The concept and essence of peace can absolutely be ingrained in notions of individual flourishing, cooperation, mutual respect and justice. It is the principal thing for human beings to be healthy, but an ideal world would foster human race that are also peaceful and have the capacity for empathy, respect for others, commitment to fairness and trust in relationships with other people.
State of calm, tranquility, stillness, harmony have to prevail over the mental anxiety, disturbance, be they are emotional, mental, or spiritual, or inner conflict.
Since the absence of conflict, war and disagreements are not indicators of peace and serenity, hostilities, rivalry and community turbulence have to be buried for good. Unequivocally, virtue, justice, order, good government, amicable tie, freedom, respect for human rights, security etc. are the bases for peace, even for lasting peace. However, the question here is how could peace be ensured? If everyone focuses on peace of mind, peace is calm, serenity, tranquility or peacefulness of mind, the world peace could be maintained.
By providing capacity-building for those local peace builders and enabling their work, members of the community can promote inclusion, better governance and lasting peace. The international community can also support Ethiopians to build sustainable peace by addressing the root causes and drivers of conflict. Yes, peace can be described as the attitudes, institutions and structures that create and sustain peaceful societies. Unequivocally, well-functioning government, sound business environment, equitable distribution of resources, acceptance of the rights of others, good relations with neighboring ones and community members, free flow of information, low level of corruption, among others, are attributable to durable peace as they are principal pillars of the issue under discussion.
A well-functioning government delivers high-quality public and civil services, engenders trust and participation, demonstrates political stability and upholds the rule of law. The strength of economic conditions as well as the formal institutions that support the operation of the private sector, too, is instrumental in boosting economic productivity and both associated with the most peaceful countries and are key factors to a robust business environment.
True, peaceful nations enforce formal laws that guarantee basic human rights and freedoms and the informal social and cultural norms that relate to behaviors of citizens. Besides, harmonious relations with one another/each other respecting ethnic, religious and cultural diversities are vital for peace and stability. Nations or citizens with positive internal and external relations are more peaceful and tend to be more politically stable, have better functioning governments, are regionally integrated and have lower levels of organized internal conflict.
In societies with high levels of corruption, resources are inefficiently allocated, often leading to a lack of funding for essential services, which in turn can lead to dissatisfaction and civil unrest. Low corruption can enhance confidence and trust in institutions as well as improve the efficiency of business and the competitiveness of the country.
Access to information is an invaluable element that helps societies transition from the use of violence to solve conflicts, to strengthening their already existing capacities to transform conflicts in a peaceful way. Striving for visible peace in mass media is not about eliminating narratives of violence and conflict, it's about making a conscious effort to also include the narratives of hope and actions of peace that counteract violence, therefore illustrating the full picture. In this sense, peace must also occupy the pages of newspapers, to ensure a balanced portrayal of reality, which includes both stories of violence and stories of peace.
Fundamentally, peace and peaceful coexistence can be well nurtured via employing and feasibly utilizing active listening skills; identifying the underlying interests; seeking possible solutions; using objective criteria to evaluate possible solutions; identifying solutions that all parties can accept (meet common interests) as well as agreeing on the best solution and to come back to the problem if the solution does not work.
Furthermore, Ethiopians have to use peaceful ways of resolving conflict such as following amicable settlement of disputes, using alternative dispute resolution methods like mediation, negotiation, arbitration, which is the hearing, determining and settling of a dispute by person/persons. The conflicting parties both agree on this person or persons. Basically, if citizens work with others, sooner or later, they will almost inevitably face the need for conflict resolution. All citizens, especially the conflicting parties, may need to mediate a dispute between them. In principle, conflict resolution can be defined as the informal or formal process that two or more parties use to find a peaceful solution to their dispute.
As negative emotions cause people discomfort and distress, they may try to tamp them down, hoping that their feelings will dissipate with time. In fact, conflict tends to become more entrenched, and parties have a greater need for conflict resolution when they avoid dealing with their strong emotions. Yes, conflict-resolution training can further enhance citizens' ability to negotiate satisfactory resolutions to their disputes.
