cannot conceive of injustice under any circumstances, and it is totally unjust that a person cannot defend their rights or those of another when they are being transgressed by a criminal.

According to the Charter, the UN Security Council is ultimately responsible for maintaining international peace and security and must investigate and analyze every situation that could create international friction and recommend measures for the peaceful resolution of the conflict.

The permanent members of the Security Council have violated their mandate and, with their right of veto, have used the Council to defend their own interests and wage war throughout the world. This attitude is replicated by other state leaders on the basis that: “others have done so before”. There are currently 56 active wars, and in most cases, the permanent members of the Security Council are involved.

Human security is considered by the UN as the protection of people from threats to their rights, their security and their lives. It recognizes the interrelationship between peace and the development of human rights. At the same time, it takes into account civil, political, economic, social, environmental and cultural rights at the global level. It emphasises the need and the right for these rights to reach the most vulnerable people.

With Positive Peace, there is an absence of war and structural violence. It deals with the elimination of the causes that lead to conflict; rejects the cultural justification of violence; promotes a shift in values towards cooperation, understanding and empathy; and defends the  equitable distribution of resources and the promotion of human rights and dignity.

We consider it an emergency for the planet to create a world without wars, and it is vitally necessary that:

·         The Security Council fulfils its role by working for international peace and that there are no longer permanent members with the right to veto.

·         The UN implements the development of Human Security, with a specific and priority focus on the safety of women and children.

·         There can be no immunity or impunity for responsibility for war and violence.

·         To put an end to the arms race and the business of death. May we disobey militarism.

·         To delegitimise and detach from the culture of war and violence and build peace, working on personal change and education for peace and local and international understanding.

In Legítimate Self-Defence, we believe that this is a path to achieve

Human Security and Positive Peace.

 

Translation Trisha Novak, USA;  Review Yolanda Juarros Barcenilla, MdNM