Victorian Peace Council

Peacebuilding Principles

1. Peace is pursued through love. Love generates trust and peace.

2. Peace must be realised on the individual and family level. This is the foundation for peace in society and in the world.

3. Faith traditions subscribe to the principle that, for peace in human affairs to be realised, humans need to be at peace with God or the divine essence within.

4. Faith-based and secular moral values should be combined in peacebuilding.

5. Global peace is realised through interactions and cooperation between people of different races, ethnicities, nationalities, cultures, spiritual beliefs and religions.

6. Religious and spiritual values that foster a concern for service and living for the sake of others are fundamental to peacebuilding and global affairs. Leaders who cultivate these values can inspire and mobilise people to act in accordance with the highest moral principles for the greater good of humanity.

7. Peacebuilding is based on universally shared values that support social cohesion and good public policy, serving the concerns of all humanity.

8. Peace relies on interdependence and mutual prosperity. Without these, human development will be limited and the potential for conflict will always remain. In a global era, national interests cannot be the only focus. We are one human family.

9. Peacebuilding in the family, in society and the world requires the input and the perspectives of both women and men, young and old.

10. Peacebuilding requires respect for a broad spectrum of political views.

Objectives/Purposes of Peace Councils

1. Public Policy Research, Analysis and Development

· Establish consultations to identify threats to peace that are moral, social, cultural or humanitarian in nature (state, national and regional level).

· Provide essential analysis, proposals, policies and advice to help government, media and civil society, understand and make informed choices about threats to peace.

· Develop resources for peacebuilding to address specific issues.

2. Communicating Policies

· Communicate policies and proposals. Inform, influence, and persuade in the pursuit of policy objectives to the government, media and civil society.

· Disseminate peacebuilding resources.

Note: This can take the form of papers, press releases and conferences and peacebuilding resources.

3. Action Development

· Develop proposals and initiatives to threats to peace, and moral, social, cultural or humanitarian problems.

4. Action Implementation

Implement proposals and initiatives that deal with threats to peace through:

· Building networks of regional (Oceania), national and local peace councils.

· Creating partnerships with other organisations to facilitate the attainment of proposals, initiatives and solutions created by peace councils.

· Supporting and augmenting the peacebuilding efforts of the United Nations.

· Working in close cooperation with governments, regional organizations, faith communities, and other institutions of civil society to implement solutions, initiatives and solutions.

· Promoting interreligious dialogue, understanding and cooperation for peace through education and other means.

· Contributing, through dialogue, understanding and cooperation, towards the prevention and reconciliation of conflict – religious or otherwise.