A "Peace Court" to prevent wars

Establishing a Peace Court
The whole world could have a voice

Our virtual nation, Peace Seeds, proposes a "Peace Court" to prevent quarreling parties from resorting to arms. This Peace Court would be open to all disputes and decisions would be made based on a fair vote. (Haruna Tanabe, 17, Shoko Tagaya, 16 and Shiori Kosaka, 11)

What is Peace Court? It is located in Peace Seeds, with the costs shared by all countries. Eleven judges-a suitable number, we think, for debating issues and making decisions-would be representatives from around the world. flow of the procedure Petition Once a petition is accepted, the court orders the suspension of any preparations for armed conflict. Next, the court requests NGOs to investigate details of the dispute and then judges whether that case requires a hearing. In this way, all countries, groups, and individuals would have the opportunity to prevent a greater power from abusing this position. Although the world has the International Court of Justice, it cannot take up a case without the agreement of the countries concerned, unlike the Peace Court. The world votes Every country would have a vote to help resolve the dispute. And to determine which way a country would vote, that country would hold its own referendum. If the court ordered compensation to be paid, the participating countries would each receive a share. Children would be allowed to take part in the national referendum in each country. Because children are honest, and because they could be injured or killed if war broke out, they should have a voice, too. Before the voting, both parties in the dispute would share the background and present status of the conflict. This would provide everyone with an opportunity to reflect on resolving the world's problems peacefully. Judgment The judgment is based on the result of the vote, with the ruling most favorable to the side that receives the most support. However, the primary purpose of the hearing is to prevent the use of force, so the judgment tries to resolve the situation fairly for both sides. Implementing the judgment If parties don't abide by the judgment, they would no longer be permitted to trade with other countries. The judgment must be properly implemented or it would become meaningless. So the world would need to show strong unity and isolate violators of the judgment from the international community. In the case of the Iraq War As a test case for the Peace Court, we considered the Iraq War, which started in 2003. First of all, before the war, there were many demonstrations against the American invasion so these people opposed to the war could have taken their case to the Peace Court. The question in this case was whether Iraq had weapons of mass destruction or not. To resolve this question, the United States and Iraq could have presented evidence to support their own claim. After all countries held a referendum on the matter, the vote would determine the judgment. If the American claim received more support, the judgment might be "the United States, without attacking militarily, can enter all administrative institutions in Iraq." However, if Iraq was supported by more nations, the judgment might be "Iraq can request economic aid from America, though it must also accept UN inspections of its weapons." As a result, we could succeed in avoiding the immediate use of force by the United States. And if the UN inspections found weapons of mass destruction, the United States could then charge Iraq with this violation.

Researching conflict prevention
Noriko Sado, associate professor at Hiroshima Shudo University

We interviewed Noriko Sado, a teacher at Hiroshima Shudo University, who has been researching conflict prevention.(Shoko Tagaya, 16 and Kotaro Tsuchida, 14)

Associate professor Sado, answering Junior writers about conflict prevention (left), photo by Haruna Tanabe, 17

Noriko Sado, 34, is a specialist in international security and conflict prevention. She received her PhD from Osaka University and has been an associate professor at Hiroshima Shudo University since 2005, after working as a research fellow in the Japan Institute of International Affairs.

Q: We found that wars or other conflicts are taking place in 16 regions. Were those conflicts inevitable?

A: I think they might have been avoided. The important thing is listening to the voices of the local people-what the problem is and what they want-through international organizations such as the UN or NGOs. For example, if the conflict is between nations or ethnic groups, we can investigate the cause and mediate it or take other measures to resolve it. I don't think enough effort has been made to prevent these conflicts.

Q: What about conflicts based on religious differences?

A: We shouldn"t overlook the real causes that exist behind a "war of religion." In fact, these wars break out not because of differences of belief, but because one religious group dominates the other politically. Negotiations between the two groups can help resolve this sort of conflict.

It's important to identify the likely causes that can trigger a war. And we must remember that, once a war starts, we can lose all the things we're fighting over, including our own lives, our family's lives, and our possessions.

Q: Do you think Japan is now at peace?

A: I think so, because Japan is fairly prosperous and isn't engaged in war. However, it's sad if our country can enjoy peace while other countries must suffer with conflict due to our own lack of effort.

Q: What do you think about our Peace Court?

A: For domestic conflicts, I think it's helpful that other countries and individuals can petition the court. It's interesting, too, that the countries which take part in the vote can also receive benefit from the judgment. Another important point is that the court's primary aim is to solve conflicts peacefully.

Peace Builders Company, an NPO Chie Fuji

I interviewed Chie Fuji ,38, who began working with refugees in 1993. She now runs a new NPO in Hiroshima called Peace Builders Company. She discussed her experiences in Africa. (Chinatsu Kawamoto, 14)

In 1994 I went to Tanzania to help at the Rwandan refugee camps. Thousands of people were dying each day, not only from fighting between ethnic groups but also from a cholera epidemic. I wanted the world to know that these people were dying because they didn't have enough fuel to boil their water.

I also saw many children become victims of war. In 1990, during the conflict in Angola, I saw some child soldiers carrying guns. But when I gave a toy car to a 10-year-old boy, he was delighted to have it. I realized that the victims of war are generally the weak, like children, and that we have to make a better world for them.

I'll always remember one boy, almost 15 years old, who I met at a refugee camp for Angolans in Zambia. His dream was to become a doctor. But because he was a refugee, he had to prepare a lot of documents and pay a higher tuition fee than the Zambians. He thought, "Just because I'm a refugee, I can't realize my dream. It's so unfair." But he transformed this anger into positive action. My co-worker and I helped him overcome these problems and, at last, he entered the best university in Zambia. Unfortunately, we can't offer such support to everyone, but I try to provide hope through assistance with skill training.

Pictures from Chie's album Crick to view larger image