Since in the traditional societies of the developing world like our country, conflict may generally exist whenever or wherever incompatible events occurred and may result in --win-lose character, a number of methods to deal with disagreements and incongruities are badly needed.
The resolution, transformation and management of conflict may however produce win-win situation too. Truth is a covenant logo that disputants or parties in conflict must not miss. Conflict is as natural as the concept of peace as it occurs whenever human beings interact, but the way it is handled matters the most.
Needless to state, a conflict is in the magnitude of rage, rift, misunderstanding, family and market brawls, skirmishes and wars, public insurrections and assaults.
It can be described as a condition in which are identifiable group of human beings weather tribal, ethnic, linguistic, religious, socio-political, economic, cultural or otherwise is in conscious opposition to one or more other identifiable human group because these groups are pursuing what to be incompatible goals. More importantly, conflict arises from the interaction of individuals who have partly, incompatible ends, in which the ability of one actor to gain his ends, depends to an important degrees on the choice or decisions that other parties will take.
This is also usually couched with the dictum of no victor no vanquished as buttressed by the maxim. 'Treat all people with kindness, regardless of race, gender orientation, sexual orientation, religion, etc., attend a peace rally, create a peaceful affirmation/mantra, and don't engage in violence of any kind.'
The involvement of all citizens as much as possible, actual representatives, is essential in due course of bringing lasting peace as the society is the prime source of peace and stability.
As conflicts are usually rooted in a combination of factors, such as competition for raw materials, weak governance and social inequality, they have to be converted into peace and peaceful coexistence. Hence, Ethiopians have to invest in positive ties with one another and/or each other. The government has in turn to work hard with a view to achieving peace and security across the nation.
Though reaching a peace agreement is often a difficult process, Ethiopians have to march for attaining it as they do not have any option other than boosting it so as to create a stable and prosperous nation. Getting adversaries arrived at ceasefire can really be a means to bring lasting peace.
The only way to resolve conflicts and prevent new wars is through a well-coordinated and genuine dialogue usually facilitated by the National Dialogue Commission. Yes, promoting peace at home with simple strategies that prove-- peace is not the absence of crazy but the ability to find calm in the midst of the chaos. Every citizen wants to create and promote peace as a family so all citizenry are able to make changes and find peace in the process.
It is natural for peace to be broken as there are many push or pull factors in due course of human interaction, but it shall be settled by peaceful means and in conformity with justice and the principles of national, continental and even international law. It is, therefore, one of the purposes of the national peace effort to maintain peace and security, in accordance with the rule of law. That is why Ethiopia is working towards ensuring peace and security in many parts of the nation especially in Oromia and Amhara states.
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Institutions and norms are essential tools of the rule of law. A strong rule of law system includes trusted and fair judicial and correctional institutions, along with accountable police and law enforcement agencies that fully respect human rights. Justice systems must in particular be accessible to all people and must vindicate rights within a legitimate system. What is meant by peace here is everything societies do to deliberately preserve harmonious and trusting relations. It is collective actions to repair those relations when they are ruptured and nurture them when restored.
Ethiopia and Ethiopians have had a rich and varied repertoire of formal and informal capacities, knowledge, and experiences to exercise and develop an integrated move for sustaining peace. The issue of peace must be woven into society from below by fostering systemic partnerships and incentives to maintain it instead of following a top down approach.
There is indeed, a need to look seriously at the drivers of conflict with a view to addressing their immediate destructive consequences. However, such an approach will not lay the foundation for self-sustainable peace as the process to come up with lasting peace highly requires the willingness of two sides. It should be complemented by a mapping of the resilient capacities of peace that are still at work and propose ways for strengthening them in both hearts.
Ethiopians in all corners of the nation have to support the peace efforts geared toward creating a stable nation as everyone is duty bound, and some of whom have agenda which do not necessarily allow for sustainable peace to take root on the continent. In order for the agenda to be Ethiopian-led and owned, the majority of the ideas have to be born to Ethiopians' minds.
Editor's Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The Ethiopian Herald
BY MENGESHA AMARE
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 31 MAY 2024
