The UN Human Rights Council adopts a resolution-Declaration on the Right to Peace.

At the 32^nd session of the Council of Human Rights it has adopted a resolution, proposed by Cuba, which inside contains the "Declaration on the Right to Peace" 

We APG23 in recent years we have fought, together with many other NGOs in the world, because the right to peace was formally declared as a human right within the Council of Human Rights in Geneva. In the last four years we have followed the work of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Right to Peace trying to put pressure on Member because was recognized as a pre-condition for the respect of all the other human rights.

Also during the 32^nd session of the Council, which has just ended, we proposed a joint oral statement with two other Civil Society organizations with the aim to draw the attention of all countries on the need and urgency to solemnly proclaim the human right to peace. (Video at the 20^th minute)

Our oral presentation was also immediately taken up by the campaign of the Spanish NGO, "Paz sin Fronteras / Peace without Borders" who has posted a large excerpt reiterating: "the need for people in the world who are victims of armed conflicts, direct violence, structural or cultural and whose human rights must be respected and protected to have a statement on the right to peace that is meaningful, and relevant consensus and which could have a real impact on the lives of these people. ".

Just during the last day of the works of HRC 32^nd session was discussed and then voted  the resolution A / HRC / 32 / L.187, which contained as an annex a new "Declaration on the Right to peace".

A statement that during the negotiations between the countries has been gradually emptied of many important elements, but that, despite everything, still has the added value of state the right to peace as a human right defining it in Article 1 as the right "of each of enjoy peace so that all human rights are promoted and protected and the development is fully realized "

With this new statement adopted by the Human Rights Council, the panorama of the UN declaration on the Right to Peace is complete. It clarifies the individual and collective character of the human right to peace as a precondition calling for the respect of all human rights.

During the debate that preceded the adoption of resolution 32/18, Cuba stated, among other things that: "Peace is not a utopia but a human right of every individual and of all peoples" (document in Spanish ) (video) .and that it is "one of the fundamental conditions for the respect of all human rights and in particular for the respect of the supreme right to life."

On the contrary, the Netherlands (on behalf of some European Union countries) and the United Kingdom took the floor to say that they would not have voted for the resolution containing the Declaration on the Right to Peace. The arguments to justify voting against were: the lack of a legal basis in international law, the lack of a certain definition of the concept of "Peace" internationally accepted. Paradoxical result then the last argument given to justify voting against: according to Western countries "the absence of peace in a country can not justify the systematic violation of human rights in the same". (Video at minute 9:44) In our view, this argument against the human right to peace is paradoxical because it is used by Western countries to safeguard the arms trade and justify armed intervention in conflict situations in the name of international security. paradoxical argument that international security is opposed to peace while both together represent one of the three fundamental pillars of the United Nations (together with the Human Rights and Development).

The resolution / statement was then taken to a vote; it is not passed by consensus as in our opinion it was desirable. 47 of the Council's 34 member states voted in favor; 9 have been declared against (Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Latvia, Slovenia, Republic of Korea, Macedonia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) and 4 abstained (Albania, Switzerland, Georgia and Portugal). Now the resolution will be brought to New York General Assembly where each country will have to express a vote for or against the human right to peace